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Business Development

Cold Call Letter #1

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If you work it right, you won't be cold-calling many companies. That's because  referrals and assignments come faster and easier from friends and business acquaintances—and their friends and acquaintances: Your network.

If you don't have a network, say if you've moved to a new city, direct mail letters can give you visibility. This direct mail letter focused on cost savings, caring attitude, and client service. The response form was printed on the back of the letter making it easy for us to know who replied.

 

Fall 20—

Good Morning!

Some day you may face a difficult termination where you want to be protected by outplacement. As leaders in the outplacement field, CareerLab can help you in a crisis.

We recently asked our current corporate clients to evaluate our performance, and I'd like you to see the results. I'm enclosing a graph of the responses and samples of comments, both positive and negative.

We distributed 40 survey forms, and 29 were returned—a 73% response. Twenty six were signed. The survey asked current corporate clients to rate 10 categories on a scale of one to four, one being low and four being high. N/A was a possible choice.

The total ratings ranged from a high of 4 (Caring Attitude and Client Service) to a low of 3.3 (Office Location ¬ three of our client companies are located out of state). The overall average rating was 3.78 (95%).

I was pleased to see these scores. I thought we were doing a good job— we've certainly been trying to—but the evaluations were surprisingly high. I was especially happy to see our individual attention, personalized service and caring attitude ranked so high. These are the areas where we place greatest emphasis.

Please save my business card. And call me if you need an outplacement expert and want someone you can trust.

Best regards,


William S. Frank

P.S.—If you return the questionnaire on the back of this page TODAY, I will send you a FREE copy of our national list of executive recruiters in Human Resources. 

(over, please).
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William S. Frank, M.A.,
            President/CEO
25 Reasons I love consulting.
by William S. Frank
  1. Brand. You are your own brand, and you can define it any way you want. For many years, I provided outplacement to the ex-employees of Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield service corporation. When departing employees left the company, they didn't request outplacement in their severance package. They said, "I want Bill Frank."
  2. Demand. The world will always be full of terrible problems that need solving.
  3. White Hat. I can be a helper and get paid for it.
  4. Pay. I can be paid to do things I'd gladly do for nothing.
  5. Variety. Every day is different.
  6. Happiness. At this stage of my career, I only work for people I respect and care about. If a client micromanages me or is otherwise no fun, I complete the assignment and replace them.
  7. Talent. I'm using 110% of my talents and stretching myself to the max.
  8. Change. I can change my focus any day I want. If you're a McDonald's franchisee, you don't say, "Hey, I've got this great idea for a meatball sandwich—let's try it out today." In consulting you can adjust your focus hour-by-hour, as long as your clients still understand and appreciate what you do.
  9. Income. No one else would pay me as much as I pay myself.
  10. FUN. I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing.
  11. Retirement. I can write and consult as long as I am physically and mentally capable. Peter Drucker worked into his 90s, and when asked which book was his best, he said: "My next one."
  12. Job Security. Although clients come and go, no one can come into my office and say, "Pack up your stuff . . . You don't work here anymore." In 29 years, I've only had one employer: ME.
  13. Travel. I don't have to travel unless I decide to. I travel if it's both FUN and profitable—or at least FUN.
  14. Commute. I live five minutes from my office, a corner office in an upscale six-story tower. In winter, I leave a heated garage at home and drive to an underground heated garage at work. There's seldom time to hear even one song on the radio.
  15. Vacation. Consulting is more fun than vacation (except on Wailea Beach in Maui).
  16. Friends. I have developed hundreds of close acquaintances and several lifetime friends.
  17. Time. I can work as much or as little as I like: four-hour days or 18-hour days. (Of course, my income will reflect that.)
  18. Employees. I can work with employees, subcontractors, partners, or alone—I've done it all.
  19. Passive Income. I've developed several products that provide "mailbox money." I earn while I'm sleeping.
  20. Ethics. I've never had to violate my values or personal code of ethics. I've never had to lie, purposely deceive or harm others, or promise things I can't deliver. I go to bed with a clear conscience. That doesn't mean there's never any conflict. But the conflict is conducted according to generally accepted business practices.
  21. Virtual. My career is fairly portable. With the Internet, e-mail, cell phone, and FedEx, I can work nationally, even internationally from my office—or anywhere in the world.
  22. Purpose. I make a difference in peoples' lives every day. I see it in their faces, hear it in their voices, and read it in their thank-yous.
  23. Experience. Every painful or joyful life experience makes me a better consultant. So does every person I meet or book I read. Grey hair can be good in consulting.
  24. Structure. I have to work very hard, and the clients expect superb results—but I get to structure my days, weeks, months, and years.
  25. Boss. Most of the time, I love my boss.
As I was posting these letters online, I realized I want to communicate my love for consulting. It's just a great business. The single letters, taken together, may create a picture of enjoyment, but in a burst of creativity I listed some of the reasons consulting is such a good fit for me—and perhaps for you, too. They are not prioritized; this is just how they came out.