Should I be cold-calling to generate projects for my video production business?
Feb 21, 2023
Introduction
If you’re a video production company owner, or a videographer, or filmmaker, you may have tried (and put-off) the dreaded cold calling.
But without projects to work on, you don’t have a video business at all.
So should you be cold-calling?
If the answer is yes, how do you do it so it’s not a painful process? Does it actually work? What should you be saying? Is there another way to drive regular work into your video business?
Well, in today’s Q&A, I’m answering that very question. And, I think you’ll be pleased to know, that there are easier, less soul destroying, ways to drive opportunities into your video business.
Should I be cold-calling to generate projects for my video production business?
Links
Transcript
00:00:00:03 - 00:00:21:02
If you're a video production company owner, or a videographer, or filmmaker, you may have tried (and put off) the dreaded cold calling, but without projects to work on, you don't have a video business at all. So should you be cold calling? If the answer is yes, how do you do it, so it's not a painful process? Does it actually work?
00:00:21:03 - 00:00:42:04
What should you be saying? Is there another way to drive regular work into your video business? Well, in today's Q&A, I'm answering that very question, and I think you'll be pleased to know that there are easier, less soul destroying ways to drive opportunities into your video business. Should I be cold calling to generate projects for my video production business?
00:00:42:12 - 00:01:09:07
Let's get stuck in. So the mere mention of cold calling is enough to send shivers down any video production professional's spine. You got into the game because you love creating beautiful video content, or you love a certain part of the video production process. You probably didn't get into the video world because you absolutely love picking up the phone to random strangers and asking them to spend money with you.
00:01:09:09 - 00:01:30:03
So is it all it's cracked up to be? Does it actually work? And if so, what should you be saying? What should your script be? Urgh, the whole idea of having a script is totally alien to us and our industry. We work in a creative world, not one where we have to make 50 cold calls a day to be told, “No, I'm not interested.
00:01:30:03 - 00:01:47:13
Now's not the right time. We've already got a video supplier.” So I'm here to tell you that you really don't need to be cold calling. You can if you want, but you don't need to. It can be effective. I actually used to hire people to cold call for me. I used to hate it. But here's how I see it now.
00:01:47:22 - 00:02:08:04
Cold calling potential prospects is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. That may be a very lucrative, expensive needle. And they are out there. But in order to find that one project, that one client that is ready to go and can be swayed by a stranger calling them to tell them about how great they are, you have to do a lot of legwork.
00:02:08:07 - 00:02:27:22
You have to make a lot of calls. You have to face a lot of rejection. And that - believe it or not - is not much fun. So you can scour the phonebook looking for numbers and spend hours a day picking up the phone. But that's a fool's work. Hear me out. If you've engaged with any of my content, you would have heard me talk about The Buyer's Journey.
00:02:28:03 - 00:02:52:09
I have a separate video which I've linked below that goes into a lot more detail on this concept. It's a vital concept for us as video production professionals to fully understand. But in short, less than 1% of your target audience will be in what is called The Decision Stage of The Buyer's Journey at any given time. These are the people that are aware of an issue that they are facing, or an opportunity that's presenting itself to them.
00:02:52:09 - 00:03:15:15
And they've already decided that video is the vehicle that's going to take them to their goal. Less than 1%. So when you're cold calling, you're in effect trying to find that fraction of your target audience that are ready are open to hear what you have to say. It's the same thing that happens when video production companies, or freelancers, post their showreel on Facebook or Instagram and see little to no engagement.
00:03:15:22 - 00:03:38:00
The vast majority of your target audience (the 99%) will not yet be looking for a video provider, but they still have the same goals and desires as the 1%. They still need to drive more opportunities into their business, generate more leads, make more sales, raise more funds, but they just aren't ready for a pitch yet. You have to warm them up.
00:03:38:05 - 00:03:58:24
Did you hear that word? Warm. The opposite of cold. So yes, you do need to talk to your prospects in order to win work from them. But why spend all that time, receive all those pushbacks, excuses, when you can warm them up and then pick up the phone when they are warm? Makes sense, doesn't it? But how? How do we warm them up?
00:03:59:00 - 00:04:20:23
Well, first of all, you understand the concept of The Buyer's Journey and why it's so important to video production professionals. And you can watch that video via the link below, but you need to have a system in place that serves your perfect prospects the right content - depending on where they are within The Buyer’s Journey. That's very simple when you know what to say and how to serve it.
00:04:21:03 - 00:04:42:14
I'll come on to that. But anyone that tells you that cold calling is a vital part of building a video business is either lying or just doesn't know what they're talking about particularly when it comes to marketing a video business. I'm sure it works in other industries. But why spend hours upon end bashing the phone trying to convince people that clearly have 101 other things on their mind?
00:04:42:22 - 00:05:04:09
It just doesn't make sense, does it? Here's what you should be doing instead. You create content, or post messaging, that taps into the core desires and fears of your perfect prospect. If they engage with that content, well, something has resonated with them and they probably have an issue or opportunity that your service (video production) can help to fix, or achieve.
00:05:04:14 - 00:05:27:03
So if they engage with that content, or that post, or that blog, you can then serve them content that shows how video (and that's video not you yet), so how video can help them to achieve that opportunity, or fix that problem. Then, and only then, when they engage with that content, do you pick up the phone. You'll use something that is called a lead magnet to capture their data.
00:05:27:07 - 00:05:46:15
Then every phone call that you make is no longer trying to convince someone that has most likely never heard of you before to spend money with you. At this stage, they're already convinced that they need video content, and that turns a phone call from a pitch fest to a constructive, helpful conversation. It's a warm call, not a cold call.
00:05:46:15 - 00:06:16:13
So, no, you don't need to cold call. You shouldn't be cold calling. You should be warming your perfect prospects up with your content, your messaging, which is 100 times cheaper, 100 times easier, 100 times more scalable, and 100 times more enjoyable. And when they are warm, you pick up the phone. Conversion rate goes through the roof. Opportunities and projects become consistent. And you don't have to spend hours being told no, to go away, trying to bypass gatekeepers.
00:06:16:14 - 00:06:40:23
Now, if you'd like to build this system into your video business, I want to offer you a framework that has now been implemented by over 3,000 video production professionals, video production companies and freelancers around the world. That's called The Lead Generation Machine. And because you've watched this far and are obviously keen to build consistency into your video business, I want to offer you that framework.
00:06:40:23 - 00:07:08:01
I want to give you the opportunity to get the e-book for just $7, the physical printed book for $27, or both the e-book and the physical book for just $27. The physical books come with free worldwide shipping. So if you're serious about building a powerful, proven marketing system into your video business, so you never have to worry about where the next project is coming from again, you can do so now by clicking on the link below this video.
00:07:08:09 - 00:07:33:08
So I hope that's been helpful. You don't have to cold call. It's okay. There are much easier, more scalable, more automated ways to grow your video business. But if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to leave a comment below. And don't forget to grab The Lead Generation Machine for just $7, or $27 if you’d like the physical book, and let us build a powerful, proven marketing system into your video business today.
