Any time you get a contact from a referral, it’s an exciting moment, but there’s no such thing as a slam dunk. While a warm lead has much better sales prospects than a cold one, freelance sales leads don’t just sell themselves, and they don’t always work out the way you imagined.

We’ll get to the sales tip in a moment, but first you need the backstory: I’d received a referral for an aspect of the writing business that I don’t even do. (Public relations.) So, my initial part of the conversation was essentially an anti-pitch: “I don’t do that, but I’d be happy to refer you to one of my trusted freelance friends in PR who can help you out.” The prospect was very appreciative, and maybe a bit shocked. And, yeah, I was initially a little disappointed. [Read more…]