First, you take a deep breath. It also helps when you close your eyes. Then, internally, you say to yourself, “You are enough.” Also, remind yourself, “Don’t take it personally what others say about you. And don’t be alarmed or surprised when there’s rudeness, rejection, and yelling…remind yourself once again…I am enough”. It even helps to say these sentences out loud that Stuart Smalley taught us on SNL. “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.” Ha!

Cold calling is hard.

Have you ever made a cold call? Meaning that you contact a business or general consumer you have never met to pitch your service or product. The truth is, you only have a little time. Everyone is busy and no one wants to be solicited. But, sometimes, you just have to make a cold call for your business, so let’s simplify this interesting activity that can be effective and painless. Here are some essential steps in cold calling.

Prepare for a call:

• Take a deep breath
• Prepare for rejection
• Repeat, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.”

Start the call:

• Make a human connection. Do not get into the script reading right away; try to talk to them like you just met them in line at a coffee shop.
• Get to the point right away of why you are calling.
• Have the perfect paragraph ready.

End the call:

• Say thank you for your time
• Get their contact info
• Send them a follow-up

Why are we talking about cold calling during our landing page series? If you missed it, one of the bullet points above says, “Have a perfect paragraph ready.” The beauty of a landing page is that you get to avoid the hard steps of rejection because they come to you. But either way, you have to have the perfect pitch ready if you want to sell something. I will help you write that ideal paragraph and explain why and how it will work.

But before we get into the “Perfect Paragraph” writing, let’s go over what we’ve learned so far in our Landing Page Series:

• The difference between the Homepage and the Landing Page – Read it Here
• The Hero Image and Message Design – Read it Here
• The Stakes – Read it Here
• The Value Proposition – Read it Here
• The Guide – Read it Here

The Perfect Paragraph, also known as the “Explanatory Paragraph,” is where you fully explain in a longer text (1-2 paragraphs) how you can genuinely help the customer. This is where you can invite your customers into a story—into a story of complete transformation. This paragraph is a story that your customer can lean into.

The Perfect Paragraph consists of 5 sections.

• Transformation: It’s important to know that your product or service’s core purpose is to provide a transformation. This has to be clear. Help define who they are now vs. who they can be.
• The Problem: What’s their pain? What do they want that they don’t have right now?
• Empathy: Acknowledge and understand their pain
• Solution: Offer how your product or service will help deal with their problem(s).
• Action: Pave a path for them to follow to do business with you. (Try to limit to 3 steps).

Now, this is what you’ve all been waiting for. Let’s write your paragraph. (Just fill in the blanks.)

At __________________________ [your company name], we know you are the kind of people who want to be ____________________________ [what kind of person do they want to become?]. In order to be that way, you need ____________________ [as it relates to your product or services… what does your customer want?]. The problem is _______________________ [what problem is holding them back?], which makes you feel _________________ [how is that problem making them feel?]. We believe ____________________ [why is it just plain wrong that anyone should have to deal with that problem?]. We understand ____________________ [include an empathetic statement].

That’s why we ______________________ [demonstrate your competency to solve their problem]. Here’s how it works _______________________ [what’s your three-step plan: steps 1, 2 & 3] so _____________________________ [call them to action], so you can stop _________________________ [what negative thing will happen or continue to happen if they don’t order?] and start _____________________________ [what will their life look like if they do place an order?].

Here is the perfect paragraph for my own business. The bold words below are the sentences I am filling out from the blanks above.

At BOS Media Group, we know you are the kind of people who want to always help thrive and grow your business with creative ideas, the latest trends, and marketing efforts. In order to be that way, you need a team to help guide your day-to-day efforts in growth. The problem is that as an owner, you are doing and in charge of so many things you become the bottleneck, and you don’t have the energy to be creative or consistent in your marketing. We believe that as entrepreneurs, you should focus more ON your business vs IN your business. View your business from 10 thousand feet, dream out the vision, help execute the plan, and inspire your team along the way. But we understand that everyone falls into this trap, including me, and we get stuck. That’s why we are here. We know what it means to run a business and we understand how to help make it grow through marketing efforts. Here’s how it works, first, contact me directly for a free consultation, second, let us customize a marketing plan specifically for your needs that fits your budget and third, let us help execute the plan and watch your company thrive. So you can stop being exhausted and frustrated about not meeting your growth goals and start being re-energized and excited about the dreams and goals you once had for your business. 

What do you think?

Whether you are cold calling, creating a landing page, or just running a thriving business and living your best life, I think it’s crucial to have these paragraphs written out. They help refine and give more purpose to what you do. They might even give you a different perspective on how you can position your own brand and narrative. I would love to see your Perfect Paragraph. Please feel free to send it to me.

In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying the series. I am learning a lot as I teach it. So, thanks for your continuous support and love. Your comments and feedback are always so encouraging to me.

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