Have A Goal? Why 100 Calls Will Get You There

As a fractional executive or consultant, you're constantly seeking ways to grow your business and land new clients. But are you truly taking the most effective action to achieve your goals? In this post, we'll dive deep into a powerful strategy that can revolutionize your fractional career: The 100 Phone Calls approach.

The One Needle-Moving Activity You're Avoiding

Let's face it: making phone calls can be intimidating. As our host, Bradley Jacobs, founder and CEO of Mylance, points out:

"We don't want to do it because it's scary. And I don't have an offer, and I don't know what I'm selling, and I don't know what I'm gonna do on the call, and I'm not confident on the call. I don't know how to structure it, and I don't know if I have enough experience to offer like that."

We often find ourselves making excuses and instead busying ourselves with less impactful tasks:

• Working on side projects for more experience
• Offering services for free
• Redesigning our website
• Crafting the perfect business plan

But here's the truth: none of these activities move the needle like direct outreach can. As Bradley emphasizes, "When it comes down to it, this is the needle moving activity."

The 100 Phone Calls Strategy: A Deep Dive

Let's break down this game-changing approach:

1. Create Two Lists:
   • Warm contacts: 70-80 people who know and trust you
   • Cold contacts: 30-40 companies in your ideal customer profile

Bradley explains the importance of the warm list: "They know you. They trust you. They know what you're capable of. They could hire you in a second." Even if they can't hire you directly, they're valuable connections for referrals and insights.

2. For cold contacts, identify 2-4 key decision-makers per company: "So for every company, we have about 75 contacts. We're going to make a list of maybe three people at the company."
3. Reach out to both warm and cold contacts:
   • For warm contacts, aim for at least 15 calls in the next week
   • For cold contacts, expect a 10-15% response rate
4. During outreach, offer value: Bradley suggests a powerful approach: "Instead of asking for something, I'm actually giving something that's even better." For example: "I would love to share some of my experience, how we scaled without adding tons of headcount at Uber freight that might benefit your company."

The Magic of 100 Conversations

While the outcome of each call is uncertain, the cumulative effect of 100 conversations is powerful. As Bradley guarantees:

"I can't tell you exactly what's going to happen on these phone calls, but I can guarantee you if you have 100 of them, good things are going to happen."

Here's what you can expect:

• Referrals to new opportunities
• Job and consulting offers
• Refinement of your pitch and messaging
• Deep insights into your target market's pain points

Bradley elaborates: "You are going to learn what language works and doesn't work. You're going to learn what pain points your customer has and doesn't have. You're going to learn so freaking much about your customer and your offer that it's just going to lead to great things."

Overcoming Mental Barriers

It's natural to feel resistance. We often gravitate towards comfortable tasks that feel productive but don't drive real growth. Bradley shares a personal example:

"I love making business models for my business. I can model out for the next five years. For example, every month of revenue is how many subscribers, or LTV? I can model it out, and build up the entire funnel from the bottom up. I feel good because I love looking at it, and I can make the numbers look however I want."

While these activities have their place, they shouldn't come at the expense of direct outreach. Bradley admits:

"The reality is this isn't moving my business forward at all. Every single one of these business models that I've made over the years, I have never used a single one of them."

Understanding Your Resistance

It's crucial to recognize why we avoid making these calls:

"It is the I don't know how it's going to go. It is the what if I get rejected? It's what if they tell me I'm crazy? What if they ignore me and then my ego takes a hit and I feel like I'm not good enough."

By acknowledging these fears, we can better prepare ourselves to overcome them.

The (Almost) Guaranteed Outcome

By committing to 100 phone calls over three months (just over one per day), you're setting yourself up for success. Bradley confidently states:

"I guarantee you, so you will be drowning in opportunity. I guess I can't guarantee it, but it's as close to a guarantee as it possibly could be because that is when good things happen."

Taking Action: Your 100 Calls Roadmap

1. Make your lists of warm and cold contacts
   • Use tools like Mylance, Sales Nav, LinkedIn, or Apollo to build your cold list
   • Don't overthink it: "go make the list. Then you're going to reach out to all these people, right? You don't need to do it all in one day, but you're going to reach out to all these people."
2. Set a goal of 100 calls in the next three months
   • This breaks down to just over one call per day
3. Before each call, remind yourself of the potential value you're offering
   • Research the company and individual to tailor your approach
4. After each call, reflect on what you learned and how you can improve
   • Keep track of successful language and pain points mentioned
5. Stay focused on the end goals
   • As Bradley reminds us: "Nothing really else matters in the business; the most important thing is new business. And the only way we get new business is by doing outreach."

Conclusion: Embrace the Challenge

The 100 Phone Calls strategy might feel uncomfortable at first, but it's a proven method for accelerating your fractional career. By focusing on this needle-moving activity, you'll open doors to opportunities you never knew existed.

Remember Bradley's words of encouragement:

"Pick up the phone, make your list and pick up the phone and start setting up these calls because that's going to be what moves the needle. You're going to learn so much. You're going to be drowning in opportunity, and it's going to be the best thing that you ever could do."

Are you ready to take the challenge? Start making your lists today, and watch your fractional business transform over the next three months. The path to success is clear – it's time to pick up the phone and make it happen.

Mylance

This value-added article was written by Mylance. Mylance takes your marketing completely off your hands. We build the marketing machine that your Fractional Business needs, but you don't have time to run. So it operates daily, growing your brand, completely done for you.

Instead of dangling numbers in front of you, our approach focuses on precise and thoughtful input: targeted outreach to the right decision makers, compelling messaging that resonates, and content creation that establishes trust and legitimacy.

To apply for access, submit an application and we'll evaluate your fit for the service. If you’re not ready for lead generation, we also have a free, vetted community for top fractional talent that includes workshops, a rates database, networking, and a lot of free resources to support your fractional business.