I do not have very much influence with the people I know. I did approach them, but I messed it up the first time. After that there was no second time. They wanted me to prove it. Asking for referrals from people who weren’t convinced didn’t work either.

My next route was buying leads or putting up ads in the newspaper. Like you, I had no fear of the phone. I even developed phone rapport with several people. Purchased leads are most often untargeted. They are not categorized according to age group, interests, health concerns, intentions, passions etc. It also takes some practice to know what you are doing. If you spend piles of money on something you are a novice at doing, and you don’t get a good return on your investment, well, it’s a challenge for a lot of people to maintain a positive attitude. They quit and say it wasn’t for them.

Purchased leads are also resold several times. Some popular lead companies claim to only sell their leads a couple of times. When I dialed the numbers I sometimes got yelled at for calling so often, even though I had nothing to do with the previous callers. Even if they are not resold, a person who has filled out a form based on a random ad will likely fill out multiple forms and forget they have done so.

An opt-in form attached to some kind of meaningful content where your contact information appears is a lot better then simply responding to an ad popping out in the middle of nowhere.

Having something of value for others that is associated with YOU is more personable and informative. Building your own organic list using social media sites or low cost sites (Such as Ezine Articles) is the way to go over the long term. No matter where you go, what you do, you can always take that list with you. It does, however take time and patience to establish yourself. Use some good marketing tools and I highly recommend finding yourself a good coach if you are in it for the long haul.