I understand why some people are too afraid to make cold calls — it’s hard, grindy work, with lots of rejection. Fine. I agree. But those are also the reasons why people who are good at cold calling are so valuable. A successful cold call converts contact information into a lead, meeting, demo, sale, or a new business relationship. It is an incredibly powerful way to drive the growth of a business. These cold calling tips are practical, low-complexity tactics you can use to increase your odds of a positive outcome. That’s it. I’m not even going to try to convey the art of cold calling here, or somehow pass on the personality traits you must have in order to survive — you’ll figure it out, or you will find another role that comes more naturally than cold outreach. 1. Treat the gatekeeper as a stakeholder It takes some finesse to convince the person who answers the phone to forward your message up the ladder. Respecting these “gatekeepers” is a much better strategy than trying …