If you should ever need to inflict torture on someone, put the waterboard back in your closet. Instead, force them to make cold calls. Phoning strangers makes me want to hurl. What I mean is: “I hope I am not interrupting, but can I get a minute of your time?” (I have never started a call like that….straight up rookie move).
Cold calling is the act of asking for stuff from people who don’t know you. For those of you thinking how much you hate receiving them (which would be exactly all of you) it’s worse making them.
One of my first jobs out of college was cold calling for a company whose only clients were non-profits. I was calling for entities like public television and the San Francisco Zoo. There were pitches—scripts—for us to follow. I remember the zoo pitch because it had an inspired opening. “Please help us get the elephants off the concrete.” It was the least worst as far as cold calling gigs go. Who doesn’t want to save an elephant’s joints? Within a few months of doing that job I was promoted to supervisor. That job consisted of helping to train and to jump on the phones when needed. When I realized it was a cut in pay (no commission) I asked to go back on the phones they wouldn’t allow me. I quit. They wanted the milk for free.
I then had an inside sales job of selling plush animal toys that wore customized t-shirts. College mascots, church c
