Cold Calling Is The Primal Fear You Must Overcome To Master Modern Selling

[This is a guest blog contributed by a best-selling author, and award-winning Blogger, Tony Hughes. Read more about him at the end of this blog.]

Is this smartphone ball and chain really a communication device? I don't think so. The chiropractors of the world must be rejoicing because homo novus has the worst posture in human history shackled to "the third appendage."

Cold calling should be "warm" calling, I get your pushback. But I disagree. Sales is about real communication and I believe we need a massive return to innocence.

I challenge Sales Leaders to literally "turn off all digital devices." I challenge sales leaders to give reps a headset and a target list with just switchboards to call on for one month straight, pad and pen. That's it!

Why Cold Call? Literally, face your fears and call a stranger in the middle of the day. Like at 9am on Monday morning or 4pm on a Friday afternoon when you least want to! I would challenge you to do zero research and get your wrist slapped. Feel the sting of rejection and let it sculpt you into a stronger person. Yes, research is good but get to the point where you stop caring about the outcome.

Reps obsess over making the perfect call at the perfect time of day to the perfect prospect as if they're about to get in an elevator with Mark Cuban and get 30 seconds to pitch. Mark Cuban ran a college bar and if he had to start all over would be the master of... wait for it... "cold calling!"

If you just master this one skill, your entire career will be transformed from inside out. Focus all your energy only on developing this one mental muscle for 6 months and watch your self-esteem, income, and influence take off like a rocket ship!

Even if you only talk to 2 in 100 people. But you could utilize ConnectandSell and get those contact rates through the roof: just ask Chris Beall who lives life at 1,000 dials a day. I've affectionately nicknamed Chris, Bruce Wayne because he is The Dark Knight of our Social Selling Crazed Digital Age of charlatan Jokers fear mongering to sell multi-level-marketing, social selling schlock to the intoxicated masses.

Chris Beall is cleaning up Gotham just like Batman, trust me.

People are petrified to be human and authentically communicate. There's been a vast introversion bordering on obsession in checking mobile devices 250 times per day. This is not healthy for the human brain or natural. You see couples at fine dining restaurants immersed head down on Facebook (always Facebook) or Instagram. You see it on the train, the endless swiping of iPads of meaningless Us Magazine drivel, living vicariously through celebrities shallow excuse for a hollow existence.

What is sales, really? What defines success? It's about communicating with others. It goes beyond fear of the phone. Maybe you fear something deeper. Like being found out. Like someone discovering you're full of hot air. It's endemic to a virtual society of isolation where no one knows anyone anymore, our whole waking lives constructed of the selfie stick and the humble brag, a Jenga game of polished glass ready to shatter at the sound of a human voice.

It's a call to arms for everyone to just get real. The purpose of social media like LinkedIn was always to connect. It still is and there is a ragtag band of well-intentioned practitioners of the dark art of Social Selling on here who really are doing that. I'd say it's the exception, not the rule, however. People like Koka Sexton and Jill Rowley do it right but they're seldom emulated when I get 200 identical spam messages in my inbox every time I accept a LinkedIn invite.

When I'm reaching out to people, I reach out to the ones I truly believe I can help. I don't waste time on anyone who I feel cannot transact with me. My positive intent and belief in my product is a port in the storm of rejection. This rain of rejection slides off of me like water off a duck's back as I paddle like hell under the surface to get my activity up to the point that I can break through. I don't use scripts or canned responses: I intend to break through and so, I do.

The only KPIs I measure are Skypes, face to face meetings, air plane rides to Melbourne and the States. I don't count dials, emails, InMails or friend requests. After connecting with tens of thousands of professionals on here, it's all a vast digital ocean with boundless creativity and stifling anonymity with plastic gyres of BS that need to be cleaned up.

The mindset is backward. We are spirits in a material world on a quest to drive value by actually interacting. We need to break down the barriers and really get to know each other, break bread and show vulnerability, releasing fears, bias and divisions to build a better society.

In the sales room of the future, we would create! Cell phones would be banned; confiscated upon arrival. Each person would work for about 3 to 4 hours per day off a defined list. The goal would simply be: talk to humans. This is why I advocate for dialler software to print out a targeted list. Purpose: get out of the office.

I think that the real dinosaur concept is the idea that you can sit in front of a computer screen, clicking away passively, and call it sales or call it marketing. It's a misnomer for "social." It was a fleeting meme in the 90's that has passed us by.

Millennials would rather have a cell phone than a car. They should take the car and go meet other Millennials for a hike in the park and go hug a tree. Sales roles should be 70% field. Reps should get in the air to go press the flesh of new and existing customers at conferences.

It's expensive to put your people up in hotel rooms and cover Travel & Entertainment expenses. It's even more expensive to have your reps gain 5,000 connections on LinkedIn, drop vapour into your forecast and see every deal go to die.

The entitled pushback we are getting as sales leaders from future generations of sellers is not something we need to encourage or feed into. It's just like bad, permissive parenting, where your kid loves you and then goes to join a street gang at the tender age of 13. You could easily dismiss me as a Luddite or iconoclast but this is just level one: wax on, wax off. The power tools are for the big boys and girls. Social Media and LinkedIn are a privilege, a dessert after the main course of brown rice and salad.

I will teach you everything you need to know about sales, social selling and how to close million dollar deals if that's what you want. But first let's fix your mindset. Do you love people? Would you love to help a customer? Do you truly believe in your product or service? Do you love yourself? It all starts with heart! Sales is a people business. You must go forth young (and old) ladies and gents and wander out of the shadows of the shire. The most modern technology I can impart to you is the oldest of all: love of others and infinite curiosity!

Not all those who wander are lost. - Tolkien

--------------

Blog by Tony Hughes

Tony Hughes is a bestselling author, award-winning blogger and the most read LinkedIn Author globally on the topic of B2B sales leadership. Tony’s first book is a business bestseller with his second book, COMBO Prospecting, is available on Amazon here. He can be found on LinkedIn and at TonyHughes.com.au and RSVPselling.com

• Topic Participants

• Vinit Tibrewal

  

• Sticky Posts

• As Sales Person, Here are my New Year Resolutions. What are Yours?

  Being a salesperson, I keep learning from my mistakes and have noted a few changes that I need to make in my approach. I take these resolutions going into 2021, hoping to keep it going for as long as possible :) 1. I will not say "Yes, our product has

• Once Upon a Sales Meeting!

  It was an awkward silence in the meeting room "Uproar." John Kowalski, the new sales manager, was not happy with the team's performance. After scribbling something in the notepad, he decided to break the silence, John: I cannot believe you guys have been working like this. No reports, delusional forecasting, random targets, and no eye on the ball. Kevin: We followed Richard's orders. John: Well, Richard is not here anymore, is he? John walked up to the whiteboard, and wrote in big bold letters: "TARGET

• Recent Topics

• Custom CSS for Zoho CRM Team Bookings embeded widget

  Hello, we are adding Zoho CRM Team Bookings (crm.zoho.com) in our public website. We know that we can change Theme Color, Font Color and Background Color: Zoho CRM Booking Styling But is it possible to change other CSS attributes e.g. Font Family, like

• Metadata API Access to Functions

  I think it would be incredibly helpful to have api access to every function's code. Our team primarily uses deluge functions to update fields across modules according to business logic. I would like to create a visual dependancy model for our CRM, but

• Strange behavior in CRM Number Field – Characters allowed but not "e"?

  Hi everyone, Has anyone faced this strange issue in Zoho CRM? In a Number field, it is possible to type some characters, but the character "e" cannot be entered. This was really surprising to me. Normally, a number field should restrict all characters

• Best Way to Manage Approvals Within Blueprint Stages?

  Hi, I am working on a requirement involving Blueprint and approval logic in Zoho CRM and would appreciate some guidance. I understand that approval processes do not trigger when a record is currently within a blueprint, which makes it challenging to implement

• Marketing Tip #25: Grow your social presence with a simple posting routine

  Consistency is one of the biggest growth drivers on social media. Regular content keeps your store visible and helps customers remember you. Even 3–4 posts a week can build momentum over time. The easiest way to stay consistent is to stop trying to create

• How to add "All Open AND Overdue" back to the Home Page Task Component?

  Hi everyone, I’m looking for a way to restore the Tasks component dropdown list on the Zoho CRM Home Page. Since the recent update to the Task area in my Home Page Classic View, the dropdown options (e.g., My Next 7 Days + Overdue) are too restrictive

• Duplicate Leads Concerns with Round Robin and Lead Approval Process

  It is great to have the Duplicate Lead Approval Process,  there are a few issues with the process that I would greatly appreciate taken consideration in enhancing. It appears that A Lead comes in Lead owner assigned by the Round Robin Check for Duplicate, If the lead is a Duplicate the Lead owner gets an email of a duplicate needs approval email assign to the approval process      This causes problems, The duplicate approval process is done by a different level person, they do not get the email notification

• Dashboard target enhancements

  Often individuals in IT are creating dashboards for their sales team. The ability to create a single dashboard that can be used by multiple people is key. A components for a dashboard have the ability to filter by logged in user which is great. However

• How to update "Lead Status" to more than 100 records

  Hello Zoho CRM, How do I update "Lead Status" to more than 100 records at once? To give you a background, these leads were uploaded or Imported at once but the lead status record was incorrectly chosen. So since there was a way to quickly add records in the system no matter how many they are, we are also wondering if there is a quicker way to update these records to the correct "Lead Status". I hope our concern makes sense and that there will be a fix for it. All the best, Jonathan

• Finding rhythm through poetry

  Poetry has long been a powerful form of expression, discovery, and reflection. For many, it is a way to pen down their thoughts and experiences. The "poetic license" allows writers to shape their words with rhythm and flow. This year, on World Poetry

• Bring your own credentials (BYOC) for connections in Zoho Creator

  Hello everyone, We're excited to announce an important step forward in how integrations and authentications work in Zoho Creator. Zoho Creator is a versatile platform for integrations, enabling you to connect with thousands of third-party services using

• CRM x WorkDrive: File storage for new CRM signups is now powered by WorkDrive

  Availability Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: Released for new signups in all DCs. It will be enabled for existing users in a phased manner in the upcoming months. Help documentation: Documents in Zoho CRM Manage folders in Documents tab Manage files

• Project Management Bulletin: March, 2026

  We are passionate about equipping our users with efficient solutions that help them run their businesses successfully. Our collective efforts over the past 2 years have culminated in the launch of Sprints 3.0— built with reliable features, impactful integrations,

• Composite items inside of composite items; bill of materials needed

  Hi Zoho and Everyone, I am evaluating whether Zoho Inventory will work for my small business. I grow and harvest herbs and spices but also get from wholesalers. I use all these items to make herbal teas, but also sell them as individual items on my Shopify store and Etsy. I discovered the composite item bundling and am wondering if I could get some assistance since there is no bill of materials: Our herbal company's best selling tea is a sleepytime tea. Sleepytime Tea can be purchased in three weights

• Automation Series: Sync Task Status with Zoho Desk Tickets

  In Zoho Projects, you can automatically close and reopen an associated Zoho Desk ticket when the status of a task is changed. This syncs the current state of the task with the support ticket without manual updates. For instance, a support team handling

• Auto-Generate Line Numbers in Item Table Using HTML & CSS Counters (Zoho Books & Zoho Inventory Custom Templates)

  <div> <style> /* Start counter from 0 inside tbody */ tbody#lineitem { counter-reset: rowNumber; } /* Increment counter for each row */ tbody#lineitem tr { counter-increment: rowNumber; } /* Show counter value in first column */ tbody#lineitem tr td:first-child::before

• Does zoho inventory need Enterprise or Premium subsrciption to make Widgets.

  We have Zoho One Enterprise and yet we can't create widgets on inventory.

• Introducing Radio Buttons and Numeric Range Sliders in Zoho CRM

  Release update: Currently out for CN, JP, AU and CA DCs (Free and standard editions). For other DCs, this will be released by mid-March. Hello everyone, We are pleased to share with you that Zoho CRM's Layout Editor now includes two new field formats—

• New UI for Writer - Disappointed

  I've been enjoying Zoho Writer as a new user for about 6 months, and I really like it. One of my favorite things about it is the menu bar, which you can hide or leave out while still seeing most of your page because it is off to the left. I think this

• Zoho CAMPAIGNS working hours

  Hi I use Campaigns Automation workflows to automate follow-ups to my Leads. I discovered this weekend that emails are being sent out on Sundays. How do I limit my Campaigns outgoing emails to business working hours? This is very important! Thanks, D

• Depositing funds to account

  Hello, I have been using Quickbooks for many years but am considering moving to Zoho Books so I am currently running through various workflows and am working on the Invoicing aspect. In QB, the process is to create an invoice, receive payment and then

• Create Receipt of a Donation (not a sale)

  We are a non-profit organization that receives general donations. How do I create a receipt of payment for the donor and categorize the payment as a Gift? I tried the method of creating an invoice; however that automatically created a "Sales" transaction

• Function #2: Create a Deal in Zoho CRM when an Estimate is created in Zoho Books

  For those who use Zoho CRM integrated with Zoho Books, here's a nifty function that helps you optimize your sales process by adding a Deal in Zoho CRM whenever an estimate is created in Zoho Books. Custom Function: To create the custom function, go to

• New Custom View -Sorting the Custom fields

  While creating a New Custom View in invoice , Customers, Bills ,expense etc , the sorting of custom fields are not available , a query function "order by / sort by  " may also be included in  Define new criteria module  which will be more beneficial to

• Grouping Undeposited Funds to Move to other accounts

  In the bank option it would be nice to check what transactions in undeposited funds I want to move to other accounts. Then while checking this it can accumulate totals and created whats essentially a deposit slip. Once the transaction is moved it should

• Sync your CRM Tasks with Zoho Projects

  Zoho Projects integration with Zoho CRM helps you manage your tasks more efficiently. You can create all project related activities right inside your CRM using this integration. Create new portal or associate an existing portal, add projects to the portal,

• Zoho CRM strips whitespace in text fields

  When editing field text with multiple spaces: CRM - both UI and API trim / compress the whitespace to a single space when saving: Is this known / expected / documented behaviour?

• WorkDrive API returning empty response even after placing file in Team Folder

  Hi everyone, I am trying to fetch a file from Zoho WorkDrive using a Deluge standalone function in Zoho People. The API call executes successfully using a configured connection, but the response is coming back empty. I have verified the following: The

• Custom Button makes scroll bar go down in report

  I have a report with a Custom button called Completed. A colleague mentionned to me that when he pressed this custom button it scrolled down the page which is annoying since he want to stay at the same space on the repoort. There is no reload linked to

• Quickbooks Integrations Stopped Working

  All of our Quickbooks integrations have stopped working. I am checking in to see if: a) this is a known issue b) if anyone else is having this issue. As usual, Zoho support is unavailable.

• sync two zoho crm

  Hello everyone. Is it possible to sync 2 zoho crm? what would be the easiest way? I am thinking of Flow. I have a Custom Module that I would like to share with my client. We both use zoho crm. Regards.

• CRM x WorkDrive: We're rolling out the WorkDrive-powered file storage experience for existing users

  Release plan: Gradual rollout to customers without file storage add-ons, in this order: 1. Standalone CRM 2. CRM Plus and Zoho One DCs: All | Editions: All Available now for: - Standalone CRM accounts in Free and Standard editions without file storage

• Incorrect Functioning of Time Logs API (Version 3)

  We need to fetch the list of time logs for each task for our company internal usage. We are trying to achieve it by using the next endpoint: https://projects.zoho.com/api-docs#bulk-time-logs#get-all-project-time-logs Firstly, in the documentation the

• Zoho CRM Queries Now Support Databases and Cloud Data Sources

  Hello everyone! We're thrilled to announce a major enhancement to the Queries feature in Zoho CRM! Queries now support a broader range of external data sources, allowing you to fetch live data and combine it with CRM records, all using a unified query

• Salesforceに添付ファイルを格納したい

  お世話になっております。 Salesforceに添付ファイルを格納したく、カスタムオブジェクトに連携し、 「ファイルのアップロード」項目を設けました。 実際、エラーもなく送信出来たのですが、実際生成されたカスタムオブジェクトのレコードを見ると、どこにも添付ファイルがありません。仕様として、この添付ファイルはSalesforceのどこに格納されるのでしょうか？ 今回作りたいフォームは、複数の書類を添付するため、Zohoformのファイルアップロード項目「本人確認書類」「源泉徴収票」などの項目を、Salesforce側にも設けた「本人確認書類」「源泉徴収票」という各項目にURLリンクとして紐づけたいと思っておりました。

• Dynamic image in form works in the app but not on the customer portal.

  img = frm_Fichas[ID == input.Nombre].Foto; imgno = Nophoto[ID2 = 1].Image; if(len(img) > 1) { img = img.replaceAll("/sharedBy/appLinkName/",zoho.appuri); img = img.replaceAll("viewLinkName","Fichas_de_personal_public"); img = img.replaceAll("fieldName","Foto");

• Is it possible to retrieve function (Deluge) code from Zoho CRM externally?

  Hi Everyone, Is it possible to fetch or retrieve the Deluge function code from Zoho CRM using an external method (API or any other approach)? I would like to know if there is any way to access or extract the function script outside of Zoho CRM, or if

• Uplifted homepage experience

  Editions: All editions. Availability update: 17th February 2026: All editions in the CA and SA DC | JP DC (Free, Standard and Professional editions) 23 February 2026: JP (All Editions) | AU, CN (Free, Standard, Professional editions) 27 February 2026:

• Darshan Hiranandani : How many participants can join a Zoho Meeting at once?

  Hi everyone, I'm Darshan Hiranandani, trying to find out the maximum number of participants that can join a Zoho Meeting at once. Has anyone here used Zoho Meeting for larger groups and can share their experience or knowledge about the participant limit?

• Where is the scheduled report in New UI?

  Hi Team, Seems there is not such a field in New UI, hence I have to switch to old UI to handle request..

• Next Page