A Tale of Two Cold Calls

Whenever I see an article or post on the effectiveness of sales people making cold calls, I always stop to read it. Having started my own career in logistics as an Account Rep, it’s just fascinating to learn how younger sales folks approach the dreaded act of, “Knocking on doors.” While acknowledging that social media now offers less painful ways to find prospects, I’m here to say that in sales, and more importantly life in general, the cold call is an essential tool for anyone seeking “success” in this world.

Back when I started selling international shipping services in Boston in the late eighties, there weren’t a lot of options for identifying potential customers. Basically, there was the telephone, letters and cold calling. Long before a sales person could stalk someone on LinkedIn or guess their email address, things often came down to working my sales territory building by building, lobby by lobby. Unfortunately, that meant dragging my sorry self out of the car for a daily dose of multiple rejections.

Although painful, cold calling taught me a couple of lessons. First, there’s no “art” to cold calling; it’s a mindset that focuses on a positive outcome in the midst of failure and humiliation. It’s funny now, but just writing this article conjures up visions of the many receptionists that clearly enjoyed tossing me from their lobbies. Even more ignominious were the times when other sales reps that were waiting on real appointments snickered as I exited the building, my tail firmly positioned between my legs.

The other thing I learned is that cold calling isn’t about occasionally stepping outside your comfort zone; it’s about repeatedly stepping into your discomfort zone. And as you gradually develop the Nirvana-like “thick skin” that sales gurus talk about, that’s when a string of cold calls can turn into a pattern, which when practiced consistently, becomes an unwavering habit. And sometimes, it’s that habit-born mental toughness that will literally change your life. Here are two cold calls that dramatically changed mine.

Back in 1991, I was working in sales for Fritz Companies, which at the time was one of the country’s top logistics service providers. I loved the job, but my goal was to work in Latin America and I knew that if I was going to get management’s attention, I’d have to close some major deals. In retrospect, it was that focus on a larger objective that pushed me to make cold calls when it would have been a lot easier to go hide out at McDonalds (there were no Starbucks back then…lol).

One day, I came across a building in an industrial park in Beverly, Massachusetts that was sporting a sign for a new tenant, New England Bio Labs. As it turns out, this firm was an early entrant in the bio-tech game and was exporting dozens of shipments per day all over the world. Because the company was made up mostly of scientists, they needed a lot of help with international shipping and Customs rules. That cold call led to a meeting and from there, as the saying goes, the rest was history.

New England Bio Labs was the big score I needed, but it was by pure luck that not long after that, Fritz Co. started advertising for Ex-Pat roles in South America. And as God as my judge, it was within ninety days of applying that I was on the ground in Bogota, Colombia with all of my worldly possessions stuffed into two duffle bags. While there were other factors that helped me along, I know that if it hadn’t been for that one cold call, my Grand Adventure would have stalled or more likely, never materialized.  

The job in Colombia was a Jack-of-All-Trades position with a focus on sales development. Right after arriving in 1992, I read in the, “El Tiempo” newspaper that British Petroleum had made a huge oil discovery at a site called, “La Cusiana.” The volumes of cargo that flow into a project of that size are gold for a logistics company,  so I immediately went to my local boss to express an interest in taking a run at it. He quickly informed me that he had, “the highest contacts possible at BP” and that I should back off.

I let a few weeks go by and after not hearing anything from El Jefe, I inquired again. Based on the B.S. answer he gave me I ignored his original instruction and give it a shot myself. Now, bearing in mind that the well-defended lobbies of Latin America are hard to just waltz into, I had to start with a phone call. My Spanish was just OK at the time, so one can imagine that my normal nervousness was heightened by the possibility of blowing the phone pitch long before I ever got in the door.

Much to my relief, the phone was answered by a gringo named Roger Bennett who had just moved to Colombia from Houston, Texas. In spite of the fact that Mr. Bennett had never heard of my Colombian boss, he was the Shot Caller and a man who was very happy to have someone to speak English with. Fast forward nearly nine months to the day from that first call and Fritz was awarded a multi-million dollar shipping contract. That moment changed my life in ways I never would have imagined.

First, I met my wife in Colombia and we’ve been blessed with three beautiful children; Nicolas, Isabella and Valentina. Second, I developed friendships with guys that still endure, each of them a tribute to the swashbuckler mentality we shared as younger men. Third, the BP deal served as a springboard for me to reach professional heights I had never envisioned. Overall, I spent thirteen of the best years of my life in Latin America, none of which would have been possible without those two extraordinary cold calls.

Even though these two stories took place in a business setting, this article isn’t just about sales people knocking on doors. More than anything, they’re intended to serve as a metaphor for the overarching belief that in the end, life is one big cold call. If you think about it, any goal that is worth pursuing is going to force you to step into your discomfort zone. Equally true is the fact that, the harder you push against the margins of your own fear, the ballsier you become. Now that’s a Nirvana we should all seek.

So, I hope my message is clear: Don’t let short-term fears turn your life into a series of, “What if’s.” Whether it’s that attractive boy that you’re afraid to talk to at school, an unlisted house you want to buy or an out-of-reach job, it might just be a “Cold Call” that carries the day. And at the moment of truth when you have ten reasons to cut and run, just remember that rejection is fleeting, but regrets are permanent. Regardless of the outcome, you’ll be a stronger person for having made the effort.