These are in the order that I read them, not necessarily in order of importance.

http://blog.bridgegroupinc.com/blog/tabid/47760/bid/3341/Cold-Calling-How-To-Make-It-Work.aspx

http://blog.bridgegroupinc.com/blog/tabid/47760/bid/4492/4-Tips-for-Cold-Calling.aspx

http://www.turrisiassociates.com/blog/tabid/72214/bid/4863/Cold-Calls-as-A-Strategy.aspx#Comments

http://www.omghub.com/salesdevelopmentblog/tabid/5809/bid/5001/Should-Your-Salespeople-Belong-to-Networking-Groups.aspx

I hope that you read the posts behind the links before you read this.

If you can't make a cold call, shame on you. Learn!

If you won't make a cold call, get another job.

If you don't, won't or can't network, don't sweat it. You haven't made enough cold calls.

Think about your process for finding customers. Start - Middle - End. Start - Middle - End. Start - Middle - End.

The more you start...the more middles you have...the more ends you'll have.

The more ways you know how to start...the more likely it is that you will start...the more you will start...and so on.

Set a goal that you want to start 'x' number of times a day and agree that everything counts. If your 'x' is 20 and you attend a breakfast where you meet 20 people and you exchange business cards, maybe you're done for that day. Then see how many different places you can start?

Have you ever started a sales process at a board meeting? at a ball game? at a wedding? at a rotary meeting? in a supermarket? a gas station? coffee shop? on vacation? on a holiday? any other interesting time or place?