Shout it from the rooftops and repeat it in sales training sessions. Tell novices and veterans, alike. No excuses will be accepted, like the runaway escapist alibi that cold calling "doesn't work." To be sure, it doesn't work for wimps, those that won't force themselves to place butt in chair long enough to make contacts. Of course it fails if you never dial the phone.

That's like forfeiting a sports event by being a no show. You have the power to do that, but don't blame the game of football, baseball or basketball for the fact you weren't there to play, that you voluntarily disabled yourself.

You can only win when you play the game. Cold calling works, when you work the calls.

The manly approach is to be direct, and there are few channels in sales as direct as the telephone. You select someone to call, get them on the line, and make your presentation.

Sometimes you have to fight through a little resistance. We realized, at a major book publishing company where I was top salesman and sales manager, that 50% of our yeses came after we got beyond one no, or more. If we retreated after the first expression of indifference or negativity, we were kissing goodbye to half of all potential sales.

A woman I talked to the other day summarized the masculine approach in one directive:

KILL THE BEAST.

The Beast, as I interpret it, is the person that can put food on your table, one that can give you a roof overhead, and can clothe and educate your children.

The Beast is your prospect. You must invade his cave, taking him by surprise, if possible. Then, you must slay him, and drag him back to YOUR lair.

But as a practical matter, the beast is also YOU, your comfort zone and your pretend-fears, such as the fear of rejection. It is your laziness, a lack of urgency, low frustration tolerance, and procrastination.

The Beast is your belief that you can avoid the direct approach, that indirect selling and marketing will save you. The Beast is magical thinking; Cinderella waiting to be swept to the ball, floating in a cushy coach upholstered by inbound calls, social networking, nebulous news releases and publicity, a carriage whose steeds are "hot" leads.

All very lovely stuff, this fluff, but it doesn't make money or profits. Passivity is for patsies.

"Man must wait with his mouth open for a very long time before a roast duck will fly in," says one wise Chinese saying. Fear not. You don't have to have total self-confidence or nerves of steel to succeed at cold calling.

You simply have to show up at work, make the calls, improve over time, and repeat the process. Sooner or later, you'll succeed. And one of the collateral benefits is that your testosterone might increase, as it reportedly does when men engage in resistance exercises. Man-up, and you'll become one!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a top-ranked sales speaker, negotiation speaker, and customer service speaker at Google, and a distinguished, sought-after telemarketing speaker, motivational speaker, and attorney. President of Customersatisfaction.com, he is a frequent TV and radio commentator and the best-selling author of 12 books and more than 1,700 articles that appear in 25,000 publications. Gary conducts seminars and speaks at convention programs around the world. His new audio program is Nightingale-Conant's "Crystal Clear Communication: How to Explain Anything Clearly in Speech & Writing," which you can try at: /prod_detail.aspx?product=Crystal_Clear_Communication&promo=INTAF416. Professional speaking, seminar, and consulting invitations can be addressed to: gary@customersatisfaction.com