Have No FearScared of cold calling? Learn to turn your anxiety into confidence.

If you've been known to put off making cold calls, you're not alone. It's always easier to do the following activities to build your business before you actually make a brand-new, totally cold call.

• Call on existing accounts to upgrade or add on to their current product line.
• Get referrals by calling satisfied customers and asking, "If you were in my shoes, which three people would you call who could benefit from our product the way you did?"
• Have relationships with noncompetitive companies that call on the same industry and business. This can be a great way to access new accounts for you and for them.

There are plenty of other ways to avoid cold calling. They're effective, but eventually you're going to have to break into a new account, and you might not know someone who can make the introduction. Here are some strategies I've used over the years to take the fear out of cold calling.