There are two kinds of salespeople in the world: those who think cold calling is dead, and those who know better.
If you’re in the first camp, nothing I write will change your mind. Close this newsletter and go back to waiting for inbounds.
If you are in the second camp, buckle up for some legendary cold calls straight from the dialers hall of fame.
1. Breaking Into Neiman Marcus
Before Spanx became a billion-dollar shapewear brand, it was just a prototype Sarah Blakely built in her apartment.
She knew she’d struck gold. Now she just had to get it on the shelves.
After a week and a half of cold-calling department stores multiple times every day, she finally got a Neiman Marcus buyer on the line.
They agreed to meet her for 15 minutes in Dallas.
Just minutes into the meeting, Sarah knew the deal was slipping away. So she invited the buyer to the ladies’ room.
What happened next was pure magic.
She slipped on Spanx herself – panty lines and bulges gone.
“I go in the stall, put on my Spanx, turn around and she literally took a step back and went ‘Whoa!’”
Not your typical boardroom demo.
But it was so compelling that Neiman Marcus agreed to test Spanx in seven stores.
The rest is history.
2. Leasing a 747
In 1984, Richard Branson got stranded by a cancelled flight, so he decided to launch his own commercial airline (as one does).
Problem: He had no planes, no airline experience, and no credibility.
Solution: Call Boeing.
Branson picked up the phone and cold-called the world's biggest aircraft manufacturer.
"They were amused to hear an Englishman asking what kinds of deals were available. They had a second-hand jumbo they’d consider taking back after a year if things didn't work out."
He ended up leasing a used 747 and Virgin Atlantic was born.
This is truly remarkable for a few reasons…
First, the 747 was the crown jewel of international carriers like British Airways. Leasing one as a startup with no track record and no routes was absurd.
Second, Branson negotiated what might be the friendliest deal in aviation history. A one-year exit clause meant if Virgin failed, he could simply hand the jet back with no crushing debt.
He essentially convinced Boeing to give him a billion-dollar industry test-drive.
All under a company *literally* named Virgin.
3. The calls that got Uber rolling
When Travis Kalanick started what was then called UberCab, the company had no drivers.
The model relied on partnering with existing limo companies who already had registered vehicles and drivers.
To get things off the ground, Travis searched “San Francisco Limos” on Google and started dialing for dollars.
His offer was simple: More paying riders to fill idle cars.
“The first ten guys I called, three of them hung up before I got a few words out, and three of them said ‘I’m interested, let’s meet.’”
This laid the foundation for Uber’s driver network.
Pretty scrappy for a company now worth $200 billion (as of Aug 2025).
The call that makes history
Monumental businesses have been built on cold-calling. But the callers didn’t know they were making history when they picked up the phone.
They just dialed.
You never know which call will land you the deal that turns around your quarter – or your career.
The only way to find out is to dig through the dumpster of hang-ups and noes.
Somewhere in there is the call that makes history for you.
Keep dialing.
