cold call

cold call

1. verb To make an unsolicited phone call or visit to a person or business, usually to sell something. I've never been hung up on so much in my life—these people I'm cold calling just are not interested in my spiel.
2. noun Such a phone call or visit. Time to make cold calls to the people in this building now.
See also: call, cold
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

cold call

tv. to call a sales prospect from a list of persons one has never met. Things have to be pretty bad when the senior brokers at a major house have to cold call people to get business.
See also: call, cold
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

cold call

A telephone call, most often a sales call, made to someone who is not known to the caller and who is not expecting a call. Often generated by computerized lists of phone numbers, cold calls are considered a major annoyance, so much so that the U.S. government has set up “don’t call” lists to which one may subscribe. The term dates from the second half of the 1900s.
See also: call, cold
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • fix on
  • fix on (someone or something)
  • going to
  • fall out
  • fallout
  • bootleg
  • blow
  • blown
  • cross over
  • cook out
References in periodicals archive
Anyone who receives a pension cold call should just report it to ActionFraud - after putting the phone down.
Scam of the week; Champion askdean@people.co.ukwith Dean Dunham The People's consumer
Pensions experts described the news as "hugely disappointing", saying savers continue to risk being targeted by scams which start with cold calls.
Pensions cold-calling ban delayed until autumn - and it could mean thousands more scam victims; Pensions experts described the news as "hugely disappointing" in a move that could see more savers targeted by scammers
Her best result so far came from a cold call to a Brownstone owner in Prospect Heights.
Sales are Newman's true calling
In the example that follows, I'm taking on one of toughest types of cold calls. We will develop a script to call CEOs or CFOs of small- to medium-sized companies.
The Worst & Very Best Cold-Calling Scripts
Do you get excited to cold call? Are cold calls adding value to your prospects?
3 reasons why cold calling is a waste of time
Cold Call Elimination, run by 31-year-old Leah Masters, has now stopped answering its phones and has vanished from its offices outside Chichester, West Sussex.
There's no call for underhand tactics; Firms bring misery with cold calls and dodgy equipment
The rogue firms are said to be plucking details from the Telephone Preference Service register - set up to stop customers getting unwanted cold calls.
Pests call the shots in new phone scam
With the recent Supreme Court rulings of DOMA and Proposition 8, and following Pride Month, Cold Call has received tremendous support from the LGBT and Asian community.
Few Days Left for LGBT Cultural Coming Out Short Film Cold Call to Make Fundraising Goal
BRITISH consumers receive an average of six cold calls a month, a survey has found.
Cold callers bother us six times a month says survey
Goldner's RED-HOT COLD CALL SELLING, 2ND EDITION (0814473482, $17.95) offers sales personnel a tutorial which blends experience and examples with a different approach to cold calling.
Amacom
Knock your socks off prospecting; how to cold call, get qualified leads, and make more money.
Knock your socks off prospecting; how to cold call, get qualified leads, and make more money
The new law is designed to limit the amount of cold calling between businesses and lets companies register with the Corporate Telephone Preference Service in order to declare that they do not want to receive cold calls. Any company making a cold call to a business that has registered for the service could face legal action.
Opal claims most companies are not aware of new UK anti-cold calling law
The coldstore and construction equipment specialist, Dedicated Sales and Services Ltd have brought out Cold Call, a self-contained voice message unit that will warn of open freezer, refrigerator or chilled store doors.
Voice Message Closes Doors
One advantage of a cold call is that it enhances your chance of catching the discharge planner "in." Even if you don't make direct contact, try to speak with anyone you can who might pass the word along.
Smart marketing pays
Prior to a trade show, cold call the attendee list to find ant more about the participating companies and to set up appointments during the show with contacts from your lochs accounts.
When it's OK to cold call...