We may be post-Labor Day, but it is still hot-hot-hot here in the great state of Arizona—much like our news cycles, which have continued to snap, crackle, and pop with eye-raising headlines over this past week. In broader global tech news this week, AI and tariff-type restrictions continues to dominate with NVIDIA raising its voice against U.S. lawmakers pushing chip restrictions, ASML investing in a Dutch AI start-up company to the tune of $1.5 billion, and the UAE joining the ranks of the U.S. and China in embracing “open source” with their technology in hopes of accelerating their AI position.

Cold calling isn’t dead. I don’t care what the LinkedIn gurus or the TikTok “sales coaches” say. Picking up the phone and talking to another human being is still one of the fastest ways to grow your business. But (and it’s a big but), cold calling is different now. The world and buyers have changed. You can’t smile-and-dial like it’s 1987, reading the same tired script, hoping the gatekeeper is too bored to block you. If you’re still cold calling the old way—no research, relationship, or relevance—you’re showing up to a gunfight with a butter knife.

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