I’m a big fan of reading Geoffrey James’ blog, Sales Machine. He gets to be edgier and more controversial than his articles in Selling Power magazine.
He posted a great letter from one of his readers on the value of cold calling. The real value in cold calling is disqualifying prospects, much like panning thru dirt to find diamonds. I’ve posted on the value of cold calling in a previous Inquisix post.
The commenter’s conclusion on the value of cold calling?
Same as what I said; the benefit of cold calling is….referrals!
All About Referral Selling 
Loved the quote. 100% right.
Some people that start business, going though all the hassle of getting customers through the door, involve in cold calling (which is not an activity for everybody at all) and get frustrated thinking that they probably do that for a very long period of time….
Good cold calling, good relationships generate the real business. Let it bounce back to you!
I really liked that post, too. I, personally, never cold call any more, simply because I now have a very strong network and can get a referrals (or sales) pretty much at the drop of a hat. But I do feel for some folks who have to build a business from scratch.