During the final year of Silicon Alley Reporter I made cold calls and set up lunches to sell folks on our new product, Venture Reporter (the rebranded Silicon Alley Reporter). It works. When people see the CEO making sales calls, they respect the company and take it seriously.
If I got a cold call from the CEO I would think they were desperate, doubt that they would be around in 6 months, and probably decide that I wanted to do business with someone more stable.
If I got a cold call from the CEO I would think they were desperate, doubt that they would be around in 6 months, and probably decide that I wanted to do business with someone more stable.