There’s a dangerous myth floating around in business today: that the keyboard is mightier than the phone. That if you blast enough cold emails, send enough LinkedIn connection requests, and fire off enough proposals by PDF, customers will eventually roll over and buy from you. Let me set the record straight: cold emails don’t close deals; conversations do.

We’ve convinced ourselves that typing is safer, cleaner, more efficient. That hiding behind the screen is somehow “professional.” But here’s the truth: no one ever built a career—or a company—by sending emails into the abyss and waiting for the phone to ring back. If you want to eat, you have to pick up the phone. Period.

Think about the last time you tried to solve something important by email. You wrote carefully, they responded vaguely, you clarified, they misunderstood, and five days later you’re still not sure if you’re both talking about the same thing.

Now compare that with a five-minute call. One question asked, one answer clarified, one decision made, done. Progress. Customers don’t want more inbox noise—they want someone who can cut through the clutter and make their lives easier. And nothing does that like a real-time voice.

Efficiency isn’t measured by how many emails you send. It’s measured by how fast you solve problems. And the phone, not the keyboard, is still the fastest path from question to solution.

In a digital world where everyone is drowning in text, human connection has become the ultimate differentiator. Anyone can send a message. Few dare to have a conversation.

When you pick up the phone, you’re no longer just words on a screen—you’re a person. Your tone, your confidence, your sincerity, your humor—they all come through in ways no email can ever capture. Customers remember voices, not subject lines.

That human connection builds trust, and trust is what closes deals. If you’re selling on price alone, sure, send an email. But if you’re selling value, service, and partnership, you need a voice. And that means dialing the number.

I can already hear the excuses: “But Dan, I don’t like the phone. People might hang up. They might say no.”

Let me be blunt: if you’re afraid of rejection, you’re in the wrong business. Sales is rejection. Business is rejection. Life is rejection. Every “no” brings you closer to the “yes” that feeds your company.

Email is a shield. It feels safer because you don’t hear the “no” in real time. But you also don’t hear the “yes” in real time either. You’re stuck waiting, hoping, refreshing your inbox like a gambler at the slot machine. That’s not selling. That’s hiding.

Real professionals don’t hide. They engage. They take the call, they make the call, they risk the “no” because they know it’s the only path to the “yes.”

Some say the phone is “old-fashioned.” That younger buyers “don’t like phone calls.” That everything should be done by text, DM, or Slack message.

Nonsense. What buyers don’t like is wasted time. What they do like is getting to the point. And no medium beats the phone for speed, clarity, and trust-building.

Sure, your first touch might be an email, but the real work—the decisions, the commitments, the deals—still happens when you talk. Ask any top producer. They’re not hiding behind Gmail. They’re in conversations.

When markets are tight and every deal matters, the phone becomes a survival tool. Companies that thrive in down cycles don’t out-email their competitors; they out-call them.

They’re the ones whose reps spend the day in real dialogue, not typing carefully crafted messages that never get answered. They’re the ones who learn, firsthand, what customers are worried about, what they need, what they’re willing to buy right now.

That information is priceless. And you don’t get it by hitting “send.” You get it by saying, “Hello.”

Here’s a little test. Imagine you’re hungry. Really hungry. Do you:

• Sit at your desk and type “hamburger” into your search bar and hope one shows up?
• Or do you pick up the phone, call the restaurant, and order the burger?

If you want to eat, you pick up the phone. Business works the same way. You can’t feed your company with wishful typing. You feed it with conversations that move the needle.

We’ve let ourselves believe that technology makes us better sellers. It doesn’t. It just makes it easier to avoid the hard work. The phone is still the weapon of choice for anyone serious about winning business.

Cold emails don’t close deals; conversations do. A five-minute call saves a five-day chain. Human connection is the differentiator. If rejection scares you, find another line of work. So right now! Pick up the phone, that is  if you want to eat. It’s only common sense