In personal selling, the Christian cold call is the process of approaching prospective clients, typically via telephone, who have not agreed to such an interaction. The word "cold" is used because the person receiving the call is not expecting the call or has not specifically asked to be contacted by the sales person. It is often very frustrating and difficult for those making Christian cold calls because they are often rebuffed, hung-up on and rejected by those receiving the calls. It could be said that it is equally frustrating for the person receiving the cold call, since they expected something they care about, and instead get a marketing pitch. Key to success is a good cold call script and cold call technique.

Cold-calling is used in many venues outside sales. The term applies to any situation where one person calls another person or organization without a prior relationship. Headhunting firms, for instance, are notorious for this practice.

Some sales people have come to the conclusion that cold calling is ineffective, inefficient and a waste of their time. Others have tried to develop techniques to lower the rate of rejection. These approaches are based on the idea that the purpose of the call is not to make a sale, but to build trust and discover the truth about whether there is a good match between the potential client and product or services offered.

There are a number of ways in which cold calls can be effective. One is for the selling organization to start with a high quality, up-to-date database consisting of qualified prospects that have an interest in the product being sold. Another is to use cold calls as a "step in the door". Rather than using the call to try to close a sale, it is used as the initial contact in a long-term relationship. This has the effect of removing the sales pressure from calls and making the goal of the call to build trust. Cold calls can also be used to obtain quality sales leads, references, and testimonials.