Welcome to this week's training. The frameworks, tactics, and know-how you need to kick arse and take names in the trenches. Today: 4 min read. This edition is presented by:

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Walk into any sales meeting, any LinkedIn comment section, any industry mastermind, and you'll find the same argument on repeat.

Which is better? Cold calling or networking?

One camp swears by actively building relationships, joining associations, building your circles of influence, and letting referrals feed you on auto-pilot. The other camp swears by getting off your rear, getting on the phone, making the dials, and controlling your own destiny.

Both sides firm in their convictions. Dug in, defending it, and trying to dunk on the other one.

Can I shoot you straight? It's a dumb argument.

I've learned firsthand, leaning too hard to one side will cost you revenue and years.

This isn't an either/or question. It never was. Treating it like one is short-sighted and dogmatic, and dogma is expensive when it's your income on the line.

Guilty over here.

The real answer is both/and.

Not both at 50/50. Both, in a sequence that changes over time as your career matures. Cold calling and networking aren't competing strategies. They're the same strategy: the strategy of building relationships with people who can eventually become clients or referral sources. But using different modalities.

It's like a golfer deciding to hit a fade or a draw. Who cares? Both have the express purpose of getting the ball as close to the hole as possible.

Do whichever you want.

There is one slight catch, though.