When Robyn Jones was made redundant during the recession of 1991, she realised her future rested solely on her ability to cold call. Her confidence was then at a low ebb but she knew that, if she did not pick up the phone, her dream of setting up a catering company would never become reality.

Armed with a redundancy cheque of £2,500 but no clients, Ms Jones learnt that “getting through the gatekeepers” who protect decision-makers from unsolicited callers requires mental agility and charm. But the cold calls paid off and, today, Charlton House Catering has an annual turnover of £75m ($110m). “If I hadn’t gathered up my courage to phone strangers, which was quite tough, having just lost my job, I wouldn’t have created a business.”