Every week, I sign up for several webinars or other educational opportunities. And every time I do so, they ask for my phone number (always required, never optional).

Several years ago, I noticed that I was getting dozens of unsolicited phone calls each week from people and companies I’d never heard of.

I couldn’t figure out why, until I realized that most of these people worked for companies that sponsored (overtly and sometimes covertly) the events I attended.

It’s obvious now that the events weren’t just for me: they were pipeline-building opportunities for organizations to grow their businesses.

If this sounds annoying, it is. But I’ve come to terms with it.

I realized that, unlike telemarketers interrupting me at dinner, I was getting calls from professionals who were just trying to make a living at the same time they were offering me something that by my own admission—I signed up for their webinar, right?—might benefit me.

Most of these calls go nowhere because they’re for businesses or services I either can’t afford, don’t need, or don’t have the authority to decide on for my job.

But the person on the other end of the phone is a professional. She’s doing her job, and I will respect that by treating her with decency rather than contempt.

Because I might be that person on the other end of the line someday. Whether it’s making contacts for a new job, selling a service I created, or raising funds for a cause I care about, I might be that person making calls.

And I hope the person on the other end sees it as a generous act on my part, not a self-serving one that benefits only me.

So my mantra, when I’m typing my information into a sign-up form, is, “I’m signing up for cold calls.”