what does HN think are the better alternatives to cold contact?

businesses obviously keep doing unsolicited telemarketing calls because it works to some extent

Build a product worth purchasing.

Does there have to be a alternative? Companies preying on the elderly and uninformed is not something we necessarily need as a society. (99% of my telemarketing calls are scams where they pretend to represent my current power company to get me to sign a contract with a different company).

Wasting the telemarketers' time

selling fentanyl works pretty well too from a business perspective

There does not need to be an alternative. It just needs to stop.

Most unsolicited telemarketing is inefficient--and that means a high cost of making the sale, which means whatever they are offering is either too expensive, too low quality, or an outright scam.