Cold Calling vs Cold Emailing: What Works Better in Sales?

Sales is about numbers; it's not just how many emails you send or phone calls you make; it is also about how many deals you close and the revenue you generate with your offering. In today's B2B landscape, where personalisation and relevance are constantly advocated, cold calling or emailing may seem like a thing of the past. Yet, it turns out both are two of the most common techniques a sales rep can implement in today’s remote work environments that are now more effective than ever!  

In this article, we’ll understand what cold calling and cold emailing are and determine which technique suits you the best.

What is Cold Emailing in Sales?

A cold email is a message to a prospect who has not previously expressed interest in the product or service, sent with the intention to gain favour, sales, opportunities, or any benefit for all parties involved. Such emails are intended to foster a relationship with the prospects and move them forward in the sales funnel.

Cold emailing is important for businesses for several reasons, which include:

• Emails can be a great tool for networking when face-to-face meetups aren’t possible.
• Reaching thousands of prospects with a cold email outreach is quick and easy.
• It feels less intrusive to send an email to prospects, so sales reps are more comfortable with sending an email.

Read more: Four Things to Consider When Getting Trained for a Sales Career

Tips for Sending Better Cold Emails

Cold emailing is more challenging than most forms of communication because you do not have a relationship with your audience yet, and you can't adjust what you're doing in real-time without receiving feedback. In such a tricky situation, these tips can help you send better cold emails: 

Personalise the Message for the Recipient

When you personalise a message for your audience, you need to think about their unique perspectives, interests, and needs to develop an image of them. Your effort to understand them will be apparent from this. Further, explain your decision to contact them over others, making people more likely to respond since they feel valued.

Ensure your Credibility

Sending emails requires you to demonstrate your credibility and trustworthiness as a stranger. Social proof comes from knowing someone in common. You can mention a few direct connections to establish trust. Familiarity increases your chances of getting a response as well.

Read more: The Only Guide You’ll Need to Get Started With a Fantastic Sales Career

What is Cold Calling in Sales?

The term cold calling refers to any attempt to obtain a response via the telephone from a prospect who may or may not know about your business.

It’s arguably the most important step for outbound sales teams to create sales opportunities via cold calls. In addition, it’s about contacting an individual or a company who fits your ideal customer profile, introducing your product or solution briefly, and then deciding if there's enough interest from their end to pursue it further.  

Cold calling benefits businesses in various ways, some of which are:

• Cold calling works well for industries such as insurance, travel and hospitality, and banking to connect with prospects quickly and inexpensively.
• You can get direct and valuable feedback from prospective customers by calling them.
• Brands usually use cold calling to promote their products, which increases conversion rates, generates more leads, and improves quality.

Effective Cold Calling Techniques

Researching potential prospects, patience, and a good script can eventually lead to a successful sale. To make a successful cold call, follow these guidelines:

Know and Expand your ideal prospect profile

A prospect is a person who is relevant to your solution and who can purchase or sell your solution inside their organisation. You can find out if your prospect has interacted in any way with your company on social networking sites or by checking internal correspondence. You might want to look at similar prospects and their pain points if you're having trouble getting started.

In case you’re unsure of where to begin, a script can help you stay on track. Start with an outline and then tailor it to fit your needs. Make sure you’ve a compelling reason to reach out and a vision of how you can help your prospect succeed.  

Be Attentive 

Cold calls should turn into interactions once you have completed your opening statement, where you can encourage your prospects to speak and ask questions. You can ask them open-ended questions to create more engaging moments.

In addition, it is important to thank your prospects for picking up the call and providing a response to their objection.

So, Cold Calling or Cold Emailing?

Both cold calling and cold emailing have their pros and cons based on factors such as directness, volume, buyer persona, and convenience. They are a part of the initial steps in lead generation, where a business contacts a prospect for the first time without any prior contact. 

It’s easier and less time-consuming to send cold emails than cold calls, but cold calls are better at generating more direct responses. 

B2B sales engagement begins (and continues) through cold calling and cold emailing. Although cold emails are more efficient, have a better possibility of optimisation, and are more scalable than cold calls, human interactions can still be as effective.

A cold call can be more personal than sending a cold email since you get an immediate response. You can adjust your strategy according to what your prospect needs as your conversation progresses, thereby making it more dynamic.

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