Cold Call Vs. Cold Email For Sales Prospecting

The age-old question in B2B businesses is: cold calling vs cold emailing, which is better? 

Cold emails let you reach more people, but aren’t as effective. Whereas cold calls are more effective at closing deals but take significantly more time. So which is better?

The quick answer is, it depends. 

There are several key factors you need to consider when you’re figuring out how to effectively use cold emailing and calling because without a strategy, neither will be effective. 

In this guide, we’ll go over the advantages and disadvantages of each, and how to structure your cold outreach to make the most of both. 

Want to compare the best lead generation companies for cold outreach? We’ve rounded up the ten best outreach tools to make your prospecting efforts much easier. 

Cold Email vs. Cold Call: Which One Should You Go For?

There is no definitive answer to whether you should use cold emailing or calling. Each is effective in their own way when prospecting as long as there is a solid strategy behind either.

The main distinction between the two is what you would prefer: volume or directness. 

Sales emails are easier to send out in bulk and take less time to do, whereas cold calls are much more direct and are more effective at conversions. 

There are some key differences between cold calls and cold emails that you’ll need to consider when planning your outreach strategy. 

Cold calls can be more personal

Having a phone call with someone can be much more personal than sending an email. Having someone on the phone is more dynamic, meaning you can tweak your sales pitch depending on response rates, meaning you’re more likely to get a positive response.

Although emails can be personalized, it’s much easier for a lead to say no to an email, and you can’t judge their responses as well. 

Cold calling can be invasive

On the other hand, many people think cold calls are invasive and don’t want to take them. If you’re targeting senior-level people in B2B industries, they may not be receptive to calls and might even become frustrated if they’ve made it clear they prefer to be contacted through email. 

If you have an overzealous sales rep, your company might even get a reputation for invasive cold calling – not something you want. 

Cold emails are easier to scale

Cold emails are much cheaper and easier to send out, not to mention they can be automated and sent in bulk. This makes them much more scalable than cold calling. 

It might take your sales team an hour to cold call and speak to one prospect, whereas they’ll be able to send out five or ten effective emails in that same amount of time. 

Cold emails are easier to track

With the right software in place, it’s very easy to track cold email campaigns, track opens, and automate follow-up. This eliminates much of the drawback of cold emailing and gives a better conversion rate. 

And although you’re less likely to get a timely response to an email, it is less invasive to send follow-up emails than continually call a prospect.  

Emails are easier for prospects to ignore

This is the main issue with cold emailing – it’s very easy for prospective customers to ignore emails. One high-value lead might get a dozen cold emails a day, all vying for their business. 

Competition is stiff in most B2B industries and so it’s becoming increasingly difficult to stand out when sending cold emails. 

This is another reason it’s important to have quality cold email software in place. With Bant.io, we’ll create high-converting email campaigns that are personalized and much more likely to get a positive response than generic emails. 

What to Consider Before You Decide?

With pros and cons to both calls and emails, how do you choose which is best for your marketing team? Let’s take a look at some important factors that will help you decide. 

1. Your schedule

Research shows that phone calls do better later in the day and later in the week – when people are less busy. 

If you’re planning on doing outreach in the afternoon or towards the end of the week, phone calls may work well. Aim for 3 pm Thursdays and Fridays for good results 

On the other hand, if you’re looking to do your outreach more regularly or whenever you get time, email is probably better. You can schedule emails to go out whenever you want, so you can set that task for whenever you have time free. 

2. Your goal

The goal of your outreach should also dictate the method of outreach. If you’re hoping for strong action such as booking a meeting, making a purchase, or setting up a trial, a phone call will likely be more effective. 

However, if you want a potential customer to get some more information, set up a call, give a referral, or watch a free demo, an email will do the trick. 

Think about whether your goal is a hard or soft ask. A hard ask requires more effort from your prospect and so will likely need some convincing – this could be a better job for a phone call. 

3. Your prospect

The higher up your prospect is, the more likely you are to reach a person when you call. This is because CEOs and high-level executives have assistants in charge of answering phone calls and booking meetings. 

Those in management positions or higher are usually more comfortable on phone calls too, so you’re more likely to get a meeting booked with these prospects (even through their assistants). 

On the other hand, if you’re targeting prospects lower down within an organization, you’re more likely to get a reply over email, since they are more likely to check it regularly throughout the day. 

4. Your buyer persona

You should have a buyer persona for your ideal client and this should tell you how they prefer to be contacted. Some prefer calls whereas others prefer email – knowing your customer well will help you decide which they would prefer. 

Generally speaking, millennials prefer to communicate by email. So, if you have a younger buyer, this is probably going to be the best way to contact them. 

On the other hand, qualified leads in customer-facing roles are probably very comfortable on the phone so cold calls might be better received. 

Likewise, traditional industries are usually more accustomed to phone calls over email. 

Knowing your customer and referring to your buyer persona will help you make the right choice. 

When to Use Cold Calling vs Cold Emailing

Whatever industry you are in, there is no definitive either/or when it comes to cold calls and emails. Both have advantages and work well in different situations. In fact, a survey by DiscoverOrg showed that over 60% of senior executives in the IT sector have booked an appointment from a cold call or marketing email – they both work.  

That said, each has merit in different situations, so think about incorporating both strategically. 

When to use cold emailing

Cold emailing is best for bulk outreach to a wider pool of potential leads. In the earlier stages of outreach, email allows you to cast a wider net and reach more leads in less time – a good option for making the best use of resources.

Having said that, emails need to be well-crafted and personalized to stand out. Just because you’re sending out an automated cold email campaign to an email list of leads doesn’t mean that a generalized marketing strategy will work. 

With Bant.io, you can leverage the top 3% of high-performing email sequences from over 12,000 campaigns and cold email templates. This makes your cold emailing significantly more effective and boosts your conversion rate. 

Cold calling

Cold emailing without a follow-up call is 98% less effective, which shows how important it is to have this as part of your outreach strategy. 

However, it can be time-consuming to call every lead you have. That’s why it’s best to start with cold emailing and use sales calls as a follow-up. Once you’ve emailed a lead and have that open line of communication, they’ll be much more receptive to a phone call. 

Of course, calls are also useful if you can’t reach a lead by email. In fact, following up with a phone call on the same day has been shown to be three times more successful than spacing out engagement. 

Structuring your outreach cadence

The structure of outreach campaigns varies greatly between B2B industries and individual companies. But having a structure to your outreach cadence will make it easier for your sales team to contact leads and track their progress. 

That’s why it’s so useful to use an automated outreach tool. You’ll be able to structure your outreach, track progress with dedicated email tracking software, and see exactly where each lead in the email outreach cadence. 

This will likely include a personalized email sequence and follow-up procedure using phone calls. 

Whatever your sales strategy, focus on giving concise information and personalizing your outreach to make each client feel valued.

Do You Use Cold Emails or Calls?

The bottom line of cold communication is creating a genuine connection with potential leads. Whether you do that through cold emails or calls is something you need to decide for your business. 

Usually, combining both methods is the best option and gives you more of a chance of reaching your ideal clients. 

Tools like Bant.io let you set up an effective cold outreach campaign that engages with leads and boosts conversions. 

You’ll be able to set your outreach and appointment setting to autopilot so you can focus on building relationships with your clients and providing the best service. 

If you want to learn more strategies for cold outreach and how to improve your current process, check out our in-depth guide on cold outreach strategies.