Here’s a rhetorical question for you: Are you more likely to reply to (or even open) an email from an unfamiliar sender or answer a phone call from an unknown caller?
If we’re being brutally honest, the most common answer is probably “neither.” It’s human nature to be leery of unexpected communication, especially as scams become more prevalent and technology blurs the line between the human and the automated.
But this obstacle hasn’t stopped lead generation and appointment-setting firms from trying to connect with prospects. Whether their primary service revolves around the telephone (as is the case with VSA), email, or social media, there are still countless companies across the country performing cold outreach on behalf of B2B and B2C clients.
So getting back to our original question: Which is more effective, a cold call or a cold email?
Well, every company has its own metrics, and the data can differ wildly depending on your source, so it’s not easy to provide a quantifiable answer. But here are five conclusions that VSA can confidently draw from our two-plus decades of lead gen experience:
1. Email Works Well as a Complement to the Phone
Email may provide the advantage of being able to reach a lot of prospects at once, but as a primary method of cold outreach, it’s unlikely to produce the desired results. It’s not easy to convey a compelling message in a few paragraphs, and anything longer than that is likely to be ignored or immediately deleted (if the message is opened at all). Personalization can help, but that takes a lot of time.
However, as a complement to the phone, emails can be part of a productive outbound strategy. Prospects are more likely to open an email if they know to expect it after a phone conversation (especially if they were curious enough to request more information). Voicemail messages can also be used to let prospects know to be on the lookout for an email. It works the other way too—sending an email in advance gives reps something to refer to at the start of the conversation to make it feel less like a cold call.
Emails can also be utilized to remind prospects of scheduled meetings, reducing the number of dropped appointments.
And, of course, if repeated attempts to reach a prospect by phone fail, cold emails can serve as a backup strategy. Response rates are admittedly low in this scenario, but if prospects are at least somewhat familiar with your company name (say because you’ve left messages with a gatekeeper or on their voicemail), they may be more inclined to give the email a peak.
2. Deliverability Issues Are a Concern with Email
Here’s one thing that can be said about the phone: As soon as you’ve placed the call, you know with 100% certainty whether you’ve reached your target or not.
You do not have that assurance when you hit send on an email. Yes, you can monitor open and click-through rates, but short of a direct response, you can’t know for sure how well your message resonated with a prospect, or if they even read it.
More significantly, there’s no guarantee the email will even end up in a prospect’s inbox. Google, Yahoo, and other mailbox providers are toughening deliverability requirements, forcing bulk email senders to take multiple additional measures to ensure their messages are reaching the desired recipients. Factors such as the number of attachments can also increase the likelihood your email will land in a spam folder. But even if a company utilizes all best practices for email delivery, and even if every address is accurate (unlikely), there will always be some that never get through.
3. Only the Phone Allows for Real-Time Two-Way Communication
Sure, you can go back and forth with a prospect in an email chain, but that conversation might stretch out over hours, if not days or weeks. Plus, the written word can be misinterpreted or misunderstood, especially if somebody is reading your email in a hurry.
The phone, on the other hand, allows for an immediate, direct connection. Questions can be answered and concerns can be addressed instantly, helping establish a level of trust in a matter of seconds. An experienced caller also knows how to respond to voice cues and can direct the conversation and handle objections accordingly. Unlike an email, which is restricted to the words on the screen, a phone call allows for spontaneity and genuine human interaction beyond what’s included in the script.
4. The Phone Helps You Stand Out from Your Competition
Think about how many unexpected phone calls you get per day. It’s more than you’d like, perhaps, but it’s almost certainly nowhere near the number of unsolicited emails that pop into your inbox. Deleting unwanted emails can sometimes feel like a game of Wac-A-Mole, where as soon as you’ve wiped out a screen’s worth, there are a dozen more to take their place. It’s a safe bet your prospects are receiving far more cold emails each day than cold phone calls.
Which is why the phone can truly be a differentiator in lead generation. With so many sales reps downplaying the phone as a primary prospecting tool (48% never make a single follow-up call, according to various sources), cold calling campaigns can absolutely help you stand out from your competitors. Believe it or not, there are still plenty of people—even high-ranking executives—who actually enjoy talking on the phone, a statement supported by recent statistics compiled by the RAIN Group:
- 69% of buyers accepted phone calls from new providers over the previous 12 months
- 57% of C-level and VP-level buyers prefer to be contacted by phone
It’s naïve to think that everyone on your target list will be willing to have a phone conversation, but it’s equally short-sighted to assume that none of them will.
5. It’s Easier to Track Your Progress with the Phone
Ideally, every phone call you make during your prospecting sequence brings you closer to a resolution, either positive (a scheduled appointment, completed survey, future opportunity, etc.) or negative (a viable reason for lack of interest). Along the way, there are multiple opportunities to make each record “smarter”—conversations with gatekeepers, referrals to more qualified decision-makers, details about the best times to call, and other valuable information that a seasoned caller can utilize on their next attempt. Most importantly, you know after each call how much progress you’ve made.
There is no such certainty after sending an email (unless you get a response). Emails sent during Week 5 of a campaign are theoretically no more or less effective than emails sent during Week 1. Without a conversation in the interim, there’s simply no way to know.
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None of this is to say that emails can’t be a part of an effective cold outreach campaign. But as a primary method of communication with prospects, VSA will almost always take a phone-first approach.
If you’d like to learn more about VSA’s call center capabilities and lead generation services, give us a call (or drop us an email). Regardless of your preferred method of communication, we’re always excited to talk about ways we can help grow your business.