![\"\"](\"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/b2b-cold-call-vs-email-beers.gif\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe truth is, there are pros and cons to both cold calling and email templates. The question isn\u2019t, which is better \u2014 because they can\u00a0both<\/em>\u00a0work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The real wizardry happens when you combine these\u00a0sales prospecting efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Put those outbound sales tactics together with a sales and marketing team that collaborates to\u00a0<\/a>generate more quality leads, and you\u2019ve got one badass strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know. It\u2019s easier said than done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To help you turn those leads into customers, we\u2019re going to give you tips that will increase your cold call response and email open rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, let\u2019s take a brief look at integrating the sales and marketing process to improve your prospecting efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before you can cold call or email, you need a lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marketing generates the leads that get passed along to the sales team \u2014 but, this is where things get tricky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marketing and sales often have two different answers for what qualifies as a lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A 2018 inbound marketing study<\/a> from HubSpot found that only seven percent of salespeople receive high quality leads from marketing<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Misalignment between sales and marketing can muddy the pipeline. Both departments must be in agreement to ensure a successful hand-off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, how do you get everyone on the same page?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just as with your personal relationships, open and transparent communication is critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To begin integrating the workflows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I think about cold calling, I picture my father in a smoke-filled room with a glass of scotch, a call sheet, spinning his digits around a rotary phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In short, it\u2019s \u201cold-school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But does cold calling still work today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes \u2014 when done right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sure, some think that\u00a0cold calling is dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some people also think pineapple belongs on pizza and french fries and ice cream are a tasty pair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t trust these people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Decision-makers still prefer to be contacted by phone. A 2018 benchmark study from the RAIN Group confirms this, showing\u00a0more than half of high-level buyers\u00a0<\/strong>prefer a cold call<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See? Old-school doesn\u2019t always mean outdated. However, if you find yourself leaving voicemails instead of connecting, it\u2019s time to revisit your strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n No one wants to make hundreds of calls a day to prospects who likely won\u2019t close the deal. It\u2019s an inefficient use of your time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On average, sales reps will spend\u00a0seven minutes<\/a>\u00a0on each prospect phone call. Don\u2019t waste those minutes on leads with no swaying power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The idea is to use your list of\u00a0leads generated\u00a0from anonymous website traffic as a starting point for email. Research those leads thoroughly and craft an intro full of relevant content and links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For those who open or click on your emails, give them a call to address their interests more specifically and personally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Picture this: You\u2019re dining at a restaurant, salivating at the thought of that first bite into your carefully selected dish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, as soon as you\u2019ve shoveled the food into your mouth, your waiter stops by to check-in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019re now in full chubby bunny mode, unable to respond, and forced to give an awkward thumbs-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it just me, or do restaurant waiters have the worst timing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Often, in prospecting, sales reps are just like the waiter with poor timing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t get sent to voicemail. According to a 2018 study from PhoneBurner, the\u00a0best time to call<\/a>\u00a0is either mid-morning or mid-afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unsolicited phone calls are the worst. No one likes them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are they aggressive? Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are they effective? Also yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, when a prospect takes the time to press \u201caccept\u201d instead of \u201cdecline,\u201d don\u2019t blow it by using a stuffy sales pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can tell within seconds whether or not a salesperson has done their research. It\u2019s disappointing at best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a salesperson, your first touchpoint should focus on the value you can provide in solving a problem the prospect\u2019s company hasn\u2019t currently addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, you have to research your prospects first.\u00a0 Get familiar with their industry, look through their business history, read reviews, and scroll through social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having this information in your arsenal, along with your defined list of leads, will allow you to control the flow of the conversation and fire back at any objections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All parents have a favorite child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, you love them\u00a0all<\/em>. I\u2019m talking about the child who you give a little extra attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t worry; your secret is safe with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In sales prospecting,\u00a0email templates\u00a0are the \u201cfavorite child\u201d and what most reps focus on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019re scalable, convenient, and less threatening for both you and the prospect. Not to mention the fact that they\u2019re a good return on investment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2019 research from DMA Marketer Email Tracker shows that\u00a0for every $1 spent on email marketing, there\u2019s an\u00a0<\/strong>expected return of $42<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this point, you might be wondering why salespeople ever opt for cold calling. Hear me out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inboxes are cluttered. You probably have hundreds of promotional emails sitting in your inbox right now. As of 2020, DMR reports\u00a0the average office worker receives\u00a0<\/strong>121 emails a day<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are benefits and disadvantages to both strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You spent hours crafting the perfect email (or so you thought), and you just know it will turn that cold lead into a warm prospect. You hit send, and then wait\u2026and wait\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n No response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, what gives?<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you didn\u2019t personalize your email, you can almost guarantee it went straight to the trash folder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Woodpecker analyzed over 20 million cold emails and found that using advanced personalization created a 17 percent response rate<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Compare this to the seven percent response rate for emails with no customization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Digitally-savvy buyers today have more expectations from salespeople. Your run of the mill email template isn\u2019t going to cut it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Think of subject lines as gatekeepers. Those words are the first thing your prospect will see when your email hits their inbox. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Making a good first impression isn\u2019t an option; it\u2019s necessary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Put the same effort into the subject line as you put into your message\u2019s content \u2014 from the catchy tagline down to the number of characters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite your best cold email prospecting efforts, there\u2019s still a chance your message will never make it to the intended inbox. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even with recipients\u2019 expressed permission, a 2018 study from Validity found that six percent of sales and marketing emails <\/strong>get blocked by spam filters<\/strong><\/a> globally<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Darn you, spam filters!<\/p>\n\n\n\n To avoid getting blocked, I recommend implementing these tips: <\/p>\n\n\n\n If both strategies work, why choose one over the other? Don\u2019t limit yourself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cold calling + email templates = more chances to reach your prospects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In action, this might look like sending cold emails to get referred to the right person \u2014 then scheduling a phone call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use both outbound sales tactics to your advantage to improve your cold calling response rate and cold email prospecting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Regardless of the medium, the goal of sales prospecting is to create a genuine connection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Prospecting is often the hardest part of a salesperson\u2019s job. It requires time, effort, and the ability to stare rejection in its face. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to sales prospecting, both cold calling and email templates work when done correctly. But, the best approach is to use both tactics to increase your touchpoints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just remember, do your research and personalize your strategy for each buyer type. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With sales and marketing on the same page, the entire process improves. Implement the tips above, and you\u2019re on your way to better response rates and closing more deals. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sales prospecting is a fickle game. Conflicting information can make it difficult to determine the best outbound method to use. Should you cold call? Send a cold email? Crack open a cold beer? Hey, no judgment here. The truth is, there are pros and cons to both cold calling and email templates. The question isn\u2019t, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[3,77,175,14],"tags":[79,118,73,78,137],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/b2b-cold-call-vs-email.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7FQPL-1rp","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5543"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5543"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5554,"href":"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5543\/revisions\/5554"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/b2b-cold-call-email-how.gif\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSales and marketing can and should be working together<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/b2b-cold-call-email-lead-quality.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nCold calling isn\u2019t dead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/b2b-cold-call-email-cold-calling.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/b2b-cold-call-vs-email-challenge.gif\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow to improve your cold calling response rate<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
01.\u00a0 Narrow down your target audience<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
02. Nail your timing<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/b2b-cold-call-email-averages.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n03. Thaw the ice<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Email templates are the favorite child<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to level up your cold email prospecting<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
01. Personalize. Personalize. Personalize.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/b2b-cold-call-email-personalization-deliverability.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n02. Don\u2019t skimp on the subject line<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
03. Avoid spam filters<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/azoora.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/b2b-cold-call-email-smash.gif\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nCold calls vs. email templates for sales prospecting? Use both<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Final thoughts: Sales prospecting – cold calls vs. email templates<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n