Cold Email vs LinkedIn vs Cold Calls: Best Outreach Channel For Generating Leads
Have you ever wondered what the best channel for generating leads could be? Nothing seems to be working, from cold calling to LinkedIn to sending cold emails. Perhaps, you have been trying every option available on paper and the ones you can find on the internet but have yet to hit that "Eureka" button; this article is for you.
Maybe you even tried using LinkedIn but still needed a positive response, and then you resolved to send an email, but all to no avail. Whether it is a cold email vs cold call or email vs LinkedIn outreach, if you are searching to know the best fit, you should pay close attention while reading.
Now, if you are wondering which channel is most efficient for generating leads, stick around until the end of this article.
So, in this article, I examine the three most popular channels for generating leads and then compare them with each other to help you decipher which channel is the best for lead generation,
Hop in as I take you on this adventurous journey,
Enjoy!
As a sales rep, the first task on your list is to find prospective leads by establishing a connection. This connection can either be via email or a connection request on LinkedIn.
Doing this is a very fragile task as it is your gateway to winning or losing the prospect. The first impression last longer, and if things go south on the first impression, truth be told, you may not get another opportunity to right your wrongs. So, you want to make sure you give it your best shot to make that first impression leave a lasting effect on your prospects.
As a sales rep, your outreach method for a first contact will significantly impact your response rate. Therefore, it is important to learn the outreach method your prospect will be most receptive to instead of immediately calling or sending an email to your potential customer.
To help ease your reading and understanding of this article, I have made the comparison into 2 sections;
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Cold email vs Cold Call
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Linkedin vs cold email
Cold Email vs Cold Call
When prospecting, using either cold emails or cold calls can be effective depending on the method your prospect is most receptive to. However, the difference between both methods is seen in the volume and accessibility of the cold emailing compared to the directness of the cold calling. While the former is usually easier and quicker to send than the latter, however, you are more likely to be successful at getting straight answers using cold calls.
The following few paragraphs below give a broad and more explanatory differences between the cold email and cold call;
**Cold calls: Pros and cons
**
**Pros
**
- **Cold calls can be personal\
**
A cold call can be more personal compared to a cold email. For instance, you may get a quick answer and gives a direct response to a prospect who declines your outreach. In addition, cold calls are more dynamic than cold emails because you may modify your approach to suit a prospect's demands as you engage with them.
**Cons
**
- **Cold calls can be invasive\
**
One downside to cold calls is that they are invasive, and not many prospects like the idea of reaching out to them out of the blue. Also, cold calls are less effective and more expensive than sales emails. Additionally, persistent calls may annoy your prospect, so you must be cautious while using this approach.
**Cold emails: Pros and Cons
**
**Pros
**
- **Cold emails are easily scalable\
**
Prospecting can be done differently when using cold emails. They are more scalable since they are less expensive and more effective. You can send many cold emails in the time it would take to make just one cold call.
Additionally, you can include more useful and eye-catching content in a cold email to help capture the numbers and explain complex ideas that may be more difficult to communicate over the phone.
- **Cold emails can be automated\
**
Prospects may respond to a cold email more politely, even if they are rejecting it, because it is less intrusive than a cold call. That might not seem like much, but it can significantly boost morale over time. They can also be automated, tracked, and sent, facilitating distribution and making monitoring more straightforward.
**Cons
**
- **Emails are easily overlooked and bounced\
**
The major hindrance you risk facing while cold emailing is getting ignored a bounce from your prospective customer. This is because, most times, your prospects are loaded with several other cold emails from other sales competitors. So in their bid to filter off these emails, they block, delete or ignore these emails. However, if your email is persuasive enough, you might be lucky to get a response from your prospect.
So, when conducting a cold outreach, any communication, whether by phone or email, must be handled carefully. Make sure you thoroughly assess new contacts to determine whether they're a good fit for your offer and pay attention to any boundaries they set.
Now you ask, email or phone, which is the better sales strategy? Consider the variables below when choosing whether to call or email a potential customer to get an answer.
How to choose between calling and emailing for lead generation
- **Consider time and specific day\
**
The calendar and clock should be some of your close buddies as a sales rep. Choosing the right day and time for cold emailing and calling is of utmost importance, and you need to be strategic about it. Normally, The first four days of the week are always hectic, so it's best to focus on cold calling from Thursdays. Also, as expected, the number of phone connections increases during the day and the week. A person is more likely to pick up their phone during their lunch hour or later in the afternoon and workweek. Therefore, cold-calling from 2 pm or an equivalent local time of your prospect may be of great advantage. What if your prospect fails to attend this call due to their unavailability at certain times of the day?
Another thing you should consider doing is leaving a voicemail. The response rate for voicemails often increases as closing hours draw near. So, it will be a good idea to try this.
On the flip side, the right time to cold email a prospect is before their lunch hour. This helps your mail float on their notification window, keeping it on top of mind. And as people tend to check their mail inbox when they get a breather, yours would be easily accessible.
- **Outreach objective - making a request\
**
You need to identify your outreach objectives before deciding to call or email. A strong request (e.g. meeting, conference calls, or product trials) always evokes a prospect's commitment to acting. On the other hand, a weak request wants a simple request from prospects, usually testimonials or recommendations. Strong requests necessitate the prospect's active participation. Strong closes. They are requests for meetings, conference calls, or product trials. Weak requests are simple requests for information from the customer, such as requests for testimonials or recommendations.
Deciding whether to call or send an email is simple once you know your connection and have established whether it is strong or weak.
- **The buyer persona\
**
Considering some of your prospect personas, such as their industry, the nature of their job and age range, may help in your decision to cold email or call. For example, millennials often prefer email over a phone conversation and vice versa for Gen z. Also, customer-relations experts may prefer a phone call due to their job roles.
- **Putting forward a deal\
**
If your prospects are responsive, that's positive news. However, if otherwise, you need to act fast by calling. If there is no answer, leave a voicemail and follow up via email.
Perhaps your cold outreach is too cold to bring a cold call or email success; then, it's time to warm it up using some cold outreach methods. But first, let's look at how you can improve your cold outreach methods.
Tips on how to improve your cold calling outreach efforts
- Know your target audience
You want to ensure to filter the unnecessary customers and get along with the serious prospects. To do this, spend enough time learning about your prospects and compile a list of phone numbers belonging to potential leads. This may significantly impact your conversion rate.
- **Listen to your prospect\
**
Gaining the trust of your lead requires effective listening. It offers the chance to learn more about the prospect's pain point and makes them feel respected and listened.
How to improve your cold email outreach methods
- **Use personalizations\
**
You can improve your cold email outreach efforts by using personalization. Doing this will help your prospect feel valued, thus preventing your emails from going to their trash or spam folder. This will help boost sales and improve ROI. You can personalize your emails using your prospect's name, company, and how you found them.
- **Use a punchy subject line\
**
No one loves a click-bait subject line, but that's not to say you should use a sloppy one. On the contrary, a clear subject line will increase open rates, which in turn will help in lead generation.
- **Automate with cold email software\
**
Automating your emails will save you a lot of time. Cold email outreach tools such as Outreach.io, Glass, SalesLoft, and HubSpot Email Tracking Software will help you reach more of your target audience.
Linkedin vs Cold Email
- **LinkedIn is a business-centred social media platform\
**
Although email remains the most traditional means of prospecting, you will most likely find CEOs, presidents, founders and leaders of many B2B companies on LinkedIn. This shows that using the platform for your outreach campaign will motivate you to network for professional opportunities. Of course, you should still use email for your outreach strategy, but in prospecting, you should consider using LinkedIn as a first choice.
Linkedin outreach vs cold email: Pros and cons
**Pros
**
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You are unaware of your prospect's email account activity in email
campaigns. In contrast, LinkedIn prioritizes prospects by letting you know which users are on the platform and hence, more likely to accept your invitation to connect. You can send a connection request and engage with them.
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Linkedin encourages credibility and provides many contexts that
email doesn't offer. You cannot fake your resume, as prospects can easily read about you on your LinkedIn profile.
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Unlike emails, where you can easily automate or set up a fake
account to spam people with several emails, automation is difficult on Linkedin. You can only perform a LinkedIn outreach using an official account.
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LinkedIn is a platform created for business and networking. Users
connect with people who can advance their careers. Hence, they are more willing to speak on the phone with LinkedIn users to progress their careers. Emails, on the other hand, are limited.
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Unlike emails, where many spam messages exist, LinkedIn is free from
spam fillers. Once your connection invite has been accepted, there is a guarantee of a high deliverability rate.
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It is easier for emails to get bounced or ignored, but this is
different for LinkedIn, as prospects get a reminder notification when they get a message. This makes it difficult for them to ignore your Outreach messages thus, increase your reply rates.
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LinkedIn helps you get an insight into the types of content that are
most effective for your prospect via their posts. On the other hand, email does not offer this feature.
**Cons
**
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You may need help getting your connection requests and messages
accepted to learn how to create an expert list or compose personalized messages. Hence, creating an outbound strategy in advance is crucial for success.
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You may risk contacting the wrong prospects if you need to learn how
to use the search filters in the LinkedIn Sales Navigator properly.
**So, which is the best?
**
Since scaling cold emails is typically more straightforward and takes less time, many B2B organizations use them as a standard practice. However, cold calling may be more successful at getting a lead to respond immediately. LinkedIn, on the other hand, motivates you to network for professional opportunities. It allows you to reach out to the client, filter your target audience and allow you build your sales funnel, thus generating leads.
**Final note
**
Are you still a cold caller hoping to get picked or punching those buttons to send a cold email? Or sending out connection invites on LinkedIn? After reading this article, you may want to weigh your options and see which best suits your sales outreach needs.
