Choose Your Sales Outreach Strategy: Calls vs Emails

Outreach is a vital part of sales. If you want to make sales, then you need to talk to people and get out there in the real world. Both strategies are important and must be mastered. But reaching out with calls is different from sending emails. Each method has its benefits and shortcomings, so let’s take a look at them.

What Are Sales Calls And Emails?

Sales calls speak for themselves. It’s the act of a salesperson calling someone who’s interested in their product or service to have a conversation. The two parties chat over the phone in real-time and can address issues as they arise throughout the call. One key benefit of this is that it promotes trust since both parties can hear each other’s voices.

With emails, written messages are sent digitally instead of chatting on the phone like calls do. These messages lack immediate feedback but provide structure for presenting information, making them great for longer pitches or follow-ups.

The Impact

Both methods have pros and cons, however at the end of the day they will help your sales grow in different ways. Sales calls gives you an upper hand by letting you respond immediately to feedback received through your one-on-one conversations with prospects which builds trust quicker than sending emails back-and-forth.

But no one likes getting random phone calls so be careful!

On the other hand, emails allow for greater precision by targeting specifically who you want to reach based on recipient demographics & behaviors making them scalable but less personal. The words won't be personalized but if your email captures enough attention, it will get people thinking about what you’re pitching.

Two Strategies: Inbound & Outbound

There are two types of outreach techniques: inbound and outbound.

Inbound focuses on attracting leads through content marketing, social media engagement, etc. By not only providing value but also addressing potential customers' needs, you can attract customers and get them to want what you offer.

Outbound focuses on actively contacting leads through cold calling/emailing/advertisement etc. It’s about making first contact and trying to persuade them to consider what you're offering even though you reached out first.

What Sets Sales Calls Apart From Sales Emails?

1.Personalization: Sales calls are the perfect time to build personal relationships with potential clients in real-time, which is a game-changer. When your team can adjust their approach based on what each prospect says, how they say it, and their body language, trust and credibility are way more likely to be established. Those two things are vital when it comes to selling something.

With emails, you lose the instantaneousness of verbal communication — but you gain another type of personalization opportunity. By dividing your recipient audience into segments and creating personalized templates for your campaigns, every message will better resonate with each individual because it’s been catered to them. The odds of having them open your email will go up too.

2. Response Time: One thing that separates these two methods of communication is response time. With calls, as soon as a client gives feedback or makes an objection you can address it right then and there. It’s super-efficient at clearing up misunderstandings or concerns in real-time, which often speeds things towards a purchasing decision.

On the other hand, emails usually require follow-up if you want any kind of response at all. Your initial email might not be enough to elicit action from the reader - but that doesn’t mean all hope is lost! Sending out gentle reminders often prompts further engagement so don’t be too discouraged by low open rates or lackluster click-throughs.

3. Documentation: If you need proof of something later down the line then go with emails every single time. Each one sent or received creates a paper trail for sales teams to look back on should they ever need to track interactions or monitor engagement. Written records such as these serve as valuable references for understanding how conversations have progressed over time, so don't let them disappear into an overcrowded inbox!

Calls, on the other hand, often rely on notes taken during the conversation for documentation. This is fine for jotting down key points or insights, but it won’t give you the same level of detail and clarity that written correspondence does.

4. Perceived Intrusiveness: Sales calls' immediate and direct nature makes them feel more intrusive. An unsolicited call interrupts the recipient’s workflow or personal time, leading to some significant resistance or frustration. And it doesn’t matter if you’ve got an incredible offer up your sleeve; if they’re mad at you, they’re not going to want anything to do with what you’re selling. Emails are less invasive since recipients are free to review and respond in their own time, on their own terms.

Respecting their schedule and preferences will make them much more likely to engage in a friendly manner instead of closing themselves off right away because they're annoyed with another cold caller.

Finding the Best Way to Communicate

There’s no single best way to reach out in your sales effort. The best method depends on your target audience. Some groups might respond better to calls whereas others prefer emails for their convenience and subtlety. You should also keep in mind that it's harder to explain your value over email if what you sell is very complicated - in this case, maybe call would be a better choice. Finally, resources such as time and budget should be taken into account.

Emails are Key

If used correctly, emails can be a powerful tool for reaching prospects. They allow you to engage with them at every point of their buyer’s journey through your sales funnel. At the initial outreach stage, you can say hello & establish rapport; moving down your funnel follow-up emails can help nurture leads with targeted content that addresses their specific pain point/objection.

Each email should have a purpose that caters directly to who you’re sending it too - demographic information/buying intent etc. Allow automation for easy scheduling so you don’t have to worry about sending 1000s of messages manually.

Strong Follow-Up Emails

Sending emails to follow up with potential customers can be an effective strategy, but only if you do it correctly. First and foremost, keep them short and sweet. However, don’t skimp on personalization or relevance to shorten the email because people will just throw them away if they're poorly thought out. Each email should build on the previous one and offer something new or address a concern mentioned before.

Using tracking tools, you can find out how engaged recipients are based on things such as open and click-through rates. If your numbers don't add up don't worry too much because they take time, and you have to think about how long your company has been around. Lastly, timing is everything when sending follow-up emails because people engage at different times during the day. Making customers feel cared about and showing them that you genuinely want to meet their needs makes establishing trust much easier.

Measure and Improve

The key to measuring and improving sales outreach performance is consistency. Regular data analysis and optimization will allow you to see what's working and what isn't. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) like response rates, conversion rates, and engagement metrics are essential for evaluating the effectiveness of your efforts.

Strategies, messages, and CTA approaches can be A/B tested at any time to pinpoint what resonates most with your target audience. If all else fails, ask the people who matter most: your customers! Lastly, as time goes on, use this information to refine your strategies, optimize messaging, and implement best practices that enhance overall performance.

Why Do You Need to Maximize Your Outbound ROI?

It takes a lot of effort to make outbound sales worth your time, but if you know how to maximize your return on investment (ROI) for them, it’s all worth it.

So, how exactly do you maximize your outbound marketing ROI? Well, it’s not just one thing. It combines refining targeting, creating messaging that gets people thinking and nurturing leads.

First thing that needs to be done is to refine the target criteria. Your resources can only go so far, so why waste them pursuing prospects with low conversion rates? Instead, focus them on high-probability conversions and optimize your efficiency.

Next up is messaging. The value proposition of your offering should be the main focus here. Ensure it highlights what makes your product unique enough for someone to spend their time and money on it. If prospects don’t notice these things right away in outreach messages, they’re very likely to delete them without a thought.

Lastly is the nurturing process. Once they’ve shown interest in what you have to offer through engagement or response, keep building trust and rapport until they convert from lead into a customer.

By using data gathered from results you can continuously improve strategies based on performance, which means more profit for you and business success in the long term.

Sales Outreach Statistics To Keep In Mind

The numbers show that personalized emails significantly outperform generic ones when driving engagement and responses from prospects. They also found that sales calls have a 10-15% conversion rate which shows how effective direct verbal communication can be when securing new business opportunities.

Sales emails are much less effective sadly, coming in at only 1-3% response rates but this shows how important strategic follow-up emails are in email-based sales outreach.

Remembering these statistics will help you put together personalized, targeted sales outreach strategies explicitly tailored towards the preferences and behaviors of your target audience.

What Can funnl.ai Do For You?

Funnl.ai provides many sales outsourcing services that are sure to enhance your business. From lead generation to b2b appointment setting, their skilled team is ready to take a load off your back and give you more time for what matters.

By using the most up-to-date technology, they can boost your productivity drastically.

They can do that if you want them to fine-tune their strategies specifically toward your goals. Their solutions are completely customizable, so it doesn’t matter what industry you’re in or where you’re trying to grow because funnl.ai will make it happen for you.

Conclusion: Sales Are Always Evolving

It’s always best to run multiple strategies simultaneously, just in case one fails or underperforms. Some prospects prefer calls, while others prefer emails.

No matter which one works for your target audience, it’s important to remember that everyone has different needs and preferences. By leaning into these and optimizing your outreach efforts, you’re guaranteed success in sales.