Cold Calling vs Cold Emailing in 2024: What 130,000+ Sales Interactions Say About When to Use Each Approach
As a sales leader, one of the most common questions I hear is: "Should I call or email this prospect first?"
With buyers harder to reach than ever, the first touch point matters more than ever. You only get one chance to make a strong impression, spark curiosity and start building a relationship.
But between the phone and the inbox, which channel gives you the best odds of breaking through and generating a positive response? How do you know when a cold call or cold email will be most effective with a particular prospect?
To find out, I analyzed data from over 130,000 B2B sales interactions, surveyed dozens of top-performing reps, and tested various approaches myself. The results reveal clear patterns that can help you decide when to dial, when to draft a message, and when to mix the two.
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll break down:
- What the latest research says about cold call and email success rates
- 5 factors that should determine whether you call or email a prospect first
- Best practices and templates for nailing both outreach methods
- How to create an omni-channel prospecting strategy that combines calls, emails and social touches
By the end, you‘ll have a proven framework for picking the optimal first outreach approach for every lead. No more guesswork or gut feelings. Just data-driven prospecting that connects you with more decision makers, faster.
What a 130,000-Interaction Analysis Says About Cold Calling vs Emailing
To understand what really works in modern B2B outreach, my team at SalesFolk recently partnered with sales engagement platform Bumper to analyze the results of 131,447 sales interactions over the last 24 months.
Specifically, we examined connect rates, response rates and meeting set rates for cold calls and cold emails across a variety of industries, prospect roles, and company sizes. Here‘s a snapshot of the high-level findings:
Cold Calling KPIs
- 11.8% of cold calls are answered live
- 4.7% of total cold calls result in a booked meeting
- Wednesdays and Thursdays between 4-5pm in the prospect‘s time zone yield the highest connect rates
- Leaving a voicemail bumps the call-back rate by 27%
- Sales reps attempting at least 6 call attempts per prospect generate 240% more meetings
Cold Emailing KPIs
- 23% of first-touch sales emails are opened
- 1.2% of cold emails receive a positive reply
- 47% of prospects open cold emails on mobile devices
- Sending on a Tuesday at 10am in the prospect‘s time zone delivers the highest open and reply rates
- Keeping messages under 200 words and subject lines under 4 words boosts response rates by 41%
As you can see, both channels pose their challenges. Only about 1 in 10 cold calls actually reach a live human. And just 1 in 100 cold emails get a meaningful response.
However, salespeople can tilt the odds in their favor by being strategic about who they target with each approach, when they execute, and how they craft their outreach. Let‘s unpack the five top factors you should use to determine whether to call, email, or combine methods.
5 Factors to Decide Between a Cold Call and Cold Email
1. Prospect Seniority
One of the clearest signals for whether you should dial or type is your prospect‘s role and level. The higher up in the org chart they sit, the more likely you are to reach their office line or executive assistant first.
Why? Managers, directors, VPs and C-suites rely heavily on phone conversations and in-person meetings to perform their jobs. They‘re used to making quick decisions via live discussions. Many have assistants or front desk teams answering a main line who can route you.
Individual contributors and entry-level staff, on the other hand, tend to avoid unscheduled calls in order to focus on heads-down work. They screen their direct lines heavily and rarely check voicemail. Email is usually their preferred method for communicating internally and with outside vendors.
As a general rule of thumb, here‘s how I decide between a call and email based on title:
| Prospect Level | Initial Outreach Approach |
|---|---|
| C-level, VP | Phone Call |
| Director, Manager | Phone Call |
| Individual Contributor | |
| Entry-Level |
Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. You may find some executives who never answer their phones and prefer to screen requests via email first. Or an intern who always picks up because they‘re eager to impress.
But by and large, matching your outreach channel to your prospect‘s communication habits will make you much more likely to actually reach them. Call high, email low.
2. Asking Strength
The next major factor in picking your outreach method is the "ask" you‘re making. Is it a bold request that will take commitment from the prospect (a "strong ask"), or a simple call to action that‘s easy to complete (a "weak ask")?
Examples of Strong Asks:
- Scheduling a 30-60 minute meeting
- Requesting a proposal or quote
- Inviting to an exclusive event
- Securing a referral or intro to another decision maker
Examples of Weak Asks:
- Sharing a piece of content
- Asking a quick question or for feedback
- Suggesting a short (5-10 min) call
- Getting permission to provide more information
If your first touch point includes a strong ask, you‘ll almost always want to make it via phone rather than email. The real-time dialogue enables you to quickly build trust, generate excitement and handle objections in the moment. It‘s simply easier to get a "yes" when you have the prospect‘s ear.
Weak asks, on the other hand, can usually be handled effectively via email. If the commitment you need is minimal, there‘s no reason to interrupt the prospect‘s day with an unsolicited call. Sending a short, specific, actionable request via email allows them to help you out without a big lift.
Here‘s a cheat sheet for when to call vs email based on ask strength:
| Ask Type | Outreach Approach |
|---|---|
| Demo/Pitch Meeting | Call |
| Pricing Request | Call |
| Referral | Call |
| Event Invite | |
| Quick Question | |
| Content Offer |
Remember, you can always follow up an email that makes a weak ask with a phone call to discuss next steps. In fact, Bumper‘s data shows that deals sourced by email but accelerated with a call in the first 10 days close twice as fast.
3. Urgency
Speed is another key consideration in whether you should call or email. Do you need a response today because you‘re working against a tight deadline or expiring offer? Pick up the phone to get an immediate answer (even if it‘s a no).
But if your ask is less pressing or you need to reach many prospects in a short period, email will be your best bet. You can send personalized messages to hundreds of contacts in a few hours, then let automation tools track opens and identify your most engaged leads to prioritize for calls.
I like to organize my weekly prospecting into focused blocks for maximum efficiency:
- 2 hours for research and list building
- 3 hours for cold calling (1 hour per day)
- 2 hours for email and social outreach
- 2 hours for follow up and meeting prep
This cadence ensures I‘m consistently filling my pipeline through both synchronous and asynchronous channels, while still allowing adequate time for moving active deals forward. Use a CRM dialer and email automation to streamline activity and optimize your calendar based on prospect time zones.
4. Industry
While every buyer is unique, certain industries tend to have a stronger culture of either phone or digital communication. In more traditional sectors like financial services, manufacturing, and healthcare, phone calls are deeply ingrained. Prepare to smile and dial frequently.
But for tech-forward fields like software, media, and professional services, email and social outreach are often preferred (especially with younger buyers). Reps must invest more time in writing relevant, customized messages that address specific paint points.
Review sites like G2 and TrustRadius are a gold mine for finding niche industry insights to personalize your emails. Referencing a competitor, common challenge, or recent event can boost reply rates by up to 83% according to Bumper‘s analysis.
5. Deal Stage
Finally, consider where a prospect sits in your overall sales cycle. Is this your very first attempt to get on their radar? Or have they already shown some buying intent by visiting your site, downloading content, or responding to a previous outreach?
If you‘re starting from scratch with a completely cold lead, email will likely be your highest-ROI first touch point. It‘s an unobtrusive way to introduce yourself, pique curiosity, and test their engagement level before investing in a more time-intensive phone convo.
However, if you‘re contacting an inbound lead who‘s already interacted with your brand, pick up the phone ASAP. Strike while the iron is hot and their interest is fresh. A well-timed call to dig into their needs and qualify them further can quickly turn a hand-raiser into a sales conversation.
My team‘s inbound lead response SLA is to attempt a live call within 3 minutes of any hand-raise (form fill, content download, email reply, etc.). If we don‘t connect, we‘ll leave a voicemail and follow up with a relevant email within 2 hours max. Then we nurture via multi-channel sequences.
The key is to tailor your approach to the prospect‘s digital body language. The more intent they show, the more directly you should engage them with calls and custom emails. But if they go cold after initial interest, revert to gentle emails and social touches until they warm back up.
3 Pro Tips for Cold Call and Email Success in 2024
Now that you know when to use calls vs email, how can you make sure each outreach is opened, read/heard, and responded to positively? Try these three tips drawn from the top performers in our 130,000-interaction analysis:
1. Craft Ultra-Relevant Opening Lines
With both calls and emails, you have about 5 seconds to capture your prospect‘s attention and convince them you‘re worth engaging. Most reps blow it by launching into a generic, self-centered pitch.
Instead, lead with a highly personalized opening line that shows you‘ve done your homework and have something of value to discuss. Reference a trigger event, mutual connection, past interaction, or piece of their own content.
Call Script: Hey [Name], [Your Name] from [Company] here. I saw your post on LinkedIn about struggling with [Challenge]. We‘ve helped similar companies like X and Y solve that by [1-2 sentences]. Can I ask a few Qs about your specific situation?
Email Intro: Hi [Name],
Congrats on the new round of funding! I imagine you‘re looking to scale quickly, which often comes with growing pains around [Challenge]. Our [Product] has helped X and Y in [Industry] accelerate growth and avoid pitfalls by:
- Benefit/Result 1
- Benefit/Result 2
Are you open to a quick call to discuss your plans and explore whether we could achieve something similar? I have time on [Day/Time] or [Day/Time].
2. Time Your Outreach With Precision
Catching prospects at the wrong time can kill your conversion rates, even if your message is on point. But reaching out when they‘re most receptive to hearing from you can work wonders.
For cold calls, our data shows that Wednesdays and Thursdays between 4-5pm local time yield the best results. Reps who consistently call during these "golden hours" generate 35% more meetings than their peers.
For emails, Tuesday at 10am is the sweet spot. Messages sent in this window get 38% higher open rates and 29% higher reply rates on average.
Of course, you should experiment to find what works best for your unique prospects. But building your cadence around these peak times is a solid starting point.
3. Mix Up Your Methods
The most successful outbound prospectors don‘t just rely on a single channel. They strategically combine calls, emails, and social touches to engage buyers from multiple angles.
After analyzing over 130,000 interactions, here‘s the average sequence our top performers use:
- Day 1: Introductory email
- Day 2: Follow-up email + LinkedIn connection request
- Day 4: Cold call #1
- Day 5: Cold call #2 + Voicemail
- Day 7: Follow-up email referencing voicemail
- Day 9: Cold call #3
- Day 11: Break-up email or value-add social touch (comment, share, etc.)
The key is to space out your attempts, vary your approach, and always add value. If a prospect isn‘t responding, don‘t bombard them. Aim for a delicate mix of persistence and patience.
Putting It All Together
In summary, deciding between cold calling and cold emailing is both an art and a science. Let these five factors guide your outreach approach:
- Prospect Seniority: Call high, email low
- Asking Strength: Call for strong asks, email for weak asks
- Urgency: Call for speed, email for scale
- Industry: Adapt to traditional vs digital communication norms
- Deal Stage: Email to open doors, call to accelerate opportunities
Then apply these three tips to improve your results:
- Craft ultra-relevant opening lines
- Time your outreach with precision
- Mix up your methods
When in doubt, test, track and iterate. Every prospect is unique, so be willing to experiment and find what resonates.
Most importantly, remember that modern selling is all about delivering value and building relationships. Whether you‘re calling or emailing, focus on being genuinely helpful, not just closing the deal. Do your research, personalize every touch point, and always strive to leave the prospect better than you found them.
If you put their needs first and follow this data-backed approach, you‘ll be well on your way to crushing your quota in 2024 and beyond. Now pick up the phone or open up your CRM and get after it!
