Cold Calling vs Cold Emailing: Which Works Better?

Griffin Morris·January 20, 2025

Cold emailing generally outperforms cold calling for B2B lead generation, but the best approach depends on your industry, audience, and goals.

Using both methods together often yields the best results. Learn how to combine them in this article!

Outline:

• The Perfect Balance Between Cold Calling and Cold Emailing
• What is Cold Calling?
• What is Cold Email?
• How Do They Compare?
• What Affects the Choice?
• Tips for Better Cold Calling
• Tips for Better Cold Emailing
• Using Both Methods Together
• How to Measure Results
• Conclusion

The Perfect Balance Between Cold Calling and Cold Emailing

When it comes to cost-effectiveness, scalability, and easily tracking return on investment, cold email is usually the clear winner. It allows for quicker testing, optimization, and tracking of results.

Cold calling, on the other hand, is a more manual process. While it can be automated with AI, this often makes it more expensive than email marketing.

That said, calling your prospects is an excellent option for follow-ups and complex sales. These two strategies aren’t mutually exclusive—they’re complementary.

Key stats:

Sources:

• Mastering Cold Email: Subject Lines for Higher Open Rates
• Cold email statistics
• Cold email vs cold call
• Cold calling rates
• How to measure the effectiveness of cold calling vs email

Quick tips:

• Know your audience (e.g. millennials prefer email)
• Time it right (best times: 10-11 am and 4-5 pm)
• Personalize your approach
• Track results and adjust accordingly
• Use CRM tools to manage both email and call campaigns

Remember: There's no one-size-fits-all solution. Experiment, measure, and optimize based on what works for YOUR specific audience and goals.

What is Cold Calling?

Cold calling is when salespeople call potential customers who haven't shown interest in their product. It's a direct way to reach new prospects and get leads.

Key Points

Cold calling usually involves:

• Calling people out of the blue
• Talking to prospects in real-time
• Introducing products to new audiences
• Trying to create business opportunities

Despite the debate, cold calling isn't dead.

• 75% likelihood that a prospect will answer on the first call attempt (Cognism’s 2024 State of Cold Calling Report).
• The connection rate for cold calls stands at 16.6%, with the best results achieved using cell phone numbers(Cognism’s 2024 State of Cold Calling Report).
• A 2021 survey by Cognism, Turtle, Reachdesk, and Leadfeeder found that 17% of B2B marketers rely on cold calling as their primary method for acquiring new customers, ranking it second only to email.

To make cold calling work:

• Do your homework on prospects.
• Focus on relationships, not just sales.
• If you don’t know the best time to call your prospect, just pick up the phone and make the call. Calling is a numbers game, and you need to make plenty of calls to maintain a success rate.
• Handle rejection well and stay positive.

Cold calling can be tough, but it's still useful in some industries, especially when mixed with other outreach methods.

To manage more calls efficiently, you can rely on an AI-powered mobile answering service for businesses, such as Allô.

What is Cold Email?

Cold email is when businesses send targeted emails to prospects they haven't talked to before.

Unlike picking up the phone, email outreach lets you:

• Reach billions of people (4.48 billion worldwide in 2024)
• Share lots of info about what you're selling
• Let people respond when it's good for them

The Good and Bad of Email Outreach

The good:

• Cheap to do
• Can reach thousands at once
• Easy to track results
• Can be personalized and automated

The bad:

• Might get marked as spam
• Takes time to write good emails
• Has to follow laws like GDPR and CAN-SPAM

To make cold email work, it’s all about quality over quantity. A few great emails will always get better results than sending tons of generic ones.

Cold Email Key Stats

• 8 Out of 10 Buyers Prefer To Be Contacted by Email (Kently)
• The Best Time To Send Emails Is Between 1 PM and 4 PM ((Kently)
• Cold Emails Sent on Weekdays Get Higher Open Rates. (Kently)
• Personalized email subject lines boost open rates by 50%. (Mailmodo)
• Personalized emails of a cold email boost response rate by 30.5%. (Mailmodo)

How Do They Compare?

The averages below are compiled from various sources. Keep in mind that these numbers may vary depending on your industry and audience.

Use them as a general reference to guide you, but explore and determine your benchmarks!

Sources:

• Cold Calling Conversion Funnel Analytics
• Email conversion rate
• Email marketing conversion rate
• Cold email campaigns cost
• Email marketing pricing

Email outreach seems to have the edge in most areas. But remember, the best approach often depends on your specific business and goals, and your follow-up should have both email and calls.

What Affects the Choice?

Choosing between cold calling and email outreach boils down to two main factors:

Target Audience Likes

Industry Standards

Take a B2B software company targeting C-suite. They might pick up the phone: "69% of buyers take calls from new salespeople, so we dial up our exec prospects."

But a digital marketing agency after small businesses? They'd likely hit send: "8 in 10 buyers prefer marketing emails over calls, so we've gone all-in on email outreach."

Pro tip: Timing is everything. Phone connect rates jump late in the day and week. Aiming to call? Try Thursday or Friday afternoons.

And consider your ask. Need a meeting? Call. Want feedback? Email. Strong asks work better on the phone, while lighter requests can slide into the inbox.

Tips for Better Cold Calling

Cold calling isn't dead. But it's not about winging it either. Here's how to up your game:

Research and Prep

Do your homework before you dial:

• Social media: Check role, company, and recent posts.
• Company website: Scan products, services, and news.
• Google Alerts: Set up for prospects and companies.

Handling Objections

1. Validate and label

Acknowledge their concern:

"I get it, you're swamped. Sounds like you're feeling overwhelmed."

2. Follow up with a question

Keep the conversation going:

"When's a better time to chat about lightening your workload?"

3. Use pain points to deflect

If they're not interested, pivot to challenges:

"How do you feel about your team's lead generation right now?"

Remember: Your goal is starting a conversation, not closing a deal on call one.

Tips for Better Cold Emailing

Email marketing without a sales platform can be incredibly time-consuming.

That’s why you need an all-in-one solution to easily gather lead data, automate your follow-ups with sequences, and track results.

If connecting with local business owners is your goal, Resquared is a perfect fit!

Our main features include:

• Access to a database of over 12 million local businesses
• A 5% to 8% reply rate when you follow our best practices
• AI-powered email tools
• Outreach analytics to improve your performance
• Social media outreach features

Learn more about how we can make your outreach simpler and more effective.

When and How Often to Send

Timing is crucial. Here's an average formula you can use to kick off your tests.

• Best time: Monday-Wednesday, 9 AM-12 PM
• Follow-up: Every 2-3 days, max 7 days
• Number of follow-ups: 3-5 over 2-3 weeks

Keep it short. Aim for under 100 words.

Your email checklist:

• [ ] Short subject line (6-10 words)
• [ ] Catchy pre-header
• [ ] Personal opening
• [ ] Clear value prop
• [ ] Strong CTA

Using Both Methods Together

Ordering Calls and Emails

Create a balanced approach:

1. Email first

Send a quick, personal email. Introduce yourself and your offer. This sets the stage.

2. Call next

Call 1-2 days after the email. Mention the email to jog their memory.

3. Email follow-up

No answer? Leave a voicemail and fire off a follow-up email right after.

4. Mix it up

Keep reaching out. Switch between calls and emails. It often takes 8 touches to get a response.

How to Measure Results

Cold Calling Metrics

1. Call-to-Meeting Rate

This shows how many calls turn into meetings. Example: 3 meetings from 100 calls = 3% rate.

2. Conversion Rate

How many calls lead to sales? Example: 1 sale from 100 calls = 1% rate.

3. Cost per Lead

Total costs ÷ Number of leads = Cost per lead

Cold Emailing Metrics

1. Open Rate

The percentage of people opening your emails.

2. Response Rate

How many replies? Typical for cold emails: 8.5%

3. Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Tracks link clicks in your emails.

4. Conversion Rate

How many emails lead to sales?

Conclusion

Cold calling and email outreach both have their place in sales. Your choice depends on your business, audience, and goals.

Email outreach often wins for:

• Cost-effectiveness
• Scalability

Cold calling shines for:

• Complex sales processes
• Industries that prefer phone communication

Know your audience, test both methods, and find your sweet spot!