Cold call or cold email for my B2B sales prospecting?

{{chap1}}

‍

Defining cold emailing

Cold email is a prospecting technique that involves sending an unsolicited e-mail to a person or company in the hope of informing them about a product or service. One of the main advantages of cold email is that it's easy to automate (with the various solutions on the market), which saves time by rapidly sending messages to thousands of prospects in just a few clicks.

Another advantage of cold email is that it allows you to quickly qualify prospects based on their response (or non-response). However, it's important to take into account the risk of falling into the spam box or receiving little response from recipients, as people receive tons of emails of this type every day. So it's important to know how to write an attractive subject line and personalized content.

‍

‍

‍

A precise methodology to avoid being identified as spam

It's crucial to adopt a sophisticated methodology to prevent your automated e-mails from ending up in recipients' spam boxes. Spam filters from e-mail providers have become increasingly sophisticated, and are designed to detect mass e-mails or suspicious content. Therefore, it's essential to implement a methodical, well-thought-out approach to ensure that your e-mails reach the inbox and are read by the recipients.

The first step is to segment your mailing list and target qualified prospects who are genuinely interested in your products or services. Avoid mass mailings to generic lists, as this can be perceived as spam. In addition, personalize your e-mails by using the recipient's name and referring to specific information that shows you've researched them. Also, use authentic language and avoid overly aggressive promotional terms. By adopting a methodical approach and providing relevant, personalized content, you'll considerably increase your chances of delivering your e-mails to the inbox and arousing the interest of potential prospects.

In this article we explain in more detail how to proceed.

‍

Effective, up-to-date copywriting

‍

Your prospects' mailboxes are certainly saturated with prospecting emails. It's a big mistake to copy your competitor's e-mail with minimal modifications, thinking that this strategy will pay off. If you want your e-mails to have a decent response and open rate, you'll need to use copywriting that's impactful and different.

To create good copywriting for your cold email strategy, there are a few key elements to consider. First, it's essential to personalize your message with the recipient in mind. Research the company and person you're writing to so you can tailor your email to their specific needs, interests and context. This shows you're genuinely interested in them and increases your chances of capturing their attention.

Next, it's important to create a text that's engaging and concise. Start with a punchy hook that immediately grabs the reader's attention. Use clear, simple language, avoid excessive professional jargon and focus on the specific benefits your product or service can offer. Structure your message to keep the reader's attention throughout the email, using short paragraphs and highlighting key points. End your email with a clear and precise call to action, telling your recipient the next step to take.

‍

A cold email strategy includes several follow-ups

Cold email strategies are part of a sequence logic. Simply sending a single e-mail to a prospect without trying to follow up if they don't respond would be a very unsuccessful business decision in terms of returns. Each prospect to whom you send an e-mail should receive 1 to 3 follow-ups if no reply is received.

Prospects may be busy or have a cluttered inbox, which can lead to the first e-mail being overlooked or forgotten. Subsequent reminders therefore serve to recapture the prospect's attention and keep your offer at the forefront of their minds. Likewise, follow-ups offer an opportunity to provide further information or answer any objections or questions that may have prevented the prospect from responding initially. By persisting with well-conceived follow-ups, judiciously spaced over time, you increase your chances of capturing the prospect's interest and encouraging subsequent conversion.

‍

{{chap2}}

‍

Cold calling, on the other hand, involves calling a company directly in the hope of getting in touch with a decision-maker. One of the advantages of this technique is that it allows you to communicate directly with a prospect to answer questions or introduce yourself. It also allows you to establish a personal relationship with the prospect. However, it's important to bear in mind the risk of getting auto-responders or people who aren't interested. It's therefore important to carry out prior research into the company and its market to optimize the conversation.

‍

‍

A neglected yet effective way of making contact

Cold calling is an often overlooked practice, but it can be extremely effective in sales prospecting. Despite the emergence of new digital marketing techniques, direct contact with prospects by telephone offers unique advantages. Firstly, cold calling enables real-time communication, offering an opportunity to create a personal bond with the prospect. This allows you to engage in a genuine conversation, respond immediately to their questions and objections, and demonstrate your company's expertise.

What's more, cold calling enables you to seize opportunities that would otherwise remain undiscovered. Potential prospects may not yet be aware of their need, or may not have considered your solution. By contacting them directly, you have the opportunity to persuasively present your offer and convince them of its usefulness. What's more, cold calling also offers the flexibility to adapt in real time to the prospect's reactions and adjust your sales approach accordingly. Despite its apparent neglect, cold calling remains a powerful method for building strong business relationships and closing sales.

‍

A practice that converts many

Cold calling is a practice that can generate significant conversion rates in sales prospecting. Unlike other communication methods, such as e-mail or online advertising, cold calling offers an opportunity for direct, personalized contact with prospects. This creates a stronger bond and develops a relationship of trust, which is essential for converting prospects into customers.

In addition, cold calling enables the sales rep to ask relevant questions and receive immediate answers. This gives him/her a deeper understanding of the prospect's specific needs and challenges. Using this information, the sales rep can tailor his offer and highlight the benefits that exactly match the prospect's needs. This increased personalization and responsiveness significantly increases the chances of closing a successful sale. Cold calling therefore offers an effective means of initiating meaningful conversations, understanding prospects' needs and proposing appropriate solutions, all of which contribute to high conversion rates in sales prospecting.

‍

A time-consuming approach

Cold calling can be a time-consuming approach because of the preliminary steps required before you even start making calls. First of all, you have to spend time researching and finding the right people to contact, which involves scouring various sources for contact details and relevant information on each prospect, unless youhave a qualified, RGPD Compliant file in advance. This research stage can be quite laborious and requires some effort to obtain the necessary data.

Then, once the prospects have been identified, you also need to take the time to prepare an effective sales script. This involves creating a convincing pitch that highlights the benefits of the product or service, while anticipating potential objections and having appropriate answers ready to go. This meticulous preparation of each call takes time and sometimes requires adjustments to suit the specific prospect, adding another layer of complexity to the whole process.

‍

A methodology for RGPD compliance

Cold calling is a practice that must adhere to an appropriate methodology to comply with RGPD (General Data Protection Regulation) laws.It's important to provide clear information on the purpose of data processing, the rights of data subjects and how to unsubscribe or withdraw consent. By complying with these requirements, companies can maintain a legal and ethical approach to cold calling, protecting the rights and privacy of individuals while continuing their business prospecting activities.

This approach can be outsourced to a competent agency to ensure correct and optimal use of prospect data.

‍

{{chap3}}

‍

‍

When it comes to determining the best approach, it's important to take into account how you want to present yourself to your prospects and how you project your business. Once you've done that, it's easy to decide which prospecting channel to choose, provided you have even the slightest knowledge of each of these channels (Mailing, cold call, Linkedin, SMS automation, ...).

Whatever your company's situation, in the majority of situations, opting for email prospecting and cold calling will always have value. The success of your cold emailing and cold calling campaign will depend solely on how these practices are carried out.

‍

Multi-channel is often a winning strategy

An optimal marketing and sales strategy must make use of all avenues for business development, provided that returns on investment and conversion rates are attractive. Investing resources in automated e-mail prospecting and cold calling is bound to yield an interesting return, as long as you allocate your resources intelligently. Basically, you need to know how far it's worth spending your resources on cold emails, and the same for your cold calls, to know your ideal mix on which to base yourself.

‍

Continuously measure the KPIs of your prospecting campaign

Finally, continuous measurement of the key performance indicators (KPIs) of a cold email and cold call campaign is imperative to ensure campaign success. This makes it possible to track results, identify what's working and what's not, and make the necessary adjustments to optimize performance. By monitoring KPIs such as email open rate, response rate, conversion rate and ROI, you can assess the effectiveness of your actions, identify weak points and opportunities for improvement, and make informed decisions to maximize results. In short, continuous KPI measurement is essential for evaluating, optimizing and adjusting your sales prospecting strategy, ensuring the success of your cold email and cold call campaigns.

‍

{{chap4}}

‍

In conclusion, there is no single answer to the question of choosing between cold call and cold email for your B2B sales prospecting. The most appropriate approach will depend on your company's specific business objectives and your understanding of your market. Both techniques can be effective, but it's important to know how to use them optimally to achieve the desired results. Feel free to experiment with both techniques and measure their effectiveness to determine which is best for your business.

‍