The method of outreach sales reps use for a first connect on a new product makes a significant difference in response rates. Rather than deciding whether to call or send an email based on personal preference, use the method your prospect will be most responsive to.
While there are a few tips that can help you decide, sales reps should know that in the grand scheme of a sales engagement, it’s phone and email. However, as this post is more about the first touch, you need to make a choice given that you shouldn’t issue an identical email and voicemail in the first instance.
1) Time and Day of the Week
Statistically, phone connect rates rise as the day progresses, and as the week progresses— a person is more likely to answer their phone later in the workday and the workweek. So it may be wise to reserve the late afternoon hours for calls.
But what if a prospect doesn’t pick up their phone in these timeframes? Leave a voicemail. Response rates to voicemails also increase later in the day since checking phone messages is something people often do before heading home for the evening. Calling late is a win-win.
On the other hand, the ideal timespan in which to send email is shorter but more frequent. Send emails either 10 minutes before or after the hour as these brief windows correspond with people leaving or going to meetings—this is when people like to scroll through email on their smartphones before the meetings start. If you synch your email to be sent with the time your buyer is most likely to check their inbox, your message will pop up on top instead of being buried beneath others.
2) The Ask
What’s your objective for this first outreach? Figuring this out and categorising the reason as “weak” or “strong” will help you determine whether to call or email.
Strong asks require commitment, such as requests for meetings or conference calls while weak asks seek straightforward information from the buyer – such as feedback. If you’re looking at strong, pick up the phone, as you need more closing skills to secure a “yes.” And it’s far easier to persuade on a phone call, when a rep can respond to and smooth over objections in real time. But if the ask is weak and easily fulfilled, don’t take up the prospect’s time unnecessarily and just send email.
It’s interesting to note that most salespeople take the opposite approach -- they ask buyers for meetings through emails because they’re afraid of being rejected on a strong ask over the phone. Don’t fear—reverse this equation and watch your response rates climb.
3) The Level of the Prospect
Because C-level executives have assistants and individual contributors do not, the more senior in work hierarchy your prospect is, the more likely you are to reach a live person when you call.
Since a live conversation with anyone -- regardless of whether they’re the person you were trying to reach or not -- trumps an email exchange, use the phone with buyers at the management level or above. Also, higher-level prospects are generally more comfortable on the phone, and less intimidated by sales calls.
But if individual contributors don’t answer their phones, no one else is going to pick up -- and they’re not likely to return a call from an unknown number. Therefore, a rep may connect more comfortably at this level through an asynchronous channel such as email.
If you're reaching out to a younger buyer, do understand that in general, millennials like communicating by email more than over phone. You might find professionals in customer-facing roles are more amenable to talking on the phone -- because that's what they're used to. Those in internal jobs, however, may be more comfortable sending emails.
Lastly, those in more traditional industries are typically accustomed to phone calls.
Following Up
These four criteria make it much easier to choose between an email and a phone call for a new pitch. But what about subsequent touch points?
The beginning and the end of each sales engagement should be phone-heavy, since that’s where the strongest asks are -- starting a relationship, and closing a deal. In between, reps should opt for email as a rule of thumb.
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