A question that is very often in the minds of sales executives is which of the two between email and phone calls offers the ultimate outreach medium.
Salespeople are often on the go and find it convenient to reply to emails quickly through their mobile phones. Indeed, emails are a necessary and all-important tool during marketing. It is the most widely used form of communication and in fact, studies show that by the end of 2018, there should be roughly 3.8 billion email users.
But what about making phone calls?
This is the thing, they are absolutely crucial as well. You simply cannot depend on email alone and expect to efficiently reach out to your customers.
Which of the two methods to use will very often depend on your audience and how best to connect and communicate with them. let’s find out more!
The Phone Call
There are certain situations that simply call for the use of telephone conversations. This method allows you to humanly interact with your audience. You can get valuable feedback that you wouldn’t normally get with an email conversation such as judging the authenticity and commitment of your client.
It is also an excellent way to build trust. The best time to make a call to your prospective client is:
• when you are looking for a quick answer
• when you are trying to explain a complicated process
• when the client prefers phone conversations
• when you want to connect more and create a relationship and
• when you need to deliver bad news
The Email
Sometimes you may have many clients and you can’t possibly make phone calls to all of them for every minor detail. Email is a good way to ask quick questions that are not urgent. Prospective clients may have a busy schedule and may not be in a position to pick a phone call. Email provides an excellent alternative.
The best times to use email includes:
• when you are making a follow-up
• you need a quick answer to a query
• when there is a need for written proof or
• when you need to communicate with many people.
How to choose the best outreach method
Now that we know that both of these communication methods are essential during marketing, the trick is to be able to analyze the situation and determine which of them to employ. This is how.
1. What is the objective?
This is the first question you should ask yourself. Are you in the process of closing a huge deal? Then making a phone call is best as opposed to sending an email which may actually look rather lazy.
If on the other hand, you need a short response which is not very urgent, then an email will work just fine.
2. What does the prospect prefer?
If you already know the prospect well and they have shown a timely response, then using email is a good way to reach out.
In case you have just only recently met the prospect and are trying to build that rapport and relationship then a phone call should suffice.