4 Occasions When Emailing Is Better Than Calling

Life has thrown up several classic questions: which came first, the chicken or the egg?  If the Universe is expanding, where is it expanding into?

In sales, we have our own set of ponderables, and one of those is whether to email or call prospects.  At Natural we always encourage picking up the phone, however  there are some occasions when emailing may be better than calling.

Here are four prime examples:

1. For the sales follow-up

After your first meeting you want to continue the dialogue and build a rapport and a relationship.  Now there is nothing wrong at all with a phone call.  But, like you, your prospects are busy people and sometimes the last thing they want to do is pick up the phone and talk to someone.  There are times when you just wish that your phone would stop ringing!  Phones cause interruptions.

In any case, even when you do call a prospect, more than likely they’re going to ask you to send over some additional information for them to review.  And how are you going to send that?  By email probably.  So, you might as well save both of you the time and hassle, by sending the email first.

2. To reach the right person

The higher up the organisation your prospect is the more likely they’ll be surrounded by a ring of gatekeepers.  These are the personal assistants and secretaries whose function it may sometimes seem to you is forever to say, “Sorry the person you want to speak to is in a meeting” or “out to lunch” etc.  But also, people lower down the organisation are often away from their desks, so making contact with them can be just as difficult.

However, when you have their personal email addresses, you get straight through to them every time.

3. To provide more flexibility to your prospects

When we answer the phone, we often feel that we must give answers there and then.  There appears to be more of a sense of immediacy with a phone call.

Prospects do not like to be rushed.  And if there’s a lot on their plate, even when you have a scheduled call with them, they may not be in the best frame of mind to give your their full attention.  And if they feel hurried to give a response, they may give you one that you don’t like.  With an email, they can review your information at their leisure and respond to it.  Even in their spare time.  People are more likely to look at and respond to email messages in their free time than they are to take phone calls.

4. To accurately recall your interactions with prospects

How many times have you reviewed phone conversations in your head and wondered “now what did he say again”?  Unless you have perfect recall, the chances of you remembering exactly what was said during every single sales call are not good.  We all forget things.  Even during a conversation we can struggle to recall what was said three minutes previously.  On the whole, memories are just not watertight keepers of records.  There is no such problem with emails.  They are permanent and searchable, allowing you to easily find what was covered and when.

Targeting Your Communications

Along with all the other decisions you have to make during your day, whether to email or phone a prospect is likely to be one of those.  As discussed in this blog article, you should never, ever stop calling or emailing.  Knowing which to use and when rather than a blanket communications assault can increase your chances of getting the outcome you want.

For more tips and advice on getting through to prospects, contact us here.