{"id":17121,"date":"2023-03-29T14:47:50","date_gmt":"2023-03-29T13:47:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/?p=17121"},"modified":"2025-12-16T14:59:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T13:59:14","slug":"cold-calling-or-cold-emailing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/cold-calling-or-cold-emailing\/","title":{"rendered":"Cold Calling, Cold Emailing \u2014 One, the Other or Both?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you\u2019re the one starting a conversation with a sales prospect, cold calls or cold emails are usually the way you get the ball rolling.<\/p>\n

You may personally prefer one or the other but they\u2019re both essential parts of the sales & marketing toolbox for anyone taking on the challenge of cold outreach.<\/p>\n

Is one definitely more effective than the other? Should you always pick one or use both? Which one delivers a better return on time invested?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve put together this comparison of the different elements involved in cold calling and cold emailing so you can decide if maybe one suits you better along with some tips to help get more out of your campaigns.<\/p>\n

So is it going to be a keyboard or a phone? Typing or dialing? Both?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at the options!<\/p>\n

What is a cold email?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A cold email is an email sent to someone who has not previously heard from you.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re writing to them because, thanks to your research or a referral or some other method, you know that they\u2019re dealing with an issue that can be solved by the product or service that you\u2019re selling.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a way to start a conversation and the point is to quickly address the issue being faced by the prospect and offer them a solution.<\/p>\n

Cold emailing tips<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s a brief checklist of things you can do to get better results from your cold emails:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Define your ICP and stick to it<\/h3>\n

It doesn\u2019t take long to create your Ideal Customer Profile<\/a> (or buyer persona) and base outreach on it.<\/p>\n

Know who your typical customer is and don\u2019t waste time and resources sending your message to random people with zero chance of being interested. Many businesses fall into this trap and end up damaging their sales pipeline before it even gets going.<\/p>\n

This is a great way to get labeled as a cold caller or worse \u2014 land in the spam folder. Don\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n

Personalization<\/h3>\n

You\u2019ve probably heard about the importance of personalized cold emails<\/a> a million times.<\/p>\n

Let me make it a million and one.<\/p>\n

Given the tools you have in modern cold emailing platforms, like mail merge and smart templates, there\u2019s no reason you can\u2019t easily craft highly personalized emails for every campaign. It\u2019s not an option, it\u2019s a sales technique.<\/p>\n

Follow-ups<\/h3>\n

Again, cold emailing tools like Woodpecker<\/a> make this easy too.<\/p>\n

After sending your original email, you can set up automatic follow-ups<\/a> based on open and response rates or simply after a certain number of days.<\/p>\n

This helps keep you visible in the prospect\u2019s inbox without having to manually chase many prospects. Don\u2019t rely on one message to do all the work \u2014 many businesses don\u2019t reply to the first email anyway<\/a>.<\/p>\n\"cold\n

Get inspired by email templates<\/h3>\n

Templates<\/a> are a great way to kick off your campaigns without the blank screen struggle. They help you keep structure and flow consistent while making it easy to add a personal touch.<\/p>\n

Woodpecker\u2019s new template feature makes it easy to create, edit, save, and share emails across your sales team \u2014 but be careful. Templates are a starting point, not a shortcut to spam.<\/p>\n

Copy-pasting the same message into every inbox is how you build a bad reputation and lose promising prospects.<\/p>\n\"cold\n

Get your SPF and DKIM set up properly<\/h3>\n

These are the background tools that keep your emails trusted and visible. Without them, your emails are more likely to hit the spam folder instead of the potential client\u2019s inbox.<\/p>\n

If you’re part of a sales team trying to build a healthy sales funnel, skipping this step could cost you new leads before they ever see your name.<\/p>\n

Learn more about the simple processes of setting them up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Show you\u2019re human, not a robot<\/h3>\n

No, I\u2019m not talking about CAPTCHA puzzles.<\/p>\n

I mean writing like an actual person. A business owner or decision-maker on the other end wants to connect with someone real.<\/p>\n

Would you rather get an automated blast or a thoughtful note that speaks to your world? There\u2019s a big difference.<\/p>\n

Do your research<\/h3>\n

This ties back to your target audience and buyer persona, but it\u2019s also about relevance.<\/p>\n

If your prospect got promoted last week, mention it. If their company just raised funding, bring it up.<\/p>\n

These little cues signal that you\u2019re not a cold caller with a script \u2014 you\u2019re here with intent. That\u2019s the flip side of automation: it only works if it doesn\u2019t feel automated.<\/p>\n

Always close with a clear CTA<\/h3>\n

The short answer here is: tell them what to do next<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re not writing just to say hi. You want more meetings, phone calls, or even a direct reply.<\/p>\n

And no \u2014 most people won\u2019t give you an immediate response unless you make it ridiculously easy. Drop a link, suggest a time, or ask for their phone number. Be direct. Don\u2019t waste your own time or theirs.<\/p>\n

Cold emailing mistakes to avoid\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Now here\u2019s a list of things that will prevent you from getting the best possible results from your cold email campaigns:<\/span><\/p>\n

Now here\u2019s a list of things that will prevent you from getting the best possible results from your cold email campaigns:<\/p>\n

Using your main domain for cold email outreach<\/h3>\n

Short version: your main domain is too valuable to even risk<\/em> getting banned from sending emails and it makes it easier to organize and manage replies that you know are coming in from certain outreach campaigns.<\/p>\n

Long version: Read it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Using misleading subject lines<\/h3>\n

You might be proud of yourself for inventing the catchiest subject line<\/a> ever but if it\u2019s not related to the subject matter in the email, you will be labeled as a spammer.<\/p>\n

Was it really worth improving your open rate by 2%? No, it wasn\u2019t, because now you can\u2019t send any emails at all.<\/p>\n

No personalization.<\/h3>\n

Ok, what is this, one million and three<\/em>? Do I even have to explain it again?<\/p>\n

Using some variation of \u201cthe 30-minute call request\u201d<\/h3>\n

\u201cHi, you don\u2019t know me but I\u2019m trying to sell something to you. You wanna talk for 30 minutes about it?\u201d. How would you <\/em>reply to that? That\u2019s what we thought.<\/p>\n

Make sure your request fits where you are in your relationship with the prospect.<\/p>\n

Not sending follow-ups<\/h3>\n

Above we said that follow-ups were good because they keep the conversation going<\/a>. So not sending follow-ups means not keeping the conversation going, which means nothing will come from your efforts.<\/p>\n

Also remember that most prospects reply to a follow-up, not the initial email, so send follow-ups to increase your chances of getting that reply<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Talking about yourself and not focusing on the prospect<\/h3>\n

If 100% of the focus of your cold email pitch isn\u2019t about the prospect and the problems that they are facing, then you\u2019re doing it wrong.<\/p>\n

The only role you play is as the person who can deliver the solution. Keep it that way.<\/p>\n

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