Cold Calling VS Social Selling: Which One Wins?

Not long ago a Sales Manager did an experiment in their team...

They got one of their sales reps to make 100 cold calls per day, for a week, and record all of the results. They then got one of their other sales reps to send 100 LinkedIn InMails per day, for a week, and recorded all of those results.

By the end of the week they had direct data on which channel worked best.

Was it cold calling?

Was it social selling?

Here were the results:

Cold calling - 500 calls made, 86 emails sent, 24 meetings booked

Social Selling - 500 InMails sent, 21 emails sent, 0 meetings booked

That's it, the debate is finally over! Cold calling is the best, social selling doesn't work, let's only make cold calls just like we used to 20 years ago and keep life nice and simple.

Ok let's get serious now...

First of all there shouldn't be a cold calling versus social selling debate, the reality is everyone in sales should be using both, simple!

However, this experiment did highlight another unfortunate reality in sales at the moment.

A lot of sales teams think that the activity of sending spammy, non-personalised, copy and paste InMails on Sales Navigator is Social Selling.

Here is what I typically see being sent (and classed as social selling):

Hi Jane,

My name is Dan from XYZ Software Company. We specialise in providing the best software in the industry. Our software does this, and it also does that, and our customers love it.

Are you free tomorrow for a call to discuss it?

Kind Regards,

Salesperson

Let me make this crystal clear...

THIS

IS

NOT

SOCIAL SELLING!

I'm not surprised sending 500 InMails didn't generate any meetings, why would it? 99% of them would have never have even been seen or read, and the ones that did get read were most probably ignored.

Here is what a more accurate experiment measuring social selling should have included:

• Personalised direct LinkedIn messages sent (written, audio & video)
• Personalised InMails sent
• LinkedIn connections added (relevant ICP)
• Relevant content shared
• ICP profile views
• Relevant comments on ICP posts
• Total impressions

And there is even more to measure than that, but what I'm trying to highlight is there is SO MUCH more to social selling than most people realise.

Let's not forget that other SUPER important factor here:

Social selling done right WARMS up cold calls. And when it's done REALLY right it can have HUGE impact on cold call conversion rates.

The reality is there never should have been a cold calling versus social selling debate. Let me show you why...

The way we communicate has changed dramatically over the last 25 years. There was a time, a long time ago, when the only ways to communicate with people were by picking up the phone or speaking face to face.

For salespeople that meant the phone, or face to face, were your only options. Cold calling really was the main and best way to prospect.

All of the people who worked in sales during this time are now sales managers, directors, VP's or even business owners and CEO's. The way they succeeded in sales was by making cold calls, so that's what they believe will still work today.

As I said though, the way we communicate has changed A LOT.

It's no longer phone calls and face to face.

It's text messages, it's WhatsApp, it's social media, it's video calls, it's voice notes, it's emails, it's through content, personal brands and so much more.

I've drawn something to help bring this to life, I call it the modern day prospecting maze.

Every single one of your customers, even you reading this now as a buyer, sits within a maze.

The truth is we each have different preferences.

Some people prefer to pick up the phone to speak to someone, some people don't. Some hate talking on the phone and ignore every call that comes through.

Some people prefer to send emails, some don't.

Some prefer to message on social media, some don't.

You get the idea, and the thing is there is no right or wrong. It's just personal preference. But as salespeople our job is to go where our customers are. That means using as many, or all, of these communication channels to reach as many prospects and customers as possible.

So you see it has never been social selling versus cold calling.

It's always been social selling AND cold calling, along with every other new way of communicating that exists and comes out.

2025 is here and social selling has never been more important, relevant or valuable. The best sales teams leverage it and leverage it properly.

Now I'm going to do something BIG to help you and your teams...

I'm giving away my ENTIRE LinkedIn, Social Selling & Sales Navigator training library away for FREE! ??

It includes everything you'll ever need: Selling to the C-Suite, Optimising LinkedIn Profiles, Growing High-Value Networks, Search & Find Anyone, Send EFFECTIVE Messages, Create Incredible Content, Algorithms, Lists, Viral Content, Voice Notes, Video, Sales Navigator Mastery, literally everything is covered!

What will you get??EVERYTHING Every masterclass, every eBook, every training video, every webinar, all of it. Forever. Lifetime access to all of my training content, 55+ hours of LinkedIn, Sales Navigator & Social Selling training yours forever.

What is it worth??Over $4,500

What will it cost??Nothing, simply start your 14-day FREE trial of my personal favourite CRM, Pipedrive

It's simple...

1) Sign up for a completely free 14-day trial of Pipedrive here

2) Send me a screenshot or confirmation email by replying to this email or emailing me directly at [email protected]

3) Sit back and wait for your training to come through

I'll even send a set of instructional videos on how to get the most out of Pipedrive so you'll get to use the best CRM out there, you'll learn how to use it and you'll get all of the LinkedIn training you'll ever need!

BONUS - I'll give the first 10 people to sign up a free copy of my latest book as well!

If you enjoyed this newsletter article please click LIKE and click SHARE to share it with your network, thank you!

Keen to learn more? Want to become, or want your team to become LinkedIn & Social Selling masters?

Here are a host of extra resources of mine to help you and your team:

PODCAST?- The Social Selling Podcast

BOOK?- The Ultimate LinkedIn Sales Guide (Available on Amazon)

BOOK?- The Ultimate LinkedIn Messaging Guide (Available on Amazon)

YOUTUBE?- Daniel Disney YouTube Channel

WEBSITE?- www.danieldisney.online

If you're interested in me coming to deliver an?in-person?or virtual?SKO,?Keynote or if you're interested in a Corporate LinkedIn/Social Selling/Sales Navigator Training package, please feel free to pop me a message on LinkedIn or email me directly at [email protected]