Email or Call? That Is the Question

When you want to establish a relationship with a prospective client, be it a builder, multi-family developer or single-family homeowner, what's better for an initial contact - email or phone call? After all, you have only one opportunity to make a first impression, so you want to make sure that it is a positive one.  Robert Graham, author of Cold Calling Early Customers, recommends sending an email because it does not require the recipient to respond immediately.  Plus, you can use an email as a reason to make a follow-up phone call.  

 

Another reason to email first instead of calling is it provides the opportunity for your showroom to explain your value proposition and convince the prospect that you are a better solution than the one they may currently be using or are considering.  Realistically, few of your prospects are going to take a call from a showroom they may never have heard of before or may not be interested in.

 

Google trends is a great tool to gauge how well your brand is recognized in your market territory.  Log on to Google Trends to determine how many times your company's name has been searched versus the searches of your top competitors.  If you are blogging at least weekly, chances are your showroom is getting significantly more visibility because there is a strong possibility you are appearing on the first page of Google searches.

 

You can skip the email or phone debate altogether though if you can use a contact to introduce you.  If you don't have a contact, check out the prospect's LinkedIn profile, Twitter or Instagram accounts and start to engage them by using social media to demonstrate how you can add value to their project.

 

Regardless of your strategy, make sure you know who you are contacting and what their needs are.  Researching a project's prospect enables you to craft personalized messages that address their needs.