Sales Tip: Ditch Email—Calls Close More Sales

Sales Tip: Ditch Email—Calls Close More Sales

The Problem with Relying on Email Communication

Email feels safe because it provides space for thought. You can reflect, edit, and delay your response. However, this space can also kill momentum. The tone may become lost, and the sense of urgency can fade. And let’s be honest—your “just checking in” email, if you are lucky, is getting buried under 47 others just like it, or if you have sent it to someone like me who sees how lazy this approach and phrase is, it goes straight to delete as soon as I see those words.

Here’s the thing: According to Salesforce, only 24% of sales emails are ever opened. This means three out of four messages you carefully craft and send are doing absolutely nothing.

If you think email alone will drive deals and meet your sales goals, you’re mistaken.

Calls Establish Connections

Sales is a human endeavour. Calls allow you to hear hesitation, catch excitement, build trust, receive real-time feedback, ask better questions, and address objections as they arise. It would take at least three emails to get only a fraction of this, and that’s if you are lucky enough to have a sales lead who’s going to take their valuable time to email back and forth with you.

Most of you have probably heard the phrase, “People buy from people”, not with impeccably polished paragraphs filled with the sterile email subject lines of “as per my last email.” It reminds us that relationships built on emotional intelligence, authenticity and warmth tend to foster empathy, trust and loyalty, leading to more meaningful connections.

Great Reps Take Initiative

Top performers don’t sit around hoping someone replies. They pick up the phone, lean into the discomfort, and value the conversation over the convenience.

Top performers refuse to sit back and passively await a reply. They seize the moment, picking up the phone with determination, fully prepared to lean into any discomfort they may be feeling. They understand that true growth emerges from those challenging conversations and value the depth of the conversation over the ease of convenience. For them, each interaction is an opportunity to connect and build the relationship, proving that the rewards of engagement far surpass any fleeting hesitation.

They don’t just follow up. They follow through. And it pays off. Sales reps who use phone outreach as their primary follow-up method report a 42% higher success rate in moving deals through the pipeline. This significant increase is truly transformative.

When to Email (Don’t Get Confused)

Don’t get me wrong, email has its place: confirming details, sending proposals, and clarifying key points. However, do not confuse it with the actual selling process. Real-time, voice-to-voice interactions are where selling truly happens.

According to HubSpot, it takes, on average, 8 touches to get a meeting. Calls are a quicker way to achieve this. When a deal truly matters and begins to slow down, don’t hesitate, stop emailing. Pick up the phone.

Make every call count

Here’s the part most sales leaders miss: calls only work if reps know how to make them count.

Sales leaders often underestimate a crucial truth: calls become truly effective only when representatives possess the skills to make them impactful. In other words, they are trained to ‘make every call count’.

The truth is that not everyone is naturally confident on the phone. This is why telephone training and coaching are essential for creating a high-performing team. Cold calling. Discovery. Objection handling. Voice tone. Pacing. Listening. These are skills, not instincts. And just like any skill, they need practice, feedback, and repetition.

Voice tone, pacing, objection handling, lead generation, cold calling, and listening are skills, not instincts. Like any skill, they require practice, feedback, and repetition. If you want your team to drive revenue through conversations, invest in coaching them on how to have those conversations; otherwise, you’re leaving deals on the table.

The most successful teams engage in live call coaching and meticulously review call recordings to identify key insights and foster an environment of continuous improvement. As a result, their sales teams consistently hit and even exceed their sales targets.

Final Words

If your close rate has plateaued and your pipeline feels stale, it’s time to shift gears: stop sending emails and start making phone calls to engage in conversations. Sales transcends mere communication, it’s fundamentally about connection. Remember, true connection doesn’t live in your inbox; it flourishes in genuine interactions.

Calls close deals. Always have. Still do.

If you would like me to help your sales team to have the confidence to pick up the phone rather than send emails, please call me on 020 8337 5937 or send an email to gary@garymorgan.coach

Find out more about my telephone training here