Sales prospecting channels compared: phone, email or LinkedIn

Sales prospecting is the work of finding potential customers and starting the first conversation with them. The most common channels are the phone, email, LinkedIn and other social networks, customer referrals and events. None of them works best every time: it depends on who you sell to, how much each sale is worth and how much time you have.

Below we compare the five channels, with pros, cons and an example for each one, and suggest a simple way to combine them.

Before the channel: who you're going to prospect

Define your ideal customer: industry, company size and the title of the person who makes the decision. Then build a short list and rank it by priority. Log every contact in a CRM or, to start with, a spreadsheet. Without a list, any channel turns into shooting in the dark.

Sales prospecting channels compared

The prospecting channels, one by one

Phone: cold calling

It's the most direct channel: within two minutes you know whether there's interest and which objections come up. It's also the most intimidating. Often, before you reach the decision-maker, someone screens the call: the front desk or an assistant. That's the famous gatekeeper: treat them as an ally, not an obstacle.

Example: "Hi, Marta. This is Luis, from an air conditioning maintenance company. I'm calling hotels in the area before the summer. Do you have two minutes to tell me how you handle equipment checks today?"

Use it when you can reach the decision-maker and each sale is worth the time. Prepare a structure, not a script to read: introduction, reason for calling, one question and the next step.

Email

It scales well, but your message competes with plenty of others in the inbox. Personalize the first line, talk about their problem and ask for something small.

Example: "I saw you're hiring two more salespeople. When a team grows, putting proposals together often becomes a bottleneck. Can I show you in 15 minutes how an agency like yours solved it?"

Use it when your list is large or you don't have a direct phone number. Track replies and meetings booked, not just opens. And before emailing people you don't know, check what the privacy and marketing rules in your country allow.

LinkedIn and other networks: social selling

Social selling means using social networks to find your customers, add value through what you post or comment on, and start the conversation once they already know you. It's slower than a call, but your first message lands warmer. One caveat: pitching right after connecting puts people off.

Example: you leave thoughtful comments on two posts by the head of operations at a gym chain. A week later you write: "I liked your take on summer cancellations. I work with gyms on that exact issue; happy to share what's working if it helps."

Use it when you sell to businesses or to professionals who use social media. Your profile is your business card: here's how to build your personal brand on LinkedIn.

Referrals: recommendations

A happy customer who introduces you to someone else is usually the warmest way in: you arrive with borrowed trust. But you don't control the volume or the timing, and asking for referrals takes some nerve.

Example, when wrapping up a project: "I'm glad this went well. Do you know anyone dealing with the same problem? If you'd like, I can send you a two-line note to forward to them."

Use it when you already have satisfied customers. It's the channel that takes the least time.

Events and in-person networking

Trade shows, business breakfasts, industry conferences. Face to face, trust builds quickly, and in one day you can talk to a lot of people in your market. On the other hand, it takes full days, and without follow-up almost everything is lost.

Example: at a food and beverage trade show, instead of handing out business cards, you ask each person what's worrying them this season. The next day you write to the ones who fit: "We spoke yesterday by the coffee booth about…"

Use it when your industry has key events and you can follow up within the next two days.

Combine channels: a simple sequence

A single touch rarely does it, and a single channel wears out quickly. A multichannel sequence over two or three weeks, with something new in every touch, could look like this:

1. Day 1: you visit their profile and comment on something useful they posted.
2. Day 3: a short email with a specific idea for their business.
3. Day 6: a call that mentions that email.
4. Day 10: a second email with a case study or a resource.
5. Day 15: a final, friendly message that leaves the door open.

It's not a magic formula. Note in your CRM which channel opened each conversation and adjust the order based on where people reply.

Once you land the meeting, the way you sell takes over: we compare SPIN, consultative selling and other sales techniques.

How to practice prospecting

You learn prospecting by prospecting, but making mistakes with real customers is expensive. It helps to practice first: with a colleague, by listening to calls from someone experienced or in a simulator. Here's what a training video game brings to the table:

Where Game Strategies fits in

The Lumière series, part of our sales courses, covers exactly these channels. In Lumière 1 (1 hr 30 min) you learn the basics: strategy, attitudes and the "internal enemies" that hold prospectors back. Lumière 2 (2 hr 30 min) covers your CRM, priority lists, gatekeepers, email and cold calling. Lumière 3 (1 hr 45 min) focuses on social selling.

For referrals and events, our networking category has Link 3 (1 hour), on growing your network and first contacts, and Link 4 (1 hour), on how to ask your contacts for help. They're all included in the annual license at €299 per user (VAT included), with one year of access to all 71 games and a certificate of completion for each course that you can add to LinkedIn.