Warm vs. Cold: What’s the ACTUAL Difference?

Christian Jakenfelds, Go-to-Network Evangelist from Commsor here! Mac and Ben have handed me the keys to the newsletter this week to share how warm outreach can create long lasting effects on your sales career.

Not in a reading mood? Watch the YouTube video below where I dive in even further on the subject.

Otherwise, let’s jump right into it!

Cold vs. Warm Outreach

Cold sales outreach is your typical cold emailing and cold calling. Basically, trying to contact someone who you don’t already know and trying to start a conversation. But over time, the success rate of these approaches have dropped.

Just in the last 5 years, there has been a 500% increase in the amount of outbound it takes to get one opportunity into the pipeline. It’s the definition of insanity: doing something over and over again, hoping for a different result.

So, let’s get you started with warm outreach instead!

New Number, Old Friend

Warm outreach leverages existing relationships to create a sense of trust with potential prospects.

When we talk about warm, we’re thinking about it like real relationships. So, what are some types of warm outreach you could try as soon as today?

🧤 Warm Intros

Warm intros are when you know someone well enough for them to introduce you to a prospect.

Letʼs say I want to chat with Mr. Hammond, a marketing leader at InGen, and I donʼt already know him. But, in my previous role, I worked with Ellie, whoʼs now a sales leader at InGen. And I know my relationship with Ellie is strong enough that she would back me up. Well, I can simply ask Ellie to introduce me to Mr. Hammond.

Mr. Hammond will then feel more trust with me, because he trusts Ellie to have good judgement. And now, I can start a conversation with him after establishing that baseline.

But what if you want to reach out to someone you don’t necessarily have a connection to already? Jump to the next section to find out!

☕️ Coffee Chats

Start by immersing yourself in your ICPs community. Where are they hanging out? LinkedIn? TikTok? Discord? Or maybe a different platform that hosts communities. Join the conversations.

Strike up conversations with other members of the community - ask them about their experiences, share your experiences, and maybe even talk about things outside of business.

Try to find that common ground between you and someone in you ICP will set you up for a strong foundation. And it all can start with one coffee chat because nothing beats having a real conversation with the goal of learning, educating, and understanding someone.

So, now that you’re starting these relationships…

🌿 Nurture Your Relationships

You could consider gifting, but we aren’t talking about a random $5 Starbucks gift card, we’re talking about real, genuine gifting. Something personalized that shows you really listened.

Or maybe, you want to nurture the relationship by just being thoughtful and remembering important dates in their life!

Nurturing the relationships doesn’t have to be complex. It can be as simple as taking notes during your meetings or coffee chats, and making sure youʼre really getting to know your prospect as a person, and not just a dollar sign.

Now, it’s your turn!

The next time you are looking to break into a new account, start with warm outreach!