May 29 • General discussion
Which B2B Channel Should You Use?
"Should I use cold email, cold calling, or LinkedIn DMs?" in my GTM strategy?
Wrong question.
The real question is:
Which channel works best for your market, at this stage, with your offer?
And... NO... there is no single, clean, and simple one-size-fits-all approach.
Here’s the honest breakdown with real conversion numbers:
________
📬 Cold Email
✅ Scales fast
✅ Get many meetings without hiring more sales reps/marketers
❌ Low conversion rates unless messaging, offer, AND deliverability are dialed
❌ Generally doesn't work for Small Markets or Niche Offers
Benchmarks:
2–3% reply rate
4–6% of replies are interested
30–40% of those book a meeting
Meaning: ~0.1–0.3% of total sends become meetings
Best for:
→ Large TAMs (30k+)
→ High ACV ($15k+)
→ Clear/Broad offers that are easily explained in two sentences
→ Markets that respond to email (e.g. SaaS, B2B services)
_________
📞 Cold Calling
✅ Fastest way to test messaging
✅ Real-time feedback
❌ Slower to scale
❌ Requires skill, grit, and courage
Benchmarks:
5–10% connect rate
40–50% meeting booked rate once connected
Best for:
→ Any business type (Enterprise sales might be the edge case)
→ Startups (for early GTM and message testing)
→ Messaging iteration (for new product launches)
→ Hard-to-reach industries (e.g. oilfield, trades)
→ ICPs who aren’t active online but answer the phone
_________
💼 LinkedIn DMs
✅ Highest conversion
✅ No deliverability issues
❌ Hard to scale (100 messages/day/account)
❌ Requires tight ICP and messaging
Benchmarks:
20–40% connection acceptance
10–20% of connections reply to first DM
10–30% of replies book a meeting
Best for:
→ Prospects active on LinkedIn
→ Warm touchpoints across a deal
→ Building authority and trust in public
_________
BOTTOM LINE:
Don't let some guru tell you to "just do cold email" or "go omni-channel from Day 1."
⤷Your market tells you what works.
⤷Your stage tells you what to prioritize
⤷Your offer tells you what will convert.
1. Start where you can learn fastest (usually cold calling).
2. Double down where you get traction.
3. Then scale with process and automation.
BUT DON'T scale if you haven't figured out the basics:
-Your Ideal Customer Profile
-Your Offer
-Your Case Studies
-Your Product/Service Quality
Want help mapping this to your go-to-market motion?
1. Comment "GTM"
I’ve built all three channels at scale to generate millions in revenue...
...for MANY different types of B2B companies (SaaS, Agencies, Consultancies, Ecom, etc.)
I'll ensure you choose the right channel for your business from the start or help you shift to one that makes sense.
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Which B2B Channel Should You Use?
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