Why Emails Underperform and How to Fix Them

Here’s a question that hits every sales professional right in the gut: What do you do when your email prospecting tanks and you’re staring at response rates that are circling the drain?

That’s the question Tara asked on a recent episode of Ask Jeb on The Sales Gravy Podcast, and it’s one I hear constantly from SDRs, account executives, and even sales managers who’ve convinced themselves that cold calling is outdated.

If you’re nodding along thinking email is the future and cold calling is dead, you need to wake up. Email efficiency is going down without bound, and if you’re not picking up the phone, you’re leaving money on the table.

The Hard Truth About Email Prospecting

Let me be blunt: Your email isn’t failing because the channel is broken. It’s failing because what you’re doing is terrible.

Before you blame the medium, look in the mirror. Did people ignore your email because you sent them something genuinely personalized and valuable? Or did they ignore you because you followed up thirteen times in five days? Did they ghost you because your seven colleagues already called them that same day?

The brutal reality is that most salespeople treat email like a spray-and-pray numbers game. They blast generic messages, add zero personalization, and then wonder why nobody responds. Meanwhile, they avoid the one thing that actually works: picking up the phone and having real conversations.

Why Cold Calling Will Always Matter

Cold calling isn’t going anywhere. It never has been, and it never will be.

You want to know why? Because sales is a human business. People buy from people they trust, and you can’t build trust through automated emails that sound like they were written by AI.

A phone call gives you something email never can: the ability to prove you’re a real human being who’s genuinely there to help, not just to pitch and sell.

When you call someone and say, “Hey, I sent you an email last week with this case study because I saw you talked about this at the Outbound Conference,” you’re showing them you did your homework. You’re not just another robot in their inbox.

Here’s a line I love: “Would I be the worst salesperson in the world if I didn’t also try to call you?” It’s honest, it’s human, and it cuts through the noise.

You Don’t Know What to Say? Make the Calls

The number one excuse I hear from salespeople: “I don’t know what to say.”

Here’s my advice: Make one hundred calls and talk to people. They’ll teach you.

You’re going to learn what not to say. You’re going to start seeing patterns in how your prospects think, what problems they face, and what language matters to them.

This is how you develop business acumen that separates you from the pack. You can’t learn it behind a keyboard.

I was in an alignment call today with a new client, and they said, “You totally understand us.” Why? Because last week I was with a business adjacent to their industry, learned their language, and pulled that knowledge into the next call.

Use Tools to Compress Your Learning Curve

Use tools like ZoomInfo to accelerate your learning curve. At Sales Gravy, we use it every day to find information about people, see what they’re doing on our website, and get intent signals that build our lists automatically.

You can use these tools to learn the language of industries you’re breaking into. You can see company news, understand their challenges, and show up on calls sounding like you belong.

But here’s the key: The tool doesn’t make the call for you. It gives you the ammunition. You still have to do the work.

Be Strategic and Resourceful

Here’s a strategy most salespeople are too lazy to try: If you’re having trouble getting through to a decision maker, call someone else in the company who’ll actually talk to you.

Selling HR services? Call a sales rep. They’ll talk your ear off about the company and might even make an introduction.

Try this: “Hey, I know you’re in sales. I’ve been trying to get hold of Joseph for nine months. Is there any way you could help me out?”

That’s not being cheesy. That’s being resourceful. But you have to be genuine. You can’t just ask for something without building rapport.

Your Action Plan

If you’re struggling with email effectiveness:

Pick up the damn phone. Stop making excuses about why cold calling doesn’t work. It works if you work it.

Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Introducing yourself to strangers will never be easy, but it’s the price of admission for being great at sales.

Use data strategically. Build sequences that interweave multiple channels over 30, 60, 90 days. Email, phone, LinkedIn, video. Give yourself the best odds.

Don’t oversell on the cold call. A little interest isn’t an invitation to vomit your pitch. Your job is to earn the next conversation.

Make one more call. At the end of the day when you’re tired, make one more call. That’s where discipline separates winners from everyone else.

The Bottom Line

Email isn’t dead, but it’s not a magic bullet. Cold calling isn’t outdated. It’s the foundation of everything we do in sales.

Stop hiding behind your keyboard. Stop blaming the tools. Stop making excuses.

The shortest path to a meeting is through a real conversation. That’s how you build relationships, develop trust, and separate yourself from every other salesperson who’s too afraid to dial.

Get outside your skin. Be genuine. Be there to help. And pick up the phone.

Ready to take your prospecting skills to the next level? Join us at one of our upcoming Sales Gravy LIVE events where you’ll learn directly from top sales leaders and get hands-on coaching to transform your results.