Warm calling vs cold calling: What is the difference?

Making the choice between warm calling vs cold calling is something many sales professionals have to do. While virtually all sales roles involve calling or connecting with leads in some way, there are different strategies for connecting with customers.

With cold calling, you’ll reach out to contacts you have no prior relationship with. However, with warm or hot calling, a foundation or rapport already exists.

What is Warm Calling?

A warm call, or “warm calling” involves reaching out to people who have already expressed an interest in your product or business. This could mean connecting with someone who shares contact details with your business when downloading an asset for your website. It could also involve reaching out to someone after they’ve already made a purchase.

Warm calling is often considered to be easier than “cold calling” because the prospect already has a rapport or relationship with the company. Salespeople generally also have more information about the “warm leads” they’re connecting with, so they can personalize the pitch.

The Main Characteristics of a Warm Call

Warm calling is all about building on the foundation of a relationship you already have with a prospect. It usually involves collecting information about a prospect, along with contact details in a range of different ways, including using marketing campaigns and “lead magnets” on landing pages.

Warm calls involve:

Personal connections: You reach out to prospects with information about them, including their name, the company they work for, and any interests they’ve already shared with your company by interacting with your business in the past.
Asking questions: During the initial stages of a warm calling process, most sales professionals will take the time to ask open-ended questions and learn as much as they can about the pain points or needs of the customer.
Focused value: Based on the knowledge the customer already has of the company, a warm call will involve delivering immediate value to the client. For instance, if a customer gave their contact details when downloading your eBook about accounting software, you’d explain how your accounting software can help them achieve their goals.

What is Hot Calling?

Hot calling is generally just another term for “warm calling”. However, some companies use the term “hot calls” specifically to refer to the best opportunities they have on their list of warm contacts. For instance, if a customer connects with a business by signing up for a newsletter, or downloading a lead magnet, they may be defined as a “warm lead”.

Alternatively, if a customer reaches out to a company specifically to ask for information, request a call, or query something about the product or service, this shows a significant level of intent. This could convert the “warm lead” into a “hot lead”.