Initial acquisition vs. social selling: the modern way of customer acquisition

Imagine you could organise your new customer acquisition in such a way that potential customers have already built up trust in you before the first conversation takes place. Sounds too good to be true? In this article, we'll show you how to do just that.

In today's business world, companies face the challenge of developing effective customer acquisition strategies. Initial acquisition, particularly cold outreach, and social selling are two similar, yet in their details fundamentally different approaches, both of which have their justification. In this article, we will take a closer look at how both methods can be used in modern sales to win new customers and sustainably increase revenue.

Cold calling and its role in modern customer acquisition

Cold calling remains a proven method of lead generation, where sales teams contact potential customers „cold“ without prior interaction. It continues to play an important role in B2B sales, particularly when acquiring customers for complex products. The key lies in precisely defining the target audience, strategically planning the approach in terms of channel and communication, and then usually carrying it out in a scalable manner.

Definition and Significance of Cold Calling

Cold calling refers to the direct approach of potential customers who have no previous business relationship with the company. This form of customer acquisition is particularly common in B2B sales, where personal contact with the decision-maker often makes the difference. The goal: to address pain points, generate interest, and convince the prospect of the benefits of one's own service. Despite all the challenges, it remains an important building block for successfully acquiring new customers.

When we say challenges, we primarily mean the legal aspects. In Germany, for example, these are as follows:

In Germany, telephone cold calling to private individuals without prior consent is legally prohibited (§ 7 UWG). For B2B customers, it is permitted under certain conditions, provided there is a legitimate interest in the offer.

Email cold calling is forbidden in Germany for both B2C and B2B sectors if there is no explicit prior consent from the recipient. The requirements here are even stricter than for B2B telemarketing.

However, it must be stated very clearly here that in many sectors within the B2B segment, both telephone and cold emailing are still practised.

Telephone prospecting techniques

Telephone prospecting is a classic cold calling technique where sales representatives directly contact potential customers. Successful telephone prospecting requires careful preparation, a persuasive sales pitch, and professional communication skills. It is crucial to understand the needs of the target audience and clearly communicate the added value. Follow-ups and a systematic CRM system can significantly increase the efficiency of cold calls.

Best Practices for cold calling:

• Preparing a structured interview guide
• Thorough research into the target company and the contact person
• Timing: Avoiding peak hours and lunch breaks
• Time-boxing: Prepare conversations and lists, then make targeted calls
• Professional handling of objections and rejections

Email acquisition techniques

When doing email outreach, you'll be contacting your prospects in the most conventional way, via arguably the world's most common communication channel. But beware: you're probably familiar with it from your own overflowing inbox – your message will likely be competing with a flood of other emails. Therefore, you need to be extremely precise when drafting your messages to achieve genuine success.

The major advantage? You can refine your message meticulously down to the finest detail at your leisure before it lands in the recipient's inbox. The disadvantage: even the subject line has to hit the mark perfectly, or your message won't even be read. Additionally, there's naturally still the risk of being flagged as spam. For follow-ups, there's no getting around a CRM system to maintain an overview and follow up with contacts accordingly.

Best Practices for Email Prospecting:

• A subject line that sparks curiosity (but doesn't sound like spam)
• Personalisation beyond the name: show genuine interest and that you've researched the company and the person
• Short and sweet: Maximum 150 words for the first email
• Clear added value: What does the recipient gain from replying to you?
• A single, concrete call to action
• Mobile-optimised: 70% of B2B emails are read on a smartphone (Source: OMR Email Marketing Trends 2025)%
• The Right Timing: Highly Industry-Dependent – Best to A/B Test
• Professional handling of negative responses: A „no“ is of course not always final, but should be respected if the other person is not interested

Advantages and disadvantages of classic initial acquisition

What makes active cold acquisition so attractive? It offers the crucial advantage that companies can actively acquire new customers without waiting for inbound inquiries. You maintain control and can establish direct contact with decision-makers.

The advantages at a glance:

• Immediate direct contact with decision-makers
• Complete control over the sales process
• Scope for direct needs assessment
• Quick results upon successful completion
• Scalability, as you actively approach potential customers instead of waiting for them to come to you

But Cold calling also has its downsides. The success rate is low, the time spent per lead is high, and not everyone reacts positively to unannounced calls.

The disadvantages at a glance:

• Low success rate (often under 2%)
• High time expenditure per lead
• Negative reactions and possible image problems
• Legal restrictions

Thorough planning, a clear definition of the target audience, and well-trained sales teams are crucial to maximise the efficiency of initial sales and speak to every new customer in the best possible way.

Social Selling: The new approach in the digital age

We have already discussed the classic approaches in cold calling and email for cold sales. However, with the rise of social networks in the B2B context, a new approach has emerged in recent years. An approach that was already enormously impactful offline and is now being used online with even greater effectiveness: Social Selling.

But what exactly is social selling?

Social Selling is, in short, the modern way of customer acquisition. Instead of cold-contacting potential customers, you build trust through social networks and position yourself as an expert in your industry. The goal? To develop trust before you even make a sale.

The most important platforms for social selling:

• LinkedIn: The leading B2B platform with over 900 million users
• Twitter/X: For thought leadership and industry discussions
• Facebook: Primarily for B2C, but also B2B opportunities
• Instagram: Especially for visually oriented industries

For better categorisation: Here is a comparison:

• Social selling = building trust and credibility through relevant content, interactions and a natural transition into the „sale“
• Cold calling = Unsolicited contact without a prior relationship and without the other party already knowing you

Advantages of social selling in sales

But why does social selling work so well? Because it's based on a simple principle: people buy from people they trust. And trust isn't built in a 5-minute phone call, but over time through valuable content and authentic interactions. With social proof, by your counterpart already seeing who you are connected with on LinkedIn, for example, and who you interact with.

The advantages of social selling in numbers (Here are a few figures – Source: LinkedIn Sales Solutions):

• 78 % der Social Seller übertreffen ihre Kollegen, die keine sozialen Medien für den Vertrieb nutzen
• Social Selling Leader generieren 45 % mehr Verkaufschancen als Kollegen mit niedrigerem Social Selling Index und sind 51 % eher in der Lage, ihr Verkaufsziel (Quota) zu erreichen
• Companies that use social selling often report a shortening of sales cycles by an average of 20%%
• 73 % der Vertriebsprofis, die Social Selling in ihre Prozesse integrieren, übertreffen regelmäßig ihre Kollegen

The crucial difference: Social selling is based on warm acquisition. You approach people who have already heard of you, have (hopefully) developed a positive opinion and have therefore already been „warmed up“.