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Why Cold Calling Still Sucks And How to Find the Right Sales Channel
Struggling to get consistent leads? Learn how founders identify their best-performing sales channels by testing, tracking, and aligning with customer behavior. Discover what actually works and what to stop doing.
Lundin Matthews
April 23, 2025
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When founders say “I just need more sales,” what they really mean is:
“I have no idea where my sales are actually supposed to come from.”
Because if they did, they wouldn’t be complaining. They’d be doing.
So, they try something new. Like cold calling. Or cold emailing. Or sending DMs like “Hey bro 👋 I love what you’re building.”
Which… sure, technically works. If you’re okay with 2% reply rates and slowly dying inside.
But here's the real truth: every business has 1–2 sales channels that actually work. The problem? You won’t find them by copying what someone on Twitter said worked in 2021.
You find them by testing like a scientist and tracking like a lunatic.
One of my friends runs a copywriting studio. He tried cold outreach, SEO, paid ads. Nothing really hit. Then he started building mini case studies on Twitter, showing before/after transformations of email copy he rewrote. No CTA, no thread pitch. Just proof. Within 30 days, he had 6 inbound leads. That became his sales channel.
Another friend sells software to contractors. Cold calling is her best channel, but only because her prospects don’t check email, never use social, and still answer their phones like it’s 1997.
Context matters.
That’s the biggest lesson: your sales channel should match how your customer actually behaves.
If your buyers live on LinkedIn, stop trying to build an SEO moat.
If they’re glued to their inbox, go email-first.
If they need to see what you do, use visual content (proof > pitch).
There’s a reason Intercom’s original growth engine was product-led onboarding and not cold outbound: their best leads came from people already using the product. So they optimized everything for that.
Sales isn't about being louder. It’s about being accurate.
Here’s what I recommend:
Audit where your last 10 paying customers came from. Not what they said, but what actually brought them in. Then double down. If you’re early, test fast and lean. Three channels max. Track everything. Kill what doesn’t convert.
You don’t need more tactics. You need a map.
Reply if you’ve ever found a weird channel that worked way better than it should’ve.
What'd you think of today's email? |
See you Friday,
Lundin
Avoiding Cold Calls Since 2019
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