Even with the rise of social media and the ubiquity of business email, a phone conversation is usually still the best method of communication, especially for selling and buying. But that doesn't mean salespeople should ignore the preferences of their prospects by insisting on a phone call right away.
I think the phone is a superior way to communicate with prospects when I'm selling. But when I'm researching solutions, my personal preference is email. I've been on the receiving end of too many bad sales calls, and between scheduling the call and having to have introductory chit-chat, it takes way too long to get to the point where we're talking about what I want to talk about. read more here