One thing that keeps changing? đ¤
B2B buying behavior.
Methods and strategies that worked a decade or even five years ago do not work today. Itâs all about value-based selling now, and this has a big impact on outbound lead generation.
Outbound leads arenât always easy to move through the sales funnel since theyâre leads that might not already know about your product or service (or have a limited understanding).
Itâs time to rethink your approach. Letâs break it down!
Scroll through or jump ahead. ⤾ď¸
Good sales reps know that the lead generation strategies (âspray and pray,â etc.) used in the past feel stale now. đ
Itâs time to focus on these seven strategies instead.
Outbound lead generation now centers around forming relationships rather than just selling the meeting. This process takes time to get right and shouldnât be rushed.
Youâve got to have a relevant and personalized message for your prospect to engage.
So what does this mean?
Relevancy is:
Personalization isnât just about demonstrating what you know about the prospect but how you put your personality across. Youâve got to be able to stand out against the other reps who are trying to get a meeting booked with your prospect.
One of the great things about outbound lead generation is that reps arenât limited to just one channel. đ
Before, sales reps couldnât rely on website CTAs with a high conversion rate or spend time browsing the social media page of a prospect. But these are both strategies SDRs of today have.
Instead of cold calling, reps can use social media connections, high-quality content marketing resources, pre-targeted ads, email campaigns, and more. But youâve got to be quick. Popular channels change fast, and thereâs always going to be a next best thing.
New emerging channels to contact prospects on include:
First movers always win!
Another relatively new strategy is creating a personal brand.
A personal brand is how a sales rep promotes themselves and shares specific skills, experience, and personality with the world. Itâs all about creating visibility and influencing public perception.
When a prospect sees a salesperson with a solid and reputable profile, it establishes trust and authority within the industry. And for reps, it can help get their name and face out in front of the right people to build a quality network and attract more potential buyers.
A good place to start is LinkedIn. Especially in B2B, prospects are likely to exist here already.
Ensure every section of your profile is complete, skills and credentials are visible. From there, post and create content showcasing who you are, what the organization offers, and how you can help. Even if a prospect isnât interested in the offer, theyâll see you as a subject-matter expert should that change.
đ Make sure youâve got âcreator modeâ switched on so you can see deeper analytics into your posted content.
Letâs think of it like this:
đ Then: Close a deal by sending cold emails to a single person and getting their buy-in as the primary decision-maker.
đ Now: Getting the involvement of multiple deal stakeholders across several departments, each with different points of view, concerns, and needs throughout the buying process.
There needs to be an understanding of who will be influencing the deal. This means speaking with users to find out whatâs happening within the business so that you can go to a decision-maker fully informed.
They can tell you about:
Reps also need to understand how to speak with these stakeholders on their level. Someone in procurement for example, has different interests from someone whoâs a user.
This strategy can be vital for closing deals too. Cognism tested this and found that their sales reps were 7x more likely to get closed-won business if they involved five or more stakeholders in the opportunity versus one.
Sometimes, to take outbound lead generation to new heights, you must think outside the box. đŚ
Take a look at whatâs already working. For example, is there a blog post or article on the company website thatâs already performing really well?
Turn it into a YouTube video or (gasp!) a TikTok. And no, you donât have to make up a trendy dance. Simply get in front of the camera and be informative and answer the top questions your prospects may have about your product or service. The article's main points could also work well within a podcast episode to target a different audience base.
These strategies are more ways to get your company and its product or service out in front of your ICP.
Account mapping helps SDRs to determine the best path to making a sale.
These visual data points mean that you can identify:
This means youâll know exactly who to speak to within the account. It could look something like this. đ
Aside from new channels, SDRs need to think about what they can do differently to stand out.
This is what ⨠creative prospecting ⨠is all about.
You look at what you can do to inject your personality into cold outreach. This might look like bringing your dog into sales videos or sending personalized gifts, like branded t-shirts, straight to your prospectâs desk. Check this example out. đ
Budget (B), authority (A), need (N), and timing (T) is a commonly referenced sales framework. But too often, itâs used as a checkbox exercise by SDRs. Since itâs for potential leads at the top of the funnel, theyâre likely to be in education mode.
This results in disqualified prospecting before the prospect is even problem-aware.
Instead, reps can try using other frameworks like PACTT.
This stands for:
Shabri Lakhani, Brand Ambassador & Subject Matter Expert at Kaspr explains:
âI like PACTT because the âPâ focuses on pain, whereas the âNâ in BANT is need, and there is often no immediate need when youâre doing outbound methods.â
âThe pain bit means the rep can uncover whether the prospect is experiencing a pain that they might not be aware of. And maybe your solution can address it.â
When buying behavior changes, so do sales cycles. In the past, the addition of more decision-makers, stakeholders and blockers. And this means longer buying cycles.
So, what does this mean for sales reps? đ¤
We know that, on average, sales reps give up after 3-4 touchpoints. But we also know that 90% of meetings are set after touchpoint six.
Jack Neicho, Senior Account Executive at Salesloft says:
âOptimal sequences need to be 14-16 touches so that you arenât leaving pipeline or revenue on the table.â
âAlongside this, reps need to be mixing up their channels. This means using multiple channels in your cadence, whether it be across phone, direct mail, LinkedIn, video, email and so on.â
Itâs important to remember that in value-based selling, more often than not, youâll need to play the long game.
Now, letâs look at the difference between inbound vs. outbound leads.
In outbound, a lead is someone a rep contacts first or actively pursues.
To generate demand, there are usually marketing activities like a paid campaign or social media marketing at play to support this outbound activity. Companies have more control over outbound leads because they can hone in on certain criteria and determine the ideal customer profile (ICP).
Outbound sales tactics are used to âwarm upâ the prospect and keep them engaged until they are ready to buy.
These tactics include:
There are two types of outbound leads:
There are also leads that are completely cold. These people might already be happy with a similar solution, so are technically ânot thinking about itâ according to Chet Holmesâ buyersâ pyramid. đ
This 30% of people are a goldmine for reps. Itâs the winning zone because they might not actively seek a new solution but could be open to change.
An inbound lead is where a prospect engages with the company first. This is often classed through the submission of a form, so you get access to their contact data. For example, an e-book download or ad form submission.
To attract inbound leads, teams need lead generation campaigns that bring users to their websites and social media profiles. A sales development representative (SDR) could also gain inbound leads from word-of-mouth or a recommendation from a current customer. Though naturally, these are harder to come by.
Converting inbound leads into buyers really comes down to how much they are open to knowing about your product or service. This totally depends on the intent of the action.
Thatâs why more traditional marketing, like e-book campaigns, are now being questioned, they donât always provide high-quality leads since the intent isnât high enough.
A lot of B2B marketing is shifting towards demand generation, where the goal is to expand your audience and generate interest around your brand, which results in high-quality leads. This typically looks like ungated content and collaboration with industry influencers.
Outbound teams have both sales and marketing tactics at their disposal. The long-asked question about sales and marketing alignment question is literally a no-brainer. đŻ
An outbound marketing team uses more traditional methods to get messages in front of potential customers. They may run campaigns through email, manage paid advertising campaigns on social media, and handle brand marketing elements. These are your content marketers and campaign marketers.
The outbound sales team seeks out potential customers through standard lead generation tactics, like cold calling and emailing. This helps guide a prospect through the sales funnel and toward purchasing. These are your SDRs, Business Development Representatives (BDRs), Marketing Development Representatives (MDRs), and Account Executives (AEs).
Whatâs the difference between SDRs, BDRs, MDRs, and AEs?
When it comes to outbound lead generation, there are three main tactics sales reps often use.
Cold calling is the bread and butter of any sales rep. đł
Itâs the OG tactic and means you can target your ICP.
Incorporate these calls into a sales cadence, take the time to research to stand out from a potentially crowded voicemail box, and know how to make the prospect feel valued.
Trying to speak with a prospect who hasnât expressed interest in buying yet can feel scary and a little daunting, but it doesnât have to be. Itâs all in the technique of remembering not to get frustrated and not to be afraid of rejection.
This is the ultimate sidekick to calling. đ¨
You can get right to the point by outlining exactly how youâve identified the need for your product. Reps should consider testing different angles in their cold emailing sequence and see which resonates most.
Here are 3 key tips for writing cold emails from Morgan J Ingram, Creative Advisor at Cognism. đŹ
Letâs not forget about LinkedIn engagement. Reacting and commenting on a post, joining a group, and sending an invitation are great outbound tactics. đ
Itâs likely most, if not all, of your prospects, use LinkedIn regularly, so itâs essential for sales reps to be where they are!
Engaging with prospects on LinkedIn is a great way to familiarize them with your name, where you work, and overall knowledge of who you are.
On the flip side, LinkedIn engagement can also help reps get to know more about a prospect so they can personalize cold calls and emails, increasing the likelihood of getting a reply.
đť Looking for better ways to prospect on LinkedIn? Take advantage of the Kaspr LinkedIn Chrome Extension to instantly access accurate phone numbers and email addresses.
The first step to being able to prioritize leads is to create an ICP. Youâll need this clear definition to include characteristics like industry, job title, company size, and pain points.
Next, consider these. đ
Here are some of the common mistakes to avoid. đ
No matter who your target audience is for your outbound lead generation strategy, what was done 10 years ago wonât work today.
Your prospects are more clued up than ever, and they expect more, too.
â Cold outreach needs to be genuine! Call because you think your product or service will help them, not because youâre trying to reach a quota of phone calls for the week.
â Find out the real problems your prospects face. Do this by forming a relationship and being a subject-matter expert in your field.
â Discover who is the primary decision-maker on the team. Loop them in often and early! Otherwise, youâre wasting everyoneâs time.
â Take the time to build a personal brand. Prospects will recognize you, maybe before you even reach out to them!
To connect with outbound leads, sales reps need accurate contact data, and thatâs where Kaspr comes into play.
With our LinkedIn Chrome Extension and a seamless dashboard, access to emails, phone numbers, and all the relevant data in just one click.
Best of all? You can sign up for free today and access even more leads.