When your end goal is sales, every lead counts, every prospect represents an opportunity and every outbound interaction matters.
But when prospects are bombarded with emails, calls and LinkedIn messages, it can be hard to even reach them, let alone capture their attention. Standing out requires persistence, strategy and, crucially, relevant messaging.
This makes thorough research key to success. We already know that personalising communications delivers better results – according to Hubspot, personalised CTAs perform 202% better than generic ones – and taking the time to understand a prospect’s needs and interests helps to craft messages that are both relevant and impactful.
However, herein lies the challenge. Not enough research and your messages will get overlooked; too much and you risk spending too much time on each lead. It’s a delicate balance, so how exactly can sales development reps (SDRs) approach outbound prospecting effectively?
Here, we’ll give you a best practice guide to the process, outlining the mistakes to avoid and the skills you need to drive higher conversion rates.
Do your research
To get the best results from your outreach you have to understand who you’re targeting, otherwise it’s impossible to know which messages and subjects will resonate and therefore generate results.
Details such as the target company’s ambitions, culture and values help to identify priorities and potential pain points, while news about significant business developments can suggest trigger events – those actions or occurrences such as key product launches, mergers or acquisitions, or funding rounds, that are likely to trigger a need and create a sales opportunity in the near future.
For example, a business that is expanding rapidly may need help scaling, or a company taking on multiple employees may be looking for an enhanced HR solution. By proactively identifying those likely to have a buying need before the explicit intent is shown, you can make a highly relevant, impactful approach and position your offer as a solution before your competitors.
Understand who you’re dealing with
You may understand the circumstances the business is facing, but decisions aren’t made by the business – they’re made by people. Either individuals or, in the case of larger businesses, more likely a buyer group, made up of multiple stakeholders who all have a part to play in the final purchasing decision.
Recognising the roles different people play, both within the company structure and in the decision-making process, is essential. Not everyone has the same priorities, or makes decisions in the same way. Some want to see numbers, others are more interested in case studies. Some are looking for a solution that’s easy to use, others favour the most high-tech option.
This means that blanket messages and generic content just don’t have the cut through needed to make an impact and drive a sale: prospects need to be targeted with a unique message that resonates with them personally.
Use LinkedIn to research your prospects’ responsibilities, seniority and career background. Look for clues about their priorities and the topics they really care about, and pay particular attention to the language they use so you can adopt some of their industry terms.
On average, LinkedIn users post six times per week, but even if they’re not actively posting content themselves, they may share or like posts about industry trends, business challenges or other subjects you can reference in your communications.
LinkedIn can also be especially valuable for identifying shared connections who could provide a warm introduction or endorsement so you’re no longer making a cold pitch.
Make your communications relevant
With email and LinkedIn inboxes bursting with messages, your outreach needs to stand out immediately. There’s no space for poorly written messages: they damage not only your chances of success but also brand reputation.
Start with a personalised opening that references a specific insight to build rapport and demonstrate you’ve done your homework. Review CRM records, email exchanges and LinkedIn messages to see the content your prospect has already shown an interest in and develop a picture of their current needs and pain points.
Then let your knowledge of their situation inform the rest of the message, explaining the problem you’re solving, how you’re solving it and the potential impact. Be clear and concise and ask open-ended, thought-provoking questions to encourage a response. And don’t forget a call to action, so the next step is clear.
While it’s much easier to develop an existing relationship than it is to start from scratch, be careful not to send too many or duplicate communications – review any past interactions and the outcome, noting any barriers or objections raised so you can address them and avoid repeating the same messages.
Keep an eye on the competition
If you can, find out which solutions the prospect is currently using so you can identify areas where your offering outperforms or provides additional value. For example, your product may be lower cost, faster or more efficient, or it may integrate particularly well with their existing tech stack.
Once you know this, you’re able to highlight these points and why you’re the best solution moving forward.
Mentioning specific insights into the industry and competitive landscape demonstrates industry knowledge and establishes your credibility. If a prospect believes you can be trusted to advise rather than just sell, they’re much more likely to engage.
Use a multi-channel approach
Different people work in different ways. They use a range of channels, have varied preferences and increasingly work outside the 9-5. Therefore, figuring out the best time and channel to use for outreach increases the chance of a response.
Review patterns of past engagement to see if there’s a clear best time to contact them, and consider time zones and working patterns. Using these insights, choose the best channel for initial outreach: some prospects respond better to LinkedIn messages, while others prefer email or phone calls.
Test different approaches, for example starting with a LinkedIn message, followed by an email and then a call, to see which works best. You can then develop your own sales cadence that plays to your strengths, maximises the chance of engagement and keeps outreach structured and organised.
Finding the right balance
To be successful at outbound prospecting, SDRs must find a balance between spending enough time researching each prospect to ensure personalised outreach, and still processing a high volume of leads.
It’s a challenge. And having seen firsthand the difficulty of tailoring messages, creating connections, maintaining a pipeline and meeting high conversion targets, we built Cascade.
Our newest technology helps teams convert more prospects in less time, by putting the information SDRs need to be able to reach out with confidence at their fingertips:
- Aggregated data from multiple sources to dramatically reduce research time
- A dedicated lead page showing engagement insights to guide outreach
- Recommendations for messaging tailored to each prospect
So rather than choosing between speed and precision, SDRs can have both.
Book a call to find out more here
