You know those pesky phone calls you sometimes get from people trying to sell you something you absolutely don't need? You don't want that to be your strategy.
Luckily, there are other options. Sales outreach has come a long way from pure cold calling. And as the field continues developing, you need to keep up with it. With the help of modern technology and new tactics, you can improve your sales outreach strategy and make it more effective.
A rise in engagement, conversion rates, and profits is likely to follow. So don't hesitate because better outreach gives better results.
What Is a Sales Outreach Strategy?
Your sales outreach strategy is the process you develop for reaching out to new prospects, cold leads, and even previous customers in an attempt to convince them to make a purchase. You can do this via phone, e-mail, social media — virtually any communication channel.
Although this implies that you're making the first move, that's not always the case.
A successful sales outreach strategy often requires a good balance between inbound and outbound sales outreach. In inbound sales outreach, you rely on marketing and branding to get potential clients interested and then provide them with top-tier service in an attempt to convert them when they initiate contact.
In outbound sales outreach, you contact potential customers who may or may not be interested in what you offer and try to convert them. What works better for you will depend on your business.
What Are The Best Ways to Improve Your Sales Outreach Strategy?
If you notice that you're not reaching your sales goals, it might be time to work on your sales outreach. Here are some of the things you can do:
1. Be Proactive
As a business with something to sell, you're the one that should make the first move.
This is particularly obvious with outbound sales outreach, where the whole concept is that you contact potential clients to close the deal. But even if you're focusing on inbound sales outreach, there are things you can do to improve your chances of conversion.
For example, collecting data about your leads, prospects, and existing clients will give you a better idea of who they are and what they respond to. Then, you can use this knowledge to improve your marketing, branding, and customer services, which will all increase your chances of being contacted by interested parties.
2. Focus On The Right People
Let's face it: not everyone is interested in what you're offering.
Trying to convert people who have no need or desire for your services is just a waste of resources. You'll see a much better sales performance if you focus on your target demographic instead.
So start by defining your target persona. Then select the leads and prospects which fit that bill to retarget. Forget about the leads that went cold because they weren't interested; reach out to the leads who went cold because you chose the wrong approach and improve their impression of your business.
3. Pick The Right Channels
Who you're targeting is also going to affect how and where you target them.
You want to meet potential clients where they are, using the communication channels that they prefer. Virtually everyone uses e-mail these days, so that's a safe bet for sales outreach. Phones have been successfully used in sales for decades, so they will probably work for you too.
What's new in recent years is social media. If you can harness the power of different social media platforms, you can significantly improve your strategy. Just remember to choose the right social media: for B2B companies, using LinkedIn for sales has proven very effective, and Facebook is never a wrong choice either. But it will all depend on your target audience.
4. Invest in Personalization
Personalization is all the rage these days. It's, in fact, one of the best tactics for both marketing and client retention that you can possibly invest in. It makes your efforts more relevant for the individual client while also making them feel important and special rather than just another number in your statistics report.
So how can you personalize your sales outreach efforts?
The first step is collecting as much information as you can. Invest in a good CRM system — it'll help you collect, organize, and use data about your leads. Then, when your sales representatives contact leads, they can use information about those leads to adjust their sales pitch to them. They'll use their interests and previous experiences with your business. Finally, use these data to guide your marketing strategies too. It will increase the number of inbound contacts you get.
5. Integrate Sales and Marketing
As you may have noticed, marketing plays a significant role in sales, especially if you're focusing on inbound sales outreach.
Marketing is how you reach your potential buyers for the first time and how they learn about your business. So it's crucial to improve your marketing strategies as you improve your sales outreach.
You want to make sure that your marketing and sales departments are going in the same direction. The messaging needs to be consistent across the board if you're going to reach your goals. It requires good communication between different teams. That way, your marketing team can develop strategies that focus on improving sales, and your sales representatives can use data collected by the marketing team to strengthen their sales pitch.
6. Remember To Follow Up
Most of the time, a single contact is not going to be enough for conversion. Especially when your clients are other businesses, you need to remember that your leads and prospects are busy people whose first priority is probably not your business.
So don't let them forget about you! Contact them again after a while. If you can, work on building actual relationships. A more personal approach will help you make the sale. However, don't try too hard. No one wants to receive email after email trying to sell them something. Aim for a balanced approach where you follow up without being too pushy.
How Will You Know That It's Time To Improve Your Sales Outreach Strategy?
There's never a bad time to improve your sales outreach strategy. After all, a better approach leads to better results.
If you're working on your quarterly plans or reorganizing things in your business, reconsidering how you do outreach should be on the list every time. But it's vital when you notice that too many prospects are falling by the wayside and that leads are not moving through the sales pipeline as planned. This will affect your ROI and overall profits, so trying a new approach as soon as possible is a must.
