You can’t help but be surprised to see a person who is all-excited about outbound sales. Isn’t traditional telemarketing a thing of the past?
Well, not really. While many think this kind of business is obsolete, the surprising part is that companies that use cold outreach the right way succeed like anything!
If you have used this type of marketing in the past and failed or haven’t even tried it yet, you are in the right place. We are going to find out if outbound sales will be any good in the future. We will also look at tips and strategies to get it done correctly.
So, let’s get started.
What Are Outbound Sales?
The term “outbound sale” does not just refer to direct phone calls or emails. Traditional printed flyers, TV commercials, and even digital connections are all examples of outbound sales.
Outbound means reaching out to anyone (through any means) who is not yet your customer but who might be interested in your services. These leads may not realize that they require those services. But given enough information and a promise that it’s going to benefit them, you can arouse curiosity.
The goal is to help these people realize that it can be a great opportunity. Once they are convinced, they will eventually buy from you.
The Outbound Sales Cycle
Have you already been thinking about lead generation? Well, consider it just a part of your overall outbound sales strategy. There are other steps in this cycle that you need to achieve, such as;
- Identifying potential customers
- Performing lead qualification – a step to filter out leads you don’t need
- Implementing sales outreach
- Closing the deal
It may take a lot of time to process these steps. Hand-picking leads is not easy, but once you have achieved the initial steps, the rest becomes simple and straightforward.
Benefits of Cold Outreach
Traditional cold outreach might not suit a lot of businesses, particularly startups, because it may exceed their marketing budget. But these days, you have access to many online channels where you can collect leads without spending much money.
It might involve some labor, but it doesn’t require much in terms of budget and initial investment. Get yourself a free email finder, and you can start right away!
Moreover, with the help of cold outreach, you can easily reach high-quality leads and they will keep coming once you start the process. Thanks to digital media, a single cold email can be sent to thousands of prospects within seconds. Imagine the response, especially if you have chosen the right products and words to attract people!
Will Cold Outreach Work in 2023?
With 2022 nearing its end, we must look ahead and think of the future. So, will there be any place for outbound sales in 2023?
The answer is yes. You’re all set if you are ready to implement the right tactics. Here are a few strategies to ensure cold outreach will work for your business in 2023.
1. Know your target audience
The first and foremost step in ensuring your outreach efforts are practical is knowing who you’re targeting. It involves steps like lead research and pre-qualification to build a buyer persona.
It may seem time-consuming at first. But once you have conducted this step, the rest becomes easy.
2. Build awareness
It’s easy to get carried away when you have managed to build a successful list. The first thing you would want to do after getting outbound leads is to bombard them with email messages. Let’s not do it.
Instead, try to build awareness about your brand before asking them to buy something from you. This strategy will set the ground for future outreach, so you can keep using the same leads repeatedly.
3. Use multiple channels
You can utilize many channels other than calls and emails to start your outreach campaign. So, don’t just rely on these two traditional means to reach out to your potential customers.
Some of the channels you may consider include SMS and messenger marketing, manual email messages, comments on blog posts, sharing something on social media, direct mail, gifts and giveaways, and so on.
4. Send personalized messages
You don’t want your emails to feel generic. Make sure you write a message that seems very personal and thoughtful. There are common problems that most people face, especially in a corporate setup or any other environment.
Depending on your audience personas, reach out to them with a solution to their problem in your email. You can even make a video to greet your potential customers and include it in the email. The goal is to make the message as inviting and warm as possible.
5. Don’t rely on automation
While it’s tempting to set up a campaign and put it on autopilot, automated emails are easy to detect. Once a prospect knows it’s not a human who is talking to them, they will disregard your message and move on.
That being said, automation can be effective in specific scenarios, so don’t discard it altogether. Use it to scale your outreach campaigns and when you’re trying to conduct additional research for list building and study the outcomes of your campaigns.
Wrapping Up
While it’s true that inbound marketing yields instant results, that doesn’t mean outbound sales or cold outreach doesn’t have a future. The term may be misleading; this type of outreach should be anything but “cold”. And once you have identified your target audience, you can think of thousands of ways to reach out to them, solve their problems, and make them your regular customers.