For sales professionals, there is perhaps nothing more satisfying than finally getting that prospect to bite. But capturing, nurturing and converting leads doesn’t always come easy. In fact, it takes a lot of hard work, determination and a certain degree of strategy to maximize the outcome of your outreach efforts. Whether you’re struggling in this area or could just stand to make a few improvements to your game, here are five strategies for better sales outreach to consider.
Target Appropriately
When your target audience isn’t responding, it’s easy to fall into the trap of going after anyone who is willing to listen. The problem is, if you’re demoing your product or services to people who will never actually buy, you’re wasting precious time. Make sure you have a clear and accurate picture of who your ideal customer is and focus your efforts only in areas where those prospects are likely to be found. It will take time and patience, but it will pay off in the end.
Make a Connection
The reality is, your ideal prospects are also the ideal prospects of dozens of other sales professionals. If you want to be successful, you have to find a way to break through the noise and to do that you must communicate in a way that resonates with your target audience. Beyond what your product does, or what its features or benefits are, figure out how you can elicit an emotional response. For instance, injecting humor into your messaging can create that valuable connection you’re seeking.
Personalize at Scale
Let’s face it. You can’t spend eight hours a day drafting up personal emails to every one of your prospects. But going all-in on automation isn’t necessarily the answer either. The solution requires a delicate balance. To accomplish this, try personalizing the beginning and ending emails in your sequence and then using automation for the messages you send in between.
Add Value
Many SDRs make the mistake of using the dreaded “just following up” or “just checking in” to try and keep a lead warm. All these types of messages do, however, is annoy people, which is the last thing you want to do. Instead, focus your ongoing contact efforts on sharing content that is of value to your target audience. Providing a prospect with a timely, relevant piece of content that addresses their challenges demonstrates that you’re paying attention, you care and you have the means to solve their problems.
Be Efficient
It’s important to research your prospects so you can learn what their needs and preferences are. The problem is, if you’re spending too much time researching, you’re not making the best use out of your schedule and at the end of the day you won’t have much to show for it. Focus instead on limiting the amount of time you spend and the number of facts you find to three each. So, your goal should be to find three facts about each prospect in just three minutes. This will ensure that your outreach is relevant without wasting too much time in the process.
Success in sales is as much an art as it is a science. There will be some things that come naturally to you but others you will inevitably have to learn and master over time. By applying the five strategies above, you should be able to develop and nurture a sales outreach process that consistently generates the results you’re after.
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