Tukan Das — March 27, 2017 Follow @tdasIt’s easy to get stuck in a rut when doing outbound prospecting. You rely too heavily on a template when sending out cold emails, or read the same, boring, non-personalized script over the phone when making calls.
Not only do ruts like this sap your creative energy as a salesperson, but they also make it obvious to your prospects that you’ve “checked out” and that you don’t really care about their needs – a big red flag when someone is considering making an important business purchase.
Here are a few ideas for getting out of this rut and breathing new life into your outbound prospecting.
Be creative
Not every action has to follow a pattern – why not inject some creativity into your outreach?
- Consider using video in your pitches to prospects. A pre-recorded video embedded in an email, or even a video chat will add a touch of personality that simply can’t be achieved via text.
- Try humor, if it fits your brand. A joke here or there will warm up your prospect to your message.
- While it might not work in every situation, including an appropriate GIF or relevant emoticon can humanize your outreach.
Leverage insights from social media and content
A personalize interaction will always trump a generic template. Using insights from your marketing and inbound teams, you can infuse your outbound efforts with a personal touch. Touching on a recent, relevant post your prospect shared on Twitter or mentioning the fact that you have a few mutual acquaintances on LinkedIn could mean the difference between a sale and a closed door.
Encourage managers to nurture sales reps
Standing out while doing outbound prospecting also means fostering a good internal system. Too often, managers will dump a pile of feedback with a rep, and leave them to deal with unpacking in. An ongoing mentorship relationship will strengthen not just each sales rep as an individual, but it will foster a team mentality that will in turn allow for more trust, creativity and outside-the-box thinking in your pitches.
Better sales marketing alignment for content creation
Marketing departments are typically the ones charged with creating content, but much of it can – and should – be used by your sales team. Even if you are not engaging in inbound prospecting at all, it helps to have great content at the ready in case a prospect expresses interest.
Ensuring that marketing and sales is aligned and communicating well will provide more opportunities for cross-pollination of ideas and fresh, relevant content to fuel your prospecting.
Be honest and clear – not bombastic and sensational
If a sales pitch comes off as too sensational, too “sales-y”, your prospects will be turned off. The better angle is to be honest and clear with what your goals are, and how your company can help solve their pain points.
Too many buzzwords or obvious calls-to-action will signal to a prospect that there is a lack of actual substance behind the pitch. Instead, focus on an honest assessment of what you think their problems are, and how your product can help them solve them.
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