Active outbound prospecting: how to structure, leverage and succeed
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 4:34 am
Outbound active prospecting , when done correctly, will rarely fail completely.
One of the biggest problems with digital marketing, in fact, is this: long-term results always come with the possibility of not bringing any results at all.
When we deal with organic, inbound, and content, there is always the possibility of investing a lot and having lower-than-expected returns. This is because this work is highly holistic and depends on a synergy that is difficult to achieve in the company.
Active prospecting, within an Outbound strategy, solves exactly this problem. One of its biggest advantages is precisely the predictability of sales.
Today, we're going to talk in more detail about the main online russian phone number Outbound Marketing techniques, how active prospecting really works, and how to apply both methodologies at the same time: Inbound and Outbound.
Getting Started:
Everything active prospecting needs to work
Active prospecting is the way to look for customers who have not yet had direct interaction with the brand.
While in Inbound the customer is “attracted”, in Outbound the customer goes after them.
That's why it's called active prospecting .
Using this work methodology and the tools used, it is possible to create a sales predictability machine.
For example: all campaigns you run on Google Ads generate data. This data can be cross-referenced with the amount invested and the sales generated in the month.
So, in all months where the data is similar, you will also have a similar amount of sales.
Done: you have achieved sales predictability.
The thing is, this happens in a few different ways. Outbound and active prospecting strategies can be quite different from each other in some cases, making it difficult to interpret the data.
Let's talk more about these particularities now, listing the main Outbound techniques applied in active prospecting.
What are the Outbound Marketing prospecting channels?
First, we need to talk about what the main prospecting channels are within an Outbound Marketing strategy.
The most common ways to prospect customers in Outbound Marketing are:
Direct approach (at events, for example);
Door to door;
Telephone;
E-mail.
Active prospecting has been around for decades. Many of the biggest names in contemporary marketing even started with full outbound strategies. David Ogilvy himself was a door-to-door salesman.
In direct approach, we are dealing with representatives who speak directly with the prospect at some event related to the area.
In door-to-door, we are talking about visits. In B2B, we are talking about visiting companies and looking for managers. In B2C, we are talking about visiting people's homes.
The most popular active prospecting channels today are by far phone and email.
The telephone, with telemarketing and cold calling , has also been used for many decades.
All of these techniques, except the first one, will require one crucial element: a list of leads. Without one, it is quite difficult to know who to approach and when.
Let's talk more about this aspect of the work below:
Where to find lead lists for active prospecting?
This is the biggest job of the marketing team in your company.
Although active prospecting work is interdisciplinary, it is usually the sales team that is responsible for making this direct contact.
But it is the marketing team that delivers the leads. Thinking about a pure Outbound strategy, it will generate these leads mainly through paid media.
A marketing team can use both Google Ads and Meta Ads to create lead generation campaigns. This is one of the configurable goals for both tools.
But this list can also be generated in other ways. A scannable billboard, a TV commercial asking the viewer to leave their email, events where you collect this information directly, etc.
And she can still use Inbound Marketing to nurture and increase this list of leads as time goes by. We will discuss this further in the text.
But there are less-than-best practices too. Brands can buy “specialized” lead lists.
These lists are not recommended at all.
The results are much worse than those of a list generated by your own team, and in the case of emails, it also comes with an extra burden: you can end up dirtying your domain and ending up in the spam box.
How does Outbound interact with prospects ?
Well, we understand then that Outbound works mainly with leads generated by marketing (also called MQL) and approaches them via telephone and email.
But how is this approach typically carried out? What are the steps to an active approach that delivers results?
In high-volume telemarketing — where you make multiple calls throughout the day — it’s recommended to follow a sales script. This model is more scalable because it allows for much easier team training.
This script also allows for standardization of Outbound approaches, which contributes to sales predictability.
But for smaller teams and smaller lead volumes, it’s best to go for more personalized approaches whenever possible. Let your reps create their own scripts and tweak them as needed.
The same applies to
Separate out characteristics related to the demographics and general qualification information of this lead, if they exist.
This will allow you to personalize bulk emails by changing a few pieces of information here and there.
During on-site visits, you need to understand the salespeople's process in order to train others. Always seek this support from your team. Visit them together when possible, too.
One of the biggest problems with digital marketing, in fact, is this: long-term results always come with the possibility of not bringing any results at all.
When we deal with organic, inbound, and content, there is always the possibility of investing a lot and having lower-than-expected returns. This is because this work is highly holistic and depends on a synergy that is difficult to achieve in the company.
Active prospecting, within an Outbound strategy, solves exactly this problem. One of its biggest advantages is precisely the predictability of sales.
Today, we're going to talk in more detail about the main online russian phone number Outbound Marketing techniques, how active prospecting really works, and how to apply both methodologies at the same time: Inbound and Outbound.
Getting Started:
Everything active prospecting needs to work
Active prospecting is the way to look for customers who have not yet had direct interaction with the brand.
While in Inbound the customer is “attracted”, in Outbound the customer goes after them.
That's why it's called active prospecting .
Using this work methodology and the tools used, it is possible to create a sales predictability machine.
For example: all campaigns you run on Google Ads generate data. This data can be cross-referenced with the amount invested and the sales generated in the month.
So, in all months where the data is similar, you will also have a similar amount of sales.
Done: you have achieved sales predictability.
The thing is, this happens in a few different ways. Outbound and active prospecting strategies can be quite different from each other in some cases, making it difficult to interpret the data.
Let's talk more about these particularities now, listing the main Outbound techniques applied in active prospecting.
What are the Outbound Marketing prospecting channels?
First, we need to talk about what the main prospecting channels are within an Outbound Marketing strategy.
The most common ways to prospect customers in Outbound Marketing are:
Direct approach (at events, for example);
Door to door;
Telephone;
E-mail.
Active prospecting has been around for decades. Many of the biggest names in contemporary marketing even started with full outbound strategies. David Ogilvy himself was a door-to-door salesman.
In direct approach, we are dealing with representatives who speak directly with the prospect at some event related to the area.
In door-to-door, we are talking about visits. In B2B, we are talking about visiting companies and looking for managers. In B2C, we are talking about visiting people's homes.
The most popular active prospecting channels today are by far phone and email.
The telephone, with telemarketing and cold calling , has also been used for many decades.
All of these techniques, except the first one, will require one crucial element: a list of leads. Without one, it is quite difficult to know who to approach and when.
Let's talk more about this aspect of the work below:
Where to find lead lists for active prospecting?
This is the biggest job of the marketing team in your company.
Although active prospecting work is interdisciplinary, it is usually the sales team that is responsible for making this direct contact.
But it is the marketing team that delivers the leads. Thinking about a pure Outbound strategy, it will generate these leads mainly through paid media.
A marketing team can use both Google Ads and Meta Ads to create lead generation campaigns. This is one of the configurable goals for both tools.
But this list can also be generated in other ways. A scannable billboard, a TV commercial asking the viewer to leave their email, events where you collect this information directly, etc.
And she can still use Inbound Marketing to nurture and increase this list of leads as time goes by. We will discuss this further in the text.
But there are less-than-best practices too. Brands can buy “specialized” lead lists.
These lists are not recommended at all.
The results are much worse than those of a list generated by your own team, and in the case of emails, it also comes with an extra burden: you can end up dirtying your domain and ending up in the spam box.
How does Outbound interact with prospects ?
Well, we understand then that Outbound works mainly with leads generated by marketing (also called MQL) and approaches them via telephone and email.
But how is this approach typically carried out? What are the steps to an active approach that delivers results?
In high-volume telemarketing — where you make multiple calls throughout the day — it’s recommended to follow a sales script. This model is more scalable because it allows for much easier team training.
This script also allows for standardization of Outbound approaches, which contributes to sales predictability.
But for smaller teams and smaller lead volumes, it’s best to go for more personalized approaches whenever possible. Let your reps create their own scripts and tweak them as needed.
The same applies to
Separate out characteristics related to the demographics and general qualification information of this lead, if they exist.
This will allow you to personalize bulk emails by changing a few pieces of information here and there.
During on-site visits, you need to understand the salespeople's process in order to train others. Always seek this support from your team. Visit them together when possible, too.