For whatever reason you have considered trying outbound lead generation strategies either for working with specific high-ticket clients or to speed up your sales process, there is one thing that skyrockets your whole lead generation process. And that is taking care of and providing value to your prospects.
Yes, the outbound lead generation process is all about reaching out to your prospects with some WOW pitch and keep on nurturing them with valuable content until you build trust with them.
Though outbound sales lead generation is highly rewarding in so many ways, unlike inbound leads, it requires so much time and effort to convert the prospect into customers.
In inbound leads, the prospect turns into a customer easily as most of them would be warm leads, but in outbound leads, it’s a bit difficult to do, as all the leads would be cold.
Nevertheless, outbound lead generation is highly rewarding if approached strategically.
So if you want to work with a dream client through outbound lead generation, but are not sure what works well and what does not, then this blog is for you.
In this blog, we are going to discuss some proven outbound lead generation best practices and the important elements you require for outbound lead generation.
Let’s get started with elements and outbound lead generation best practices.
Elements of Outbound Lead Generation Process
1. Ideal Customer Profile and Buyer Persona
If you reach out to everyone in your target audience, the chances are there you may get a low conversion rate, or you may get low-paying clients. To avoid this, you need two things handy, one is the Ideal customer profile and the other is the buyer persona. And both the terms are entirely different.
You need a buyer persona to develop the right product-market fit, and you need an ideal customer profile to get maximum value for your product.
To create these, you need to answer a specific set of questions like
- What are the pain points, desires, and goals of my prospects?
- What are the common attributes of most successful customers(job profile, company size, annual revenue, etc)
- Why should our best customer choose us
- Which decision-makers should we target
- What are top customers gain from using our product or service
Answering these questions will help you to position your product better and identify the right prospects.
Example of ICP
Industry: B2B companies
Companies with 500 employees
Located anywhere in the US
Companies making $10000 a month in revenue
Business goals: To generate monthly 10 leads
Examples of a buyer persona
John S.
Head of Marketing
Challenges:
Not able to generate enough leads
Lack of brand awareness
2. Updated and targeted prospect list
Now that you have recognized your prospects based on your ideal customer profile and made a buyer persona, the next step is to have the list of targeted prospects along with their contact information.
Having an updated and targeted list of your potential customers is the first step of outbound lead generation.
There are several methods of collecting the details and preparing the list like
- Use email extraction tools
- Check their Linkedin Profiles
- Check the company’s website
- Check online directories.
All these are undoubtedly great ways to collect contact information for your prospects. But these are time-consuming and there would be no guarantee of accurate data.
To get the accurate, real-time updated contact information of your prospects, why not try Ampliz?
Ampliz provides you with an accurate, real-time updated, and compliant database of your targeted prospects. This database saves you a lot of time from researching and helps you run targeted campaigns.
This database contains the direct dials, email addresses, and LinkedIn profiles of the prospects. Along with it, it also gives you technographic, geographic, demographic, and firmographic details of the company which help you to qualify your prospects. Combining an extensive database with an Outbound Dialer (OBD) can be a game-changer for your overall productivity and conversion rates.
3. Targeted messaging with pain points
We all know ”First impression is last impression”
In outbound lead generation, you must put all the effort to make your first impression impactful. And for that, you need to keep certain things in your mind that are
- Know the pain points of customers
- Talk about them instead of you
- Keep your pitch short yet impactful
- Greet them with their first name
- Whether a mail or call, reach out to them at appropriate times to get a response
- In case of a cold email, send a personalized email
Etc.
4. Multi-channel Approach
Don’t just rely upon a single channel for your outbound lead generation. You need to communicate with your prospect on multiple channels in order to have a consistent and continuous conversation with them.
Multi-channel marketing is essential in reaching diverse audiences across various platforms, maximizing brand exposure and engagement. It enables businesses to create a cohesive and consistent customer experience, fostering brand loyalty and driving higher conversion rates.
Best Outbound Lead Generation Strategies
1. Cold emails
Cold emails are one of the most effective ways of out reaching your target audience in outbound lead generation strategies. Though it’s outbound to lead generation, where you hardly know your audience, you can send personalized emails.
The beauty of sending cold emails is that you can segment each of your cold leads, and send personalized emails that too at the time when they are active.
Moreover, you can measure each one of your emails’ performance for its open rate, click-through rate, and deliverability. This matrix will give you an idea about the performance of your email.
For example, you can always test, and improve the subject line, and CTA to get a more open rate and click-through rate.
This way you can assess and improve your cold email performance and get more conversions.
2. Cold calls
Though it’s a traditional and awkward way to reach out to your prospects, yet an effective way of outbound B2B outbound lead generation strategies.
In cold calling, you would get instant replies from your prospects and know whether they are interested in the service or product you offer.
Your cold call is your chance to make a first impression, build connections, and know your audience better. Cold calls when done at the right time, with the right message, have more chances of conversion.
Cold calling is one of the most effective ways to generate leads for outbound sales. While it may seem outdated with newer digital marketing techniques, cold calling allows companies to directly connect with potential customers and build relationships that can lead to long-term business partnerships.
One of the biggest advantages of cold calling is that it allows businesses to reach out to leads who not be actively seeking their products or services. This opens up a vast pool of potential customers who may have never known about their offerings otherwise.
Additionally, cold calling enables companies to collect valuable feedback from prospects in real time. By asking questions and listening carefully, sales representatives can identify pain points and tailor their pitch accordingly. This helps them better position themselves against competitors and ultimately close more deals.
To make the best of cold calling you must follow some rules that are
- Research your prospect
- Make the script well in advance
- Practice active listening
- Keep it short and sweet
- Be respectful of people’s time
- Follow-up promptly
- Don’t take rejection personally
3. LinkedIn Cold Outreach
With 65 million active users, LinkedIn is the widely accepted social media platform among professionals. Gone are the days when people were relying upon LinkedIn just for the job search or hiring of candidates.
Now it has become a great platform to build connections with people with similar interests through sharing your learnings and experiences.
Moreover, it is also a great place to find your lead. As 75% of LinkedIn users are daily active on LinkedIn, it’s a great medium to reach out to your potential customer.
On LinkedIn, you can easily search your prospects by designation, job role, through the company’s page, or by their name.
The LinkedIn profile of a particular person also gives you a sneak peek of their professional personality, like their experience, their expertise and that helps you to decide whether he is the right person to reach out to or not.
While reaching out on LinkedIn you must not sound too salesy. Keep it as personalized as possible to take your 1st conversation to the second and third and then promote your product.
If your budget allows you, you can also think of buying LinkedIn premiums or a sales navigator, which helps you to send InMail if the person is not in your connection.
4. Online Communities
Next outbound lead generation strategies is Online communities give you the opportunity to bring your message to a large number of people by posting in a community. But don’t put your promotional message as soon as you join the group.
Observe what other people are posting, engage in their posts, build a connection with them, and then bring your message to the table. By doing so, you will get more engagement and traction.
5. Networking events
In this era of digital marketing, where people put so much emphasis on virtual connections and meetings, in-person networking is still irreplaceable.
Yes, nothing works like in-person meetings, be it networking events, job fairs, or industrial exhibitions. Attending these events helps you to have one-on-one conversations with your prospects and get to know them better.
It’s through these events you can market and promote your product and can show a live demo of the product too.
You can also solve their queries and doubts which resist them to make a buying decision.
Conclusion
Having a well-rounded approach combining multiple outbound methods will ensure maximum visibility for new customer acquisition whilst building brand awareness along the way!
Read Also: B2B Sales Strategies 2023
FAQs: Related to Outbound Lead Generation Best Practices
what is outbound lead generation strategies?
An outbound lead generation strategies is a proactive approach to identifying and engaging potential customers through various outbound marketing channels, such as cold calling, email campaigns, direct mail, and social media outreach
How to build a successful b2b outbound lead generation Strategies
Building a successful B2B outbound lead generation strategies campaign requires a strategic approach that involves careful planning, targeted messaging, and consistent follow-up. Here are some key steps to consider:
1. Define your target audience
The first step is to determine who your ideal customer is. This includes identifying the industry or vertical you want to target, the size of companies you want to work with, and any other relevant criteria.
2. Develop a strong value proposition
Once you know who your target audience is, it’s important to craft messaging that resonates with them. Your value proposition should clearly communicate how your product or service can solve their pain points and improve their business outcomes.
3. Build a high-quality list
With your target audience in mind, build a list of prospects using various sources such as LinkedIn Sales Navigator or ZoomInfo. It’s essential that this list contains accurate data so make sure it’s verified before sending out emails.
4. Create personalized outreach campaigns
Personalization is key when reaching out to potential customers – generic messages don’t cut it anymore! Customize each message based on the prospect’s job title and company role; this will help capture their attention better than non-relevant content would.
5. Craft compelling email copy
Writing persuasive emails takes time but pays off big-time if done correctly! Make sure every sentence adds value by highlighting what makes your solution unique from others in the market.
6. Test different subject lines & CTAs (calls-to-action)
Experimenting with various subject lines and CTAs helps find which ones resonate best with leads while making them more likely for engagement
What are the 3 approaches to lead generation?
The three approaches to lead generation are inbound marketing, outbound marketing, and account-based marketing
