(888) 893-2165Selling has changed, including outbound sales. Historically, when most people think of sales, you picture slicked back hair, nice suits, aggressive personalities, and men and women looking for nothing more than a hard close.
Nowadays, however, decision-makers are more guarded than ever. Rarely does anyone answer efforts like a phone number they don’t recognize or respond positively to outbound emails with generic sales pitches. If your organization is prioritizing outbound selling, your tactics, email messaging, and intent need to evolve. Another option: outsource your sales team.
Typical Sales Email Fails
Chances are pretty good that, if you’re someone that’s received an unsolicited sales email in the past, it looked a little something like this:
“Hey (NAME),
Hi, my name is Jarron from JumpCrew. We work with companies like yours to increase revenue through digital strategy and outsourced sales teams that scale. I think we could really benefit your business and would love to have a conversation. Here’s some info about us that will help you better understand why we’ve been so successful:
—$40m in revenue generated for our clients
—250% organic growth as a company in 2018
—Top Places to Work, two years in a row
You can access my calendar below to set up a time to talk. I’m looking forward to it!”
What you’ve likely noticed is that there is nothing personal, nothing specific, nothing that shows that you’ve connected the dots and identified a real connection between both organizations. Let’s take a look at the pitfalls of this outbound sales approach:
- Starts with “Me”: Throughout this cold outbound sales email, there is a lot of “my”, “we”, and “I”. Anyone receiving this email would recognize in an instant that it’s a sales pitch and whether consciously, or subconsciously, put up their defenses before you’ve even had a chance to demonstrate value.
- Buzzword: “Revenue”, “strategy”, “scale”, and “your business”, are all words that we think will sound professional when we’re writing them; like we’re smart and we know what we’re talking about. In reality, however, it’s a glaring indicator that you’re saying what you think they want to hear, as opposed to speaking to the prospect like a real human being.
Broad and Generic: There is no mention of how this is uniquely valuable to the prospect and more importantly, the prospect’s company’s business model. If you haven’t taken the time to really think through why there’s a connection, then the prospect will likely assume that they are just one of the hundreds of emails that you’ve included in an automatic email campaign.
Now that you know what not to do, let’s walk through a real-life example then move on to what works.
Networking Example
If you’re at a social function, a party, or a networking event, and go around to each person to introduce yourself by saying, “Hi my name’s “x” and I’m such a great friend to know and here’s why…”, chances are pretty good that you won’t leave having made very many meaningful connections. Inversely, if you’re genuinely interested, ask questions. Learn more about what matters most to people, you can find common interests that build rapport.
What Works
So now the question is, what really works for outbound sales? What really stands out that can create a meaningful connection from your first touch?
It’s simple, really–but it takes a little more effort and consideration. Here’s an example of an email sent by a rep at JumpCrew to a CMO at a venture-backed company that had just raised a Series B round of funding.
The Results You Want From Outbound Sales
Shortly after sending the email, we received the following reply saying “this is hands down the best outreach email I’ve ever seen” and we were off to the races from there.
It’s common to make “selling” about you; here’s why we’re great, why you should work with us, why this conversation matters.
But instead, it’s focusing on them that really makes a difference. At the end of the day, your prospects are people too. They should be treated as such. You’ll find that your results are vastly different and if nothing else, will empower your team to stand out from the competition.
Contact us today for more information on how to jumpstart your revenue goals and to learn more about the next steps of growing your business with an outbound sales strategy.
Read more: 4 Reasons Why Businesses Outsource Their Sales Team
