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You’ve decided to use outbound sales strategies to attract more b2b leads? Excellent! These strategies are great if you want to generate leads more quickly.
Marketers usually spend resources on increasing the number of visitors to their website. But with the increasing competition and ever-changing search engine algorithms, it’s not easy to drive more traffic to your website. You also have to make sure you’re getting high-quality traffic to be more successful in generating leads.
Another way to capture leads is by contacting them yourself. This way, you will have more control over the leads, and you don’t have to wait for them to come to you. This process is called outbound sales, which we are going to discuss in this blog post.
Let’s begin.
What Is Outbound Sales?
Outbound sales is the process where marketers reach out to prospects to encourage them to become paying customers. They generate their leads themselves instead of waiting for people to find them.
Sellers approach the prospects that match their ideal customer profile. They try to establish rapport with these people to get them interested in their offer. The goal is to earn prospects’ trust and show how the products or services can benefit them.
Outbound Sales Vs. Inbound Sales
Simply put, outbound sales is when you initiate contact with potential customers, while inbound sales is when they reach out to you and start the sales process.
Marketers use inbound marketing to generate passive leads. It involves content marketing, search engine optimization, and social media marketing to attract potential customers.
In outbound marketing, on the other hand, businesses apply methods to communicate with prospects directly to promote their message and products or services.
The sales approach you choose depends on many factors, including the type of your business, your budget, and your target market. Outbound and inbound lead generation can both help you attract new customers if done correctly. 32% of marketers say that outbound sales generates the most leads for their business. And the same percentage of marketers say that inbound sales is more effective.
The best strategy is to use both methods together as each has its own benefits and can complement one another. Outbound marketing produces results more quickly, and you get to choose the targets yourself. This method works great for smaller businesses to help them survive the competition.
Inbound strategies help marketers to achieve long-term results and generate more nurtured leads. Businesses also use them to increase brand awareness and customer loyalty.
These days, outbound lead generation is more popular among b2b companies. The reason is that they have a smaller number of customers and sell more expensive products and services. And what they sell helps businesses earn more revenue. So, companies would be more willing to accept the offer and pay for it.
Steps of Outbound Sales
These are the steps involved in outbound sales to convert a lead into a customer:
1- Identifying Your Ideal Customer
To create your ideal customer profile, you have to ask yourself some questions, such as:
- What types of companies are your customers?
- To which niches do they belong?
- What are their needs?
- What problems are they facing?
- How can your products or services help them?
By answering these questions, you will obtain a clear understanding of who your ideal leads are so you can communicate with them more clearly.
2- Finding Prospects
Now that you know who your ideal customer is, it’s time to search for prospects. There are many ways to find your b2b leads, including:
- Social media platforms
- Attending events
- Using third-party lead generation services
- Buying leads lists
Make sure to apply a customer-oriented approach while prospecting for leads. Personalize the communication process for each individual as much as possible. When prospects find your message more relatable, they would be more interested in what you have to offer.
3- Contacting Your Prospects
At this stage, sales representatives start contacting leads and qualifying them. In outbound prospecting, you must consider that it’s highly likely that your targets haven’t heard of you before.
You are just starting to build a relationship with prospects, so you should clearly explain why you are approaching them. Show them how your product or service benefits them and solves their problems so they would see the value of your offer.
4- Following Up with Leads
You’re not always going to receive a reply from your prospects straight away. Maybe they need more time to think about your offer, or they are busy. But if you don’t hear back from the prospects after some time, you need to follow up with them.
This is a really important step in outbound sales. Businesses could lose 98% of their leads if they don’t follow up with them. So, make sure to follow up if you don’t want your efforts to go to waste.
5- Winning the Deal
Now, it’s time to convert your warm leads into paying customers. Set up a meeting or a phone call and close the deal with the prospects who have shown interest in your offer.
Outbound Sales Channels
Here are the main outbound sales channels for generating leads:
1- Cold Calling
These days cold calling is not used as much as online channels. Companies mostly use this method at the follow-up stage rather than the first point of contact.
2- Cold Emailing
Emails are a popular channel for generating leads. In fact, 64% of businesses believe it’s the most effective way to target new customers and generate leads. The good thing about email marketing is that you can easily automate the process.
3- Social Media
Nowadays, b2b companies are using social media platforms, mainly Linkedin, more than ever to get leads. Successful social media marketing requires creating a powerful profile and publishing valuable content. This way, you will increase your brand credibility, and more prospects would be willing to connect with you.
Another way to use this channel is by joining online communities, such as Facebook groups. This strategy allows you to connect with a large number of leads in a simple and effective way. Just remember to first provide value before starting to promote your business.
4- In-Person Events
These events give you the chance to meet the decision-makers face to face and build relationships. Try to attend niche events where you are more likely to find your ideal customer.
Outbound Sales Strategies
Below you can find the best outbound sales techniques for more effective b2b lead generation:
1- Know Your Audience
Understanding your audience helps you in creating your ideal customer profile and personalizing the outbound sales process. This information enables you to improve the quality of your leads, build stronger relationships with them, and find more success in conversion marketing.
How can you gather this kind of information?
Using a user behavior analytics tool like Watch Them Live is an excellent way to understand your target market. This tool offers helpful features such as website analytics and session replays that provide you with valuable information about your audience.
With website analytics, you can find out visitors’ page views, referrers, and countries. By analyzing page views, you’ll understand your audience’s interest. And knowing from which location most of your visitors are helps you personalize the sales process.
Referrers show you your website traffic’s main sources. For example, if you are receiving a considerable number of visitors from Facebook, it’s a sign that it’s a great place for you to find prospects. Therefore, you can focus your lead generation efforts on this platform.
The session recording feature shows you the users’ exact behavior on your website. You can see how they engage with your content, what they pay attention to, and what they ignore. These videos give a clearer picture of who your ideal customer is.
Want to try out Watch Them Live? Check out the plans and choose the one that best suits your needs.
2- Create a Great Unique Selling Proposition
A unique selling proposition separates your business from the competition. Your USP makes you stand out from others and more memorable in the eyes of the decision-makers you are communicating with them.
3- Focus on the Benefits
To win a deal, you have to emphasize the benefits of your product or service. Understand your leads’ needs and listen to what they have to say. Then, let them know how your offer helps and benefits them.
4- Use Multiple Channels
If you want to reach more leads, follow this strategy. Even if you have a main channel for reaching out to prospects, don’t ignore the other ones. Each channel can be useful in a different way. Also, using different channels is an excellent way to boost brand awareness.
5- Optimize Your Website for Mobile Devices
More and more people are using mobile devices every day. Optimizing your website for mobile will increase your website’s traffic, which means you will have more lead generation opportunities. It also improves the purchasing process, and since it helps you provide a better user experience, customer loyalty increases too.
Conclusion
In this guide to outbound sales, we discussed everything you need to know to gain more b2b leads.
Although outbound marketing is known as a traditional sales strategy, it still remains relevant, and many businesses are using it to get ahead of the competition, especially b2b companies.
