An Outbound Sales Approach to a ​More Predictable ​Sales Pipeline​

A More Intelligent Approach ​to B2B Sales

Build a More Predictable Sales Pipeline​

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HubSpot’s CEO, Yamini Rangan once said something that confirms what MarketLauncher’s (ML’s) 20+ years on the front lines has also realized. She said, “The way customers buy is changing [so] how we connect needs to change. We are moving from the age of information to the age of intelligence.”  ​
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To sell effectively in today’s fast-moving world, you need to take an intelligent outbound sales approach. This playbook provides some of the best practices we have put in place to successfully  establish a more predictable sales pipeline. These techniques worked for us so well that we wanted to share them with you!​

Lara Triozzi​
MarketLauncher CEO

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Intelligent Outbound: Anticipate Client Needs Earlier

Last year, the ML team started to notice a decline in reach rates when performing our strategic outbound services. At the same time, we started seeing a higher rate of conversion to an engaged conversation when we did reach someone, followed by a higher conversion from an engaged conversation to a booked sales appointment. ​

In other words, while it got harder to reach a buyer, when we did reach the right person, they were far more likely to progress further into the funnel and convert to a sales opportunity.  ​

Through several months of analysis of this trend, we learned that while mass marketing efforts are having a diminishing return, a highly personalized approach resonates with buyers who are more likely to engage in meaningful dialogue and move forward in the sales funnel. When we included informative insights in our outbound messaging that resonated with the buyer, a connection was established that fueled a more successful sales journey.​

Today, ML is still very focused on strategic outbound strategies. But where we are being more intelligent is in anticipating our audience’s needs earlier and making sure our outreach is very targeted with relevant content and insights that address specific needs.  ​

Continue Reading about Intelligent B2B Outbound Sales. CLICK HERE.​​

Driven by technological advancements and changes in buyer behavior,

It’s time to take a more intelligent approach to outbound sales.  ​

1. Invest in Research Earlier​
   
2. Craft Relevant Messaging​
   
3. Collect and Share Your Intel​
   
4. Connect and Ask Questions

Click Here to Dig Deeper Into These Four Tips.

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What’s Working Now to Build Sales Pipeline?​

Here are the three best practice techniques where we have seen the most impact. 

#1: WARM LEAD FOLLOW UP​

Strategic follow-up by phone to leads that have been generated from marketing activity ​

#2: LEVERAGING EVENTS​

If my LinkedIn feed is a reliable indicator, events are being enthusiastically embraced by buyers and sellers and serve as a proxy for the in-person interaction we used to enjoy.​

#3: VOICE OF CUSTOMER PROGRAMS​

B2B companies are starting to understand how to get higher ROI by listening to their clients.

Read Lara’s Blog to Learn About These Three Best Practices.

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Do You Have A Predictable Sales Pipeline?

A Real-Life Example of Their Value​

Early in my career, I worked for a joint venture with a well-known national publication. We were rolling out a new CEO peer group program, and I was tasked with sales development. Before each market rollout, I would be called into a conference room and asked, ​

“How long will it take to see a positive ROI once we enter our next market?” ​

After stepping away to do the math, I came back and said, “My team did the research, and there are 3,000 companies in our next metro market. Based on our historical conversion rates, we know we’ll reach 20% of our target CEOs, and 20% of them will agree to a meeting. Then, 60% will pass our qualification criteria, and 80% of those will receive an invitation to join a group. 60% of the invitee pool will result in a win. We will then see about a 15% fallout and will end up with our first 30 new customers in the market, an initial 1% penetration of the total market in the first 90 days. ​

Based on our price point, we’ll cover our cost of sale within another 90 days. After 6 months, the market will begin generating positive ROI.” ​

​The model my team built that allowed me to share those numbers (that were ultimately proved to be very close to the final outcome) was a predictable sales pipeline. And you cannot achieve it without heavy scrutiny of every stage of the lead and sales cycle.​

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