What is Outbound sales?

To know outbound sales, we first need to understand what is sales; sales refers to resolving somebody else pain through a product or a service (or an experience) in exchange for money.

Word “sales” basically defines the selling of products in exchange for money.

It is basically of two types

a) Inbound sales

b) Outbound sales

a) Inbound sales

Inbound sales focus on customer needs. The inbound sales methodology concentrated on the needs, challenges and interests of different buyers.

The inbound sales team basically work to meet their customer needs.

b) Outbound sales

Outbound sales are a sales process in which a sales assistant starts communication with a potential customer from their end.

3 core advantages of Outbound sales

a) Immediate results

Research says that it takes 120 days to close a sale through Outbound (83 days if you are in B2B SaaS). Inbound marketing works, but it takes a long time (~ 1 year) to get the results, but outbound sales create a significant impact resulting in great results in lead generation for your business.

b) Easy to tackle your targeted audience

In outbound sales marketing, you can target your audience very quickly. In this marketing process, you can message those customers you want to see in your business.

c) It also generates qualified leads

Not only do inbound sales generate qualified leads, but outbound sales also can generate a high number of qualified leads if you implement it right. Many people say that outbound sales are ineffective, probably because they implement them wrong. It would be best to know your customers before applying outbound sales marketing strategy. If you implement it perfectly, it can generate a several qualified leads for you.

Outbound sales are a sales process in which a sales assistant starts communication with a potential customer from their end. The primary contact is usually established by arranging cold calls or sending cold emails to potential clients (commonly referred to as prospects or leads in sales). Contact details are typically taken from a phone directory or prospect lists created with tools like an email finder.

How to get started in Outbound sales

a) Outbound prospecting (Lead generation)

In this, you start accumulating contact data of potential new customers. Before diving into it, it's essential to have a clear view of your target audience. Find answers to these questions:

• What types of businesses are you targeting?

• Who makes decisions about your service or product in these organizations?

• Do you have a buyer persona?

Leads can be generated in several ways:

• on LinkedIn

• on web directories

• on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter

• using prospecting tools directly on company websites and more.

Any additional data collected (especially in the case of outbound prospecting from LinkedIn) can be used to filter leads and personalize your email and offers.

b) Cold outreach

Outbound sales calling is a classic example of cold outreach methods. But these days, cold emails are a more popular outbound sales strategy. When composing them, you should make your letters short, consistent, personalized, and relevant to your leads’ needs and pain points.

Outbound sales reps often follow up with their prospects half a dozen times when cold emailing (a sequence that can be automated without losing the human feel). Therefore, it's vital to introduce one clear call to action (CTA) in every letter. Power words are also a standard method to improve open and reply rates for cold emails.

As we've mentioned, any additional data, most commonly collected on social media, can be used to boost the chances of converting a cold lead. Outbound sales representatives can even go as far as to use these details for creating tailored sales scripts and marketing offers.

In some situations, business offers can be made in real-time without the need for a sales assistant. For instance, a user publishes a post on social media that they need a last-minute dress reservation for a night out. A business can target them on the next street simply by responding to the post in real-time with a bonus or a discount offer. If this cold lead turns into a buying customer, then hooray! the outbound sale turns into a closed deal.

c) Lead qualification (Demos)

You turn a cold lead into a prospect when, having received a message about your service or product, they take interest and agree to accept a sales call. This is a standard stage of many sales funnels in which outbound sales representatives perform a product presentation.

The first sales call is often the first live communication with the lead. So it's essential to be equipped with relevant information about them and have a flawless demo for that prospect type.

Discover more about the lead and their business as they advance through the sales funnel can help salespeople offer a more tailor-made proposal and enhance the probability of closing the deal. Ask about their pains and difficulties and why they chose to communicate with you. Let them speak out and try to understand what it would take for them to become your client. It's necessary to distinctly outline the next steps at the end of the outbound sales call.

d) Closing the deal

This step refers to any late-stage actions that follow as a deal comes to a close and you are about to turn a lead into a new client. It varies from business to business and may involve preparing a quote, discussing the offer, upgrading from Freemium to Premium, etc. Eliminate any choice difficulties in this stage. Next, give a special offer and make it easy for leads to sign a new agreement or upgrade their account. Finally, be determined to acquire them as clients.

e) Ensuring customer success

At this point, you have succeeded in landing a new customer. Now it's your turn to fulfil your promises, give your new clients the best imaginable experience, and support them. Once you have pleased your customers, ask them if they have colleagues or partners that may be interested in your services as well. Have your client refer new leads to you, which helps find new business opportunities.

Conclusion

Thus, outbound sales marketing is one of the driving factors of many great companies. You might want to start with inbound sales marketing if you don't have excellent knowledge about outbound sales marketing. But, sooner or later, use both strategies to ensure your business does not lose out on potential customers.

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