According to HubSpot, 40% of sellers say that prospecting is the most challenging part of their work, and pipeline generation is also the most common pain I hear from sales leaders. One of the reasons is that many companies don’t have a plan in place to reach out to prospects consistently and through different channels.
Sales leaders must train their sales reps to fill their pipelines and build relationships with potential customers through a well-planned outbound sales cadence.
A sales cadence is simply the steps or actions you take to move prospects through your pipeline, from first contact to closed deal.
Let’s look at five tips to create an effective outbound sales cadence.
1. Use an Omnichannel Approach
My first tip is to use an omnichannel approach to discover your customer’s favourite channels. Some people prefer email, others SMS and others talking to a person over the phone.
When you use this strategy, you can work out which is your prospect’s favourite channel. If you use only one or two channels, you may end up complaining that the prospect won’t answer your emails or call you back after leaving a voicemail, instead of finding out that the prospect prefers text messages.
Furthermore, when you use an omnichannel approach, you’ll find out that each channel complements the other. For instance, if a prospect has previously seen an email or LinkedIn message from you, a phone call won’t be a cold call anymore.
2. Make Outbound Calls
You should always include outbound phone calls as part of your sales cadence.
Talking to a lead over the phone allows you to have an interactive conversation where you can discover the lead’s challenges and pain points. That way, you can get rid of the guesswork and offer a customized solution.
Would you like to see statistical proof that outbound calling generates conversions today? Check out my recent LinkedIn post for an example from one of my clients.