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Outbound Sales: 10 Most Effective Tips To Increase Leads

Understanding outbound sales strategies and how to implement them effectively is challenging. Today, technology is evolving rapidly, and the market is struggling to keep up. If you’re wondering how to increase outbound sales calls, build an outbound strategy, or what outbound sales are, you’re in the right place.

 

What Is Outbound Sales?

If you’re wondering, “what are outbound sales?” you aren’t alone. But, whether you know it or not, you’ve been on the receiving end of outbound sales techniques. Cold calls, email campaigns, and advertisements are some common examples. 

 

Basically, outbound sales involve creating leads and meeting them where they are. 

 

Inbound vs. Outbound Sales

Your business’s outbound sales strategy is only part of creating long-term success. While outbound sales focus on creating leads, inbound sales nurture them. Blogs, PR, and social media are ways brands like yours use to connect with their customers every day.

 

The inbound sales process is all about building trust and relationships.

 

Why Is Outbound Sales So Important?

Now, you have an answer for “what is outbound sales?” but why does it matter to you?

 

It matters because inbound and outbound sales processes are complementary. Outbound sales convert sales in the short-term, while inbound sales build towards sales over the long-term. The great thing about these practices is that together they can help you get more of the market.

The Advantages of Outbound Sales

One of the most significant advantages of outbound sales is a faster return on investment (ROI), but that’s just the beginning. Because your business is taking control of the sales process, your sales team can focus on the best quality leads.

 

But the best part has to do with interacting directly with potential customers. Your team can see what works and what doesn’t in real-time while connecting with prospects every step of the way. Your business’s sales strategies can develop and meet the market at every turn.

 

If you’re wondering how to increase outbound sales calls or develop an outbound sales strategy, keep reading to learn more.

 

What Is a Typical Outbound Sales Process?

Breaking down “what is the outbound sales process?” is as simple as five steps: identifying your audience, generating leads, outreach and qualification, sales calls, and closing the deal.

 

Your first step is to understand who you’re trying to reach. Consider your products and services, and take the time to assess and analyze who is meant to buy them. Do some products appeal more to one category than another? Segmenting your target groups makes it easier to reach them.

 

Once you know who you’re trying to reach, it’s time to find them. You might have a lead-generating team in-house or outsource it to a firm. Either way, your goal is to get a list of people to contact and their contact information.

 

The next step is to reach out and qualify leads. Ultimately, less than 20% of leads from this stage will convert into a sale. This step lets the sales team decide who to focus their efforts on so they can close sales.

 

Congratulations! You’ve reached the most recognizable step of the sales process. During this step, the sales team is going to handle sales calls, demos, and other aspects of active sales. Depending on your business, products and services, and customers, this process can be days or months long.

 

Your sales team did what they do best. They sold your product and closed the deal. Then, customer service representatives take over the brand’s interactions with the customer, and the sales team can focus on their next leads.

 

10 Effective Outbound Sales Tips To Increase Leads

If you’re ready to take your business’s outbound sales strategy to the next level, these ten techniques will give you the jump-start you need to succeed.

 

Social Selling

Are you ready to go beyond “what are outbound sales?” With social selling, you can build community, practice outbound sales, and have ongoing lead generation.

 

Social selling is time intensive but worth it. A well-executed social selling strategy can have an ROI of 5 times or more! Social selling involves building relationships with potential customers, providing value, and establishing a rapport before trying to make sales.

 

Use Existing Customers for Referrals

You can spend a fortune on marketing, but word-of-mouth is priceless. Referrals are 70% more likely to convert. Why? Because they know someone who appreciates what your business has to offer. 

 

Many people feel uncomfortable asking for referrals, but it’s one of the best ways to get qualified leads. Build a referral request into your process so that satisfied customers are reminded to spread the word. 

 

Get Featured on Podcasts

Reaching your audience where they are is an essential element in any outbound sales strategy. You have a better chance of getting your audience’s attention and converting sales by advertising on podcasts than you do with Facebook, Tiktok, and Twitter.

 

But advertising is only part of how you can reach your target audience. Find podcasts that talk about your industry. Which ones could interview you or a business representative? What would the interview be about? 

 

Webinars Can Create Strong Relationships

As you think about the answers to “what are outbound sales,” you also need to consider what your brand has to offer. Yeah, the products and services are excellent. But today, a customer’s relationship with your brand is critical because they have plenty of options.

 

A webinar is a chance for you to share knowledge with your customers, not to make a sale. You’re developing that relationship and showing the value of your brand beyond its paid offerings. 

 

Create a Strong Outreach Plan

If you’re wondering how to increase outbound sales calls, your outreach plan is the first step. Automation is a great way to make this step easier. Customer relationship management (CRM) software will track every interaction your customers have with the brand and highlight who is most likely to make a sale or need support.

 

When you make your outreach plan, keep in mind that you’ll want diverse channels to reach consumers.

 

Personalized Emails

Email marketing is a common way to connect with customers, but personalization can increase your ROI by over 700%! 

 

By effectively segmenting your potential customers, you can send personalized messages to several smaller groups instead of sending a broad message to one large group. Demographics, interests, and other information can help your business connect with customers more meaningfully.

 

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is a highly effective but risky element of answering “what is outbound sales.” Sponsoring and building relationships with influencers can give your brand a lot of exposure, but there are a lot of potential pitfalls. 

 

Finding influencers that connect with your ideal customers is critical, but 80% of marketers find influencer marketing effective. 

 

Cold Calling Is Still Effective

If you’re still wondering how to increase outbound sales calls, let’s talk about a new take on cold calling. With your CRM system and tools like lead tracking, you can get a clear sense of a customer’s journey. So how can you use cold calls to build a lead’s relationship with your brand? 

 

Calls can encourage them to ask more questions, give your sales team greater insight into consumer needs, and have a meaningful conversation.

 

Use Cold Messaging to Create Awareness on Social Media

When it comes to the internet, you might wonder, “what are outbound sales like on social media?” You might think of an unsolicited message that was obviously copied and pasted and may not even have anything to offer you.

 

Instead, see what your audience is doing on the platform. What are they interested in? What are they talking about? How can you start a conversation that can lead to more?

 

Focus on Being Helpful

It’s easy to get wrapped up in things like how to increase outbound sales calls, but the value needs to be at the center of everything. More than 70% of consumers buy from the first salesperson who offers them insight.

 

Your audience isn’t interested in another sales pitch. Support their interests, meet them where they are, and offer help wherever possible.

 

Automate Your Sales Process

Automating your sales process might sound insane, but it’s simpler than you think. The key is identifying what can be automated and how it can transform your sales process. Things like lead scoring can automatically identify higher-quality leads for your sales team.  

 

When you’re considering how to automate your sales process, you should focus on automating anything that isn’t entirely value-productive. Scheduling tools can make getting your team on one page easier and faster and help salespeople get the face time they need with customers. 

 

Whether your team needs lead list builders or to update their email marketing process, automation can transform your sales process.

 

Ready To Increase Outbound Sales Today?

Now that you have a solid answer to “what is outbound sales,” are you ready to take it to the next level? In today’s market, you need every edge to make sales. That’s where companies like Automated Revenue come in. We provide end-to-end outbound sales solutions by building custom solutions to meet your company’s unique needs.

 

Check out our website to learn more about how we can help you transform your sales process. 

 

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