Introduction
Building meaningful connections through cold outreach takes time and effort. It's crucial to identify “Blue Chip” prospects, pinpoint key stakeholders who have the responsibility and need, tailor your messaging to be direct, concise, and valuable, and use multiple mediums to show they are one of a few, not one of many, prospects you are pursuing. Treat your outreach attempts as parts of a larger dialogue because your prospects are listening, even if they aren't responding. Patience is key.
Outreach is like planting seeds, not microwaving leads.
The Problem
Many organizations aim to quickly activate an outside sales team but fail because they haven’t laid the groundwork. Common issues include:
Too often, organizations expect immediate results and give up after 3-6 months due to “poor outcomes.”
Nothing is more egregious than outsourcing to a lead gen/appointment setting company and expecting quality appointments. I have yet to see that one work.
The Reality
The reality is that it takes about six months to start seeing the fruits of your labor.
Consider this: many of us receive solicitations daily. What's your knee-jerk response? DELETE (within seconds). The only way you might pause is if the message is genuinely personalized, not the fake-personalized “hey, I saw that you went to [insert college].”
Most of those deleted emails are never to be seen again. Thank goodness! But what happens when you log into LinkedIn and see a connection request from the salesperson who sent you a personalized note? Hmm.
Days later, you receive a short personalized voicemail from the salesperson. Quickly, this salesperson transitions from unknown to known. You recognize their name, their company, and their reason for connecting. Through their persistence, they demonstrate that you are one of a few, not one of many, they are trying to reach.
If you’re like me, you still haven't responded, even if you need the exact product or service they offer. You want to see how serious and persistent they are in earning your connection.
However, as they continue their pursuit, providing timely, relevant, and valuable information, you start to consider it, until you finally have the need to respond.
This is what I mean by “earning the connection”.
Timing Matters
What most salespeople (and leaders) often forget is that timing matters.
You may have identified the perfect prospect, pinpointed the right stakeholders, and crafted tailored messaging, but if the timing isn’t right, you won’t get the connection. For example, I won’t visit a car dealership until I need a new car.
Interestingly, I’ve had prospects respond to my outreach years after my initial attempts, after never hearing back initially. By staying consistent and positive, I remained memorable enough that when the timing was right, they thought of me.
It’s essential to view your outreach attempts as parts of a larger, ongoing dialogue.
Why Bother?
Because targeted and consistent outreach is one aspect of sales where you have complete control and can align precisely with your sales strategy. Winning one “Blue Chip” client can change the trajectory of your business, so focusing on earning connections with the right people within the right companies is an opportunity too important to pass up.
Conclusion
If you are building or re-tooling your outbound sales engine, do it right: create a clear Blue Chip client profile, identify key stakeholders, and craft tailored value messaging. Be prepared for the long game because cold outreach isn't about immediate results. Maintain a long-term perspective and continue nurturing relationships, even if they don't lead to immediate conversions.
Nexts Steps
If you or your sales team are struggling to maximize time with your best prospects and clients, I invite you to join my cohort-based course called: "Beyond the Founder Rainmaker - Building Your Outbound Sales Strategy". You'll gain invaluable insights, practical tools, and actionable strategies to unlock the true potential of your business.
Go Deeper
Carver Peterson helps growth-minded leaders and organizations achieve predictable and sustainable revenue growth through a refined strategy, defined process and aligned structure.
We are systematic and process-driven.
We value unique strengths.
We communicate openly and directly.
