Almost every SDR and BDR team will struggle with their outbound strategy at some point. So how can you build a comprehensive outbound strategy that works for your reps, on your timeline, to get the results you need? Here are a few quick tips I’ve picked up from utilizing gamification with some of the world’s best SaaS sales development teams.
Just The Right Amount of Touchpoints
Don’t give up when you are met with silence. On average, it takes about six solid touchpoints with a qualified contact to get a reply, with sequences usually lasting between 4-6 weeks. Stay strong through the silence, keep doing your research, find potential pains, and stay true to your sequence. A successful touchpoint is oftentimes the mix of the right message at the right time, so keep going! Your biggest sale could be one touchpoint away.
To Call or Not to Call
Emails are easy, but calls are king. Writing out an email outreach sequence for an entire industry can be done in just a few hours, and with slight tweaks, that messaging can be used for months. Although emails are a great resource, few outreach methods are as effective as simply picking up your phone and calling your contact. Try to ensure that at least 1/3 of your tasks in any sequence are calls. This puts a voice to a name and helps you stand out from the sea of outreach customers receive on any given day. People are much more likely to respond and actually set up a meeting on the phone.
Benchmarks
Best-in-class SDR/BDR teams work consistently by adding at least 20 contacts per day to a new sequence and making an average of 71.5 cold calls per day. This leads, on average, to 10.88 discovery calls and 6.23 SQLs per month. The email reply rate is typically around 5%, and the call connect rate sits at 7%. Consistency is key here, and by setting these benchmarks, you can help your team drastically boost pipeline through simple and easily repeatable daily goals.
Break Down Your Goals
No one feels motivated when they are looking at a mountain of work that they don’t think they will ever be able to climb. Instead of leaving your SDRs feeling isolated with a wall of work, try breaking down their goals into small, digestible pieces they can do every day. From setting daily call goals to providing data transparency to see exactly how each activity contributes to the overarching goal, there are a number of easy ways to bake motivation into your SDRs daily routine.
Engagement
Your SDRs and BDRs will only get out what they put in, and low engagement is the biggest killer of any sales funnel. Leaders can boost engagement by:
- Creating healthy competitions
- Providing personal and team data transparency with data visualization
- Recognizing the hard work done every day by outbound reps
- Celebrating the wins, both big and small, with rewards & achievements
Outbound sequences are some of the most rejected forms of sales, and if you don’t reward those reps, burnout could be a few short calls away. Good luck with your next outreach sequence, and feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn here or check out my company SalesScreen.