Outbound sales series

Outbound sales are a specific type of sales with their own unique strategies for selling. If you’re new to outbound selling and need to understand exactly what it means, start here!

What are outbound sales?

Outbound sales refer to the procedure through which sales representatives approach potential clients and provide their sales messages. Cold calling is a traditional example, but contemporary outbound sales teams often communicate via email and other channels. The distinguishing feature is that representatives are interacting with potential clients; clients do not approach you.

The distinction between incoming and leaving sales is that. Potential clients are approaching you thanks to inbound sales (often due to your successful content marketing).

Both approaches offer advantages, and the question of inbound and outbound sales will never be fully resolved. In most cases, companies benefit from a combination of both.

The benefits of outbound sales

Before we talk about the outbound sales process itself, let’s talk about why it’s worth doing.

In short, the output can be effective because it provides the things that the input (usually) does not:

• highly targeted scope
• Immediate feedback and results
• Personal contact with potential clients
• Control over the pace of marketing and sales

These advantages of outbound sales make it a potent channel for producing income. Instead of waiting for your ideal clients to discover you, you reach out to them and learn straight away if your strategy is effective.

You decide when to scale the process up since you are in charge of how quickly information is disclosed and sold. You want greater sales. More customers should be contacted.

To get the most out of your sales process, you can combine entry and exit tactics, giving you the best of both worlds. So, let’s take a look at what is involved in outbound sales.

An overview of the outbound sales process

Every company has a different outbound sales process, but there are 5 steps every outbound sales team must follow. Here is a summary of what it usually is:

1. Identify market segments

Will you sell to anyone? What group do you want to appeal to? Without this knowledge, your sales force won’t be reaching out to enough qualified prospects to generate a sizable number of sales.

Customizing your sales strategy also involves segmenting your market into smaller segments. This is crucial if you sell various goods or if your clients come from several industry sectors.

2. Generate leads

Though lead generation is a complicated subject, the end goal is to have a full pipeline. Making a list of the individuals you want to contact and tracking down their contact details is how you create leads.

You could occasionally have a lead generating team on staff. Other times, a database of potential clients will cost money. Even organizations that generate outbound leads are available for outsourcing. Lead generation may be handled by salespeople.

At the end of the process, you will have a list of people to contact your sales team.

3. Scope and qualification

This is when your sales team starts to act. Whether by phone, email, or another method, salespeople communicate with their potential customers. Much of this process is done by calling and emailing potential customers.

Salespeople will decide whether or not a potential client is likely to do business with your company during their initial encounters with them; this is what sales qualification is for. They will be taken from your list if they don’t. The following step will be taken if they are qualified prospects.

4. Sales calls and meetings

Now your team can do what they do best: sell. This may involve a live demo of your software, a meeting with executives, or a call to discuss the features and benefits of your product.

Depending on your target market, this process can take a while. B2B and enterprise sales tend to have longer sales cycles with more decision-makers. Smaller sales can be closed in a single call.

5. Closing of the agreement

It’s time to sign the deal if the sales calls and meetings go well. Your sales team has completed the transaction and the deal is final. Although there is still a lot to accomplish, your sales team’s contribution to the process is now complete.

Now that you understand the basics of outbound prospecting, let’s dive into some more advanced topics.

(And if you haven’t already claimed your free copy of my book The Ultimate Startup Guide to Outbound Sales, now is the time to get it.)