Hi there, it’s Thibaut.

Welcome to the Remote Sales Playbook.

In this newsletter, I primarily cover:

• How to create solid prospecting systems and routines (that get your 30%+ reply rates)
• Concrete tactics to qualify deals, close them faster, while wasting less time with unqualified prospects
• Tips, tactics, and strategies to help you work when, where, and how you want (as a remote salesperson)

But I’ve been writing this newsletter for a while now, over 3 years!

And I want to make it as easy as possible for you to find issues that are most relevant to you.

So, here are some of my favorite issues… organized by topic.

How to create solid prospecting systems and routines (that get your 30%+ reply rates)

The topic I probably write about this most is prospecting.

So, if you’re looking to finally get prospects to pay attention to your messages and/or reach your prospecting targets I’d start here:

• How many prospects you should contact every day: A simple formula to find out how many prospects to contact daily if you want to reach your targets.
• How I booked 12 meetings with this simple LinkedIn connection request: A killer connection request template for LinkedIn.
• 5 steps to building your prospecting routine: A playbook to make sure you prospect the right way.

Concrete tactics to qualify deals, close them faster, while wasting less time with unqualified prospects

Another topic I write about frequently is closing. How to turn a stranger into a customer.

So, if you’re looking to stop wasting time on tire kickers and/or reach your sales targets, I’d start here:

• 3 simple questions to ask to close a deal: A qualification framework I love using to know if I’m talking to people who are serious about a deal.
• 3 steps to close a deal today: A tactic I use all the time to get people to commit to a deal and sign it on the same day.
• 3 steps to fix your pipeline: A methodology I use to clean up my pipeline and make sure I’m investing my efforts with the right prospects.

Tips, tactics, and strategies to help you work when, where, and how you want (as a remote salesperson)

Finally, a personal favorite topic of mine is independence. I love sharing tips to help salespeople diversify their income streams, and get more freedom.

So, if you’re looking to start building a life in your own terms and/or diversify your income, I’d start here:

• If you’re a remote salesperson, you need to read this: A must-read if you’re working remotely and got used to setting your own rules.
• 5 side gigs you can land right now: 5 concrete ideas to start working for yourself on the side.
• How to avoid burning out as a remote salesperson: A simple resource to help you organize your time (and set boundaries) when working remotely.

In today’s newsletter, I’ll share my updated LinkedIn Connection Request Guide. LinkedIn connection requests are incredibly powerful for salespeople when used the right way. But most are using them to pitch slap their prospects, and they miss an opportunity to start real conversations.

Here’s how you can solve that, step-by-step:

Step 1: Optimize your LinkedIn profile

Before sending a connection request, you need to make sure your LinkedIn profile is optimized for prospecting. A lot of profiles look like trophy shelves, or provide zero information on how they can help prospects solve important problems.

Here’s what you need:

• A professional profile picture (use Secta to create one with AI)
• A clear headline (what you do, who you help, what’s the outcome of working with you)
• A catchy LinkedIn banner (this guy did mine)
• An optimized featured section (a free resource to help prospects + link to your calendar link)

Don’t miss this detailed guide to optimizing your LinkedIn profile.

Step 2: Understand the connection request process

Most people use LinkedIn on their mobile phones. There’s just one problem; 99% of salespeople prospect with their computers. Here’s what your connection requests look like on both formats:

In today’s newsletter, I’ll share what you should be focusing on as you restart your prospecting in 2025. If you took some time off (I did), you most likely stopped sending prospecting messages to your prospects, and restarting can be a struggle.

The struggle is even harder in 2025, as outbound results have massively dropped in 2024. Here are 3 steps to help you restart and focus on what you can.

Step 1: Optimize for open rate and connection requests

Most salespeople have the wrong expectations when it comes to prospecting. They think they can send a few emails here and there, and they’ll be able to book meetings quickly. That cannot be farther from the truth, especially when you stopped reaching out for a few weeks.

When restarting your prospecting, the most important is to focus on leading indicators of success. Here are two you can’t ignore:

• Email Open Rate: This indicator shows how your domain is performing, and the quality of your subject line. If it’s low, you may have an issue with your domain (check Maildoso to fix it), or your subject lines suck (fix it here).
• Connection Requests Acceptance Rate: When working with LinkedIn, the first thing to focus on is your connection requests. If your requests aren’t accepted, you won’t be able to keep prospecting that person on LinkedIn. You can fix your connection requests here.

Run your sequence for 2 weeks to get enough data before moving on to step 2.

Step 2: Optimize for replies

When your email open rates and LinkedIn connection requests acceptance rate are at an acceptable level, you know your prospecting does its first job: get the attention of your prospects.

But attention isn’t enough to book meetings, you need to get replies. Most salespeople write their prospecting messages with the goal of booking a meeting, or closing a deal. That’s the biggest mistake I keep seeing, customer after customer.

You can fix this by working on your messaging, and making it intriguing so people reply to learn more. I call that The Netflix Effect, and your goal is to get prospects to reply to solve a specific problem, with a specific solution. Go check my Prospecting Template Swipe File if you want concrete examples.

Run your updated sequence for 2 weeks to get enough data before moving on to step 3.

Step 3: Optimize for meetings

When your sequence generates replies, you’ve done the hardest part. Now you can start working on turning these replies into meetings. Unlike what most people think, meetings aren’t booked in your prospecting messages, but in the conversations you’re running.

You need to navigate the conversation to turn it into a meeting. Here’s how it’s done:

• Step 1: Use a problem question
• Step 2: Tease a reciprocity resource
• Step 3: Ask for feedback
• Step 4: Use a negative-reversing question
• Step 5: Drop a meeting link

You can check my detailed guide to get more details on turning replies into meetings.

And these are the 3 steps I recommend you follow as you’re restarting your prospecting in 2025. Keep in mind that your month of January won’t be representative of the rest of 2025, as you’re ramping up your prospecting.

And if you need a concrete system to help you do just that, go check my Prospecting Engine (it’s 25% off until Friday the 10th of January).

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Thibaut Souyris