In today’s newsletter, I will explain why scaling your outreach might not be the best strategy if you want to book meetings in 2023 and beyond. According to a research from Jeremey Donovan, it now takes 1,000 to 1,400 touches to generate an opportunity from cold outbound, compared to 200-400 five years ago.

In this context, scaling your outreach can lead to negative outcomes. Here’s why, and what you can do instead.

Reason #1: You need to understand human psychology

Before automation and AI, humans had limited options to scale their outreach. They relied on door-to-door or cold calling, and prospects weren’t overwhelmed with outbound messages or emails.

Today, sales reps can easily create fully-automated sequences and flood prospects with cold outbound messages. When you develop an automated sequence, you outsource your communication to a robot.

Instead, it is important to understand what motivates humans to respond to a message:

• Using a creative media
• Teasing prospects’ interest
• Writing an intriguing message

Reason #2: Automation and AI have a “smell”

There’s something odd about receiving an email that was written for an ICP and not for an individual. When you automate your outreach, prospects can detect it. The tone, the words used, the lack of personalization, all contribute to giving an automation ”smell” to your outbound.

When you send the same sequence to thousands of prospects, based on their job titles, you’re doing email marketing, and you get typical results of email marketing (reply rates under 5%, click rate under 2%).

Instead, ditch your automated sequences, look for personalization elements for each prospects, and use automation to help you create a prospecting system.

Reason #3: It’s the only thing you really control

Prospecting is one of these activities that you simply can’t skip if you want to be successful in sales. It also happens to be one of the only things you can control in sales, especially in 2023.

If you calculate your cruising altitude, build a prospecting routine, and tweak your messaging with new templates every week, then you’ll create more control over your results. Here are my stats for example:

• Cruising altitude: 5 new prospects added to my sequence daily
• Reply rate: 39.89%
• Meeting rate: 19.4%

I’m able to start conversations with almost 40% of people I contact, and get 20% of these people into a meeting, with a 3 to 5 touchpoint sequence. These results may differ based on what you’re selling, but the consistency comes from my prospecting system.

In my opinion, outsourcing your outbound sequences to a robot is too risky. It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use tools or AI to help you with repetitive tasks. Just make sure they don’t define your craft and see them as what they are: tools.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Thibaut Souyris

In today’s newsletter, I will share the exact system I use to find emails and messages that get replies. I will also explain how to store them and turn them into templates that you can use for selling your products. By following these steps, you will continue to stand out in your prospect’s inbox and start more conversations.

Here’s how, step-by-step:

Step 1: Create a swipe file

If you spend time on LinkedIn, you will come across many people sharing sales tips, including myself. However, not all the tips and tactics you find on LinkedIn are helpful. Nevertheless, some of them are highly practical and use detailed example.

That is why I suggest creating a swipe file to collect all the valuable message templates you come across. You can download my Prospecting Template Swipe File to access my favorite templates and add your own.

In today’s newsletter, I will share the exact system I used to close a €10,000 side gig in 3 weeks. If you can replicate these steps, you will be on your way to stop working for bad bosses and start using your sales skills to build a more independent career.

Here’s how, step-by-step:

Step 1: Find your marketable skill

If you work in sales, you already have a marketable skill. The ability to schedule meetings, transform them into opportunities, and convert them into business is a highly desirable skill. There are various ways to sell this skill, but here are a few that come to mind:

• SDR as a service
• AE as a service
• Sales consultant
• Sales coach
• Fractional Executive
• Sales Advisor
• Etc.

Once you have finished listing the best way to sell your sales skills, you should determine what resonates with you the most. Personally, when I began working independently, I had little interest in scheduling meetings or closing deals on behalf of other businesses. Instead, I chose to help founders resolve sales process issues, which led me to offer a combination of consulting, training, and coaching services.

Step 2: Build a list of potential prospects

Once you have identified the perfect combination of your marketable skills and interest, you can begin contacting your network for introductions. I suggest starting with a list of close friends and colleagues.

These individuals can assist you in generating a list of potential prospects. Some of them may have a direct need for your services, while others may know individuals who need sales assistance (which is super common).

For example, I personally began reaching out to previous customers and asked if they were aware of anyone who could benefit from help with sales.

Step 3: Build a simple prospecting sequence

Now that you have a list of potential prospects, you can begin asking your acquaintances and friends for introductions. You can create two sequences: one to ask your friends for introductions and another to ask for referrals once an introduction has been made.

Here’s an example of a message I sent to my friend Pierre-Yves to ask if he knows anyone who may need assistance with sales:

Pierre-Yves, I’m looking for founders who are having an issue with their sales process. Do you know of anyone who could benefit from a quick conversation to see what’s wrong, and get a few ideas on how to solve these issues?

PS: If you want to get a sequence planner, a few more email templates, and the whole playbook I followed to close my first side gig, then go check my 7-day email course, Escape The Hamster Wheel.

Step 4: Run a first discovery call

If you execute your sequence correctly, you should have a few discovery calls scheduled. The advantage of not having a clear product to sell is that your discovery call can be completely focused on your prospects and their problems.

Here is a list of questions I asked to understand the problems my prospects were facing:

• Why are we meeting today?
• Tell me more about your sales process.
• Walk me through a deal you closed recently.
• Walk me through a deal you lost recently.
• Tell me more about your tech stack.
• What are your sales targets?
• Are you on the right trajectory to meet them?
• What’s your plan to reach your sales targets?

When you ask these questions, you can learn about your prospect’s business problems and goals. It’s not uncommon for the conversation to last longer than expected, and that’s actually a positive sign.

Step 5: Scope a project

After running a few discovery calls, you should be able to progress to the next step with at least one prospect. You can propose interviewing employees of your prospect to get a better understanding of their problems and present your findings in a scoping call.

For my first project, I interviewed one of the SDRs from my prospect and identified the following challenges they faced:

• No clear ICP
• SDR with no experience
• No structured outbound system
• Founder had no clue how to sell to people he didn’t know
• No time to build a sales organization because they were raising money

Next, we discussed how we could collaborate, defined the deliverables, and established the desired outcomes. Since this was my first consulting project, I opted to sell hours instead of specific outcomes. This approach allowed me to remain flexible and still provide value even if the scope of the project changed.

Step 6: Present an offer

During the scoping call, you may feel tempted to share your offer. However, I recommend against doing so. Estimating the workload properly may be challenging within the limited time of the call. It is better to build anticipation and keep the offer as a reward for the prospect’s patience.

As Skip Miller would say, your offer is not an educational document, but a validation document. It serves as a natural extension of your discovery call, individual interviews, and scoping call. There should be no major surprises for the prospect.

Here is an example of what mine looked like:

In today’s newsletter, I will share a tactic I used to book 12 meetings with a simple LinkedIn connection request. By replicating this tactic, you can increase your chances of receiving more replies, scheduling more meetings, and ultimately earning more money.

Personally, I was able to convert 10 of these meetings into sponsorships (note that win rates may vary depending on the product or service you sell).

Here’s how it works:

Part 1: First framework

A LinkedIn connection request has to be short, relevant, and optimized to get an answer. That’s why I use the following framework:

• Trigger: The reason for reaching out
• Idea: An intriguing idea
• CTA: A simple call-to-action

Examples:

• Trigger: Mary, had a great time building content with Aisha.

• Idea: I have a few additional ideas on how to get you some additional exposure to my audience.

• CTA: Worth chatting about?

• Trigger: Mary, saw you had plans to hire over 50 reps in H1 2024.

• Idea: I have a 7-step checklist to help you bring a screening call from 30 min to 10 min, so you don’t end up wasting days with bad candidates.

• CTA: Want to learn more?

This framework is effective because it begins with a personalized element (the trigger), piques the curiosity of the prospect by presenting an opportunity to solve a problem, and encourages a response if the prospect is interested.

Part 2: Framework variation

I have also been using a small variation of this framework, where the Idea and the CTA are combined:

• Trigger: The reason for reaching out
• Idea: An intriguing idea + question

Examples:

• Trigger: Oren, I’ve been invited as a guest on The Epic Show and saw you were a sponsor.

• Idea: Opposed to putting Worthy in front of my 40K+ audience too?

• Trigger: Oren, saw you liked Owen’s post about cascading lead enrichment being the future.

• Idea: Opposed to grabbing my 5-step playbook to using cascading lead enrichment?

This variation is powerful because it’s short, direct, and it uses negative psychology (opposed to) to get more replies.

Part 3: Results

With these two frameworks, I managed to get over 18 replies, like the ones below:

In today’s newsletter, I will share why I think the traditional SDR model is no longer effective and suggest ways to future-proof your sales development career. By adapting to the changing sales landscape in 2023 and beyond and making well-informed choices, you can save time, earn more money, and have the freedom to live life on your own terms.

Let’s dive in:

Observation #1: SDRs are being fired in droves

2023 was a challenging year for salespeople. According to Layoffs.fyi, 236,835 employees were laid off in the tech sector alone. That’s an average of over 794 people fired per day, and new layoffs continue to occur daily.

These layoffs typically occur when businesses are seeking to achieve profitability or extend their runway. As a result, they let go of employees who are considered non-essential for the operation of the business. When SDR teams underperform, they are among the first to be laid off.

Observation #2: Throwing bodies at growth goals does not work anymore

A few years ago, increasing the number of salespeople in a territory was an effective strategy to acquire new customers and create the impression of growth for investors. It was simple to schedule meetings, generate opportunities, and close deals that ultimately resulted in churn after 12 months.

However, in 2023, CFOs carefully examine every expense, and hiring costly full-time employees is no longer their preferred choice.

Observation #3: Tools and AI make SDRs more efficient = less SDRs needed

Since the beginning of 2023, the sales industry has been greatly impacted by AI and ChatGPT. Initially, there was a belief that AI would replace all salespeople. However, after a few months, it became clear that AI would instead empower salespeople who were able to quickly learn how to use it.

As a result, we are seeing a significant increase in productivity among SDRs, and there is a rapid growth of SDRs as a service agencies and individuals. For businesses aiming to minimize risks, collaborating with an agency is less risky compared to hiring, onboarding, and training a full-time SDR.

These three observations indicate that the traditional model of hiring in-house, full-time SDRs and promoting them to AE within six months is no longer valid.

However, it’s a great opportunity for those who can adapt and find solutions:

Solution #1: Learn the basics of human psychology

If you ask ChatGPT to write a cold email for you, this is what you get:

In today’s issue, I’ll share three concrete ways you can use AI for sales. AI has been a trending topic in sales for a few months. With more experience, we can now understand what AI can do for us and what its limitations are.

But first, let me share a quick story to demonstrate how AI is more of a productivity tool than a superior intelligence that will take your job.

Below is a sticker I created using AI on my iPhone (yes, it’s my son):

In today’s newsletter, I’ll share 3 tactics you can’t afford to ignore if you want to keep your deals moving in 2023. So many salespeople I’m speaking with are getting ignored by prospects, ghosted by customers, and they keep losing momentum in their deals.

Here are 3 tactics that will help you solve that:

Tactic #1: Ask the right questions

When running a discovery call, a majority of salespeople try to get their prospects to go through a qualification framework. But in most cases, buyers feel interrogated, and they end up ghosting sellers. That’s where you can use Skip Miller’s tool:

• Cause – What’s causing your to have a conversation with me?
• Outcomes – What are the outcomes you’re expecting?
• Decision – When can you make a decision?

If you can answer these 3 questions, your deals will gain momentum, and you’ll get ghosted a lot less. However, you may find that a lot less deals are going through in your pipeline, as these questions help you find out who’s serious and who’s not.

Tactic #2: Follow-up with a value-based email

When buyers ghost you, it can be challenging to come up with an email that’s going to get you a reply. If you’re “just checking in” or “bumping this at the top of your inbox”, you will lose momentum.

That’s where I love using the Jobs to be done framework:

In today’s newsletter, I will share how a sales rep used two psychological biases to book a meeting with me. I receive a ton of messages from people trying to book a meeting with me, and in most cases, I ignore them. Here is what this sales rep did differently:

Step 1: The trigger

Here’s a screen capture of the first message the rep sent out.

In today’s newsletter, I’ll be sharing 5 tactical resources to help you get back to prospecting. Over the last 3 weeks, my 15-month-old son has been at home (because daycare was closed), and my prospecting routine was impacted. If you can relate to this situation, the following 5 resources may help you get back on track:

Resource #1: 4 steps to kick start your prospecting

In early 2022, I wrote a quick prospecting restart guide following the Christmas and New Year holiday. This guide covers the following:

• Ways to get motivated to restart prospecting
• A simple sequence to get back into the flow
• Ideas based on my personal prospecting routine

Grab it here.

Resource #2: How many prospects you should contact everyday

If you’re unsure of how many prospects you should contact daily, you risk missing your target or losing motivation. To help you determine that number, I wrote a 4 step guide which covers the following:

• How to break down a big goal into daily activities
• Insights on optimal reply rates and meeting rates
• Bonus: Includes a free sales process calculator

Grab it here.

Resource #3: 3 rules to getting replies with cold email

Getting replies to emails in 2023 can be incredibly challenging. To help with this, I have written a short guide with tactical tips on how to increase your chances of getting replies. In this guide, you will learn:

• How to write effective subject lines (including examples I use)
• The ideal email length
• A few frameworks to help you get started with writing your emails

Grab it here.

Resource #4: The Ultimate guide to AI-powered Outreach

Using AI to become more efficient in prospecting is critical. If you don’t learn how to use AI for sales, you’ll have a hard time being successful. That’s why I have created a simple guide with three concrete use cases of AI for prospecting. Here’s what you’ll learn:

• The truth about AI for salespeople
• What salespeople who understand how to use AI never do
• A simple tactic to catch the attention of your prospects and achieve a reply rate of 38% or higher.

Grab it here.

Resource #5: New Outreach System + AI Outreach System Bundle

There are only four months left in 2023. If you don’t have a prospecting system in place by the end of September, you’ll likely miss Q4. That’s why I created a bundle of my New Outreach System and my AI Outreach System. Here’s what you’ll learn:

• How to define your ideal customer profile and identify their problems
• How to build a prospecting system from scratch, including sequences, messages, and more
• How to use AI, specifically ChatGPT, for prospect research, writing messages, and increasing your efficiency
• And much more tactical knowledge

In addition, I’m offering a 35% discount on this bundle, which is valid until Sunday.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Thibaut Souyris

In today’s newsletter, I’ll share the process I follow for tweaking my messaging when running an outbound sequence. While sticking to a strict outbound sequence is important, adjusting the content of your outbound messages is critical to getting replies.

Here’s how:

Step 1: Build a sequence skeleton

Consistency accounts for 80% of your success when prospecting. To ensure consistency, I recommend building a sequence skeleton that includes the following elements:

• List of touchpoints: The total number of messages you’ll send in your sequence if you receive no replies
• Step title: An explicit description of your step
• Channel for each step: The channel of the step (LinkedIn, Email, Phone, etc.)
• Media for each step: The media of the step (Text, Audio, Video, etc.)
• Cadence between each step: The number of business days you’ll wait between each touchpoint

Below is an example of a sequence skeleton you can find in my AI Outreach System.