As we approach the end of the year, I’ve been reviewing what has worked and what hasn’t in my outbound prospecting.
In 2022, I have experimented with 10 prospecting plays, and here’s a deep dive into 3 of them that performed better than the rest, with a 60%+ meeting rate.
The Roundtable is a play where you organize an online event with a limited number of Above The Line buyers. Your goal is to gather insights on what matters to them.
Here’s how it’s done:
Plan a 30-minute online event
30 min online event on Zoom
5 to 10 participants
VPs/C-level only
Short survey sent before the event
Build a sequence to invite prospects to the event
Invite existing customers first
Then ongoing opportunities
Then lost opportunities
Then prospects
Create FOMO
Namedrop participants’ names as they accept
First few participants will be the toughest to get, but it will become easier as you name drop
Send a pre-event survey
A few days before the event, send a short survey to the participants:
What happened in H1?
What are you challenges/expectations for H2?
What are you key initiatives for the rest of the year?
Run the event
Present the results of the survey and act as an event facilitator.
Ask participants to develop their replies
Write down challenges they have
Ask them how they plan on fixing these challenges
Follow-up with participants who have a problem you can help with
Drop a thank you note to all participants after the event
Tease a potential solution to those who shared a problem you can help with
Results: 42% reply rate, 60% meeting rate
With The Graph, your goal is to create a visual representation of a challenge your prospects are familiar with, and include it in your outbound messages.
Here’s how it’s done:
Identify a key problem of your prospect
Think about a quantifiable problem ($/€, %, absolute numbers) that your solution is impacting
Create a visual representation of that problem
Now that you have a problem, think about a graphical representation to this problem
Line charts, pie charts, column charts are great visual representation to use
Insert some example data to represent the problem
Create the chart
Add an explanation
Now that you have a chart, add an explanation of the problem and why it’s a problem
You can then do a screen capture of the graph
Insert in your sequence
Introduce your graph with a text/LinkedIn voicenote or video
Here’s a LinkedIn voicenote I used for that play:
John, many sales leaders I’m speaking with have sales forecasts looking like this thing below (insert graph of typical u-shaped forecast). Tons of opps in early stage, tons of opps in late stage, nothing in between.
If you’re into it, we’re gathering other sales leaders to discuss what they can do to prevent this.
Want to learn more?
Results: 37% reply rate, 73% meeting rate
This play is a simple way to use your existing network (past customers, current customers, and lost opportunities) to create new opportunities.
Here’s how it’s done:
Identify 5 customers you have worked with
Compile a list of people who have bought one of your products/services
If they bought more than one product, they are at the top of your list
If they are happy and had a good outcome, they’ll also be at the top of your list
Send them a thank you email
In the email, mention that you have two points you’d like to share with them
Thank them in the first part of the message
Search for problems
In the second part of the email, ask if they know of people who are are having similar challenges as the ones your customers used you for
Tease a potential resource to help them with these challenges
In a lot of cases, your customers will think about people in their companies, or even ask for the resource themselves
Navigate
If your customer replies, they may send you names, do some intros, or tell you they are interested in the potential resource your teased them
In all cases, make sure to ask them into a meeting before sending the resource, this is where you’ll be able to catch up with them, and identify new opportunities
Here’s an example:
John, how are you doing?
2 things:
1. I’ve been reviewing people I worked with in 2022 and I wanted to say thank you for having your reps join the program! Mary mentioned she cut her demo calls in half and managed to qualify opportunities faster.
2. I’d be curious to know if you know of people who are having challenges reaching their targets. I may have something for them.
Thanks again for working with me!
Results: 41% reply rate, 67% meeting rate
And these are my top 3 plays to get replies and book meetings in 2022.
Hope this helps!
PS: As we’re approaching the end of the year, I’m doing a 50% discount on a bundle of the The New Outreach System + The Cold Message System. You’ll get all the tools to build your outbound prospecting system for 2023, including sequences, messaging, as well as creative ideas to find and reach out to prospects.
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