Outbound Squad

How Orum’s enterprise AEs self-source 3-6 meetings every week

Tue Jun 27 2023

sales prospectingself-sourcingoutbound prospectingprioritizing callsmulti-threadingpersonalized outreachenterprise prospectingresearch strategiestime blockingpipeline managementcold calling techniquescommunication strategiesphone callsmulti-channel approachpersistence

Description

The episode covers various aspects of sales prospecting, including self-sourcing, outbound prospecting, prioritizing calls, multi-threading, personalized outreach, effective enterprise prospecting techniques, research and time blocking strategies, effective cold calling techniques, communication strategies, and phone calls with a multi-channel approach.

Insights

Self-sourcing and Outbound Prospecting

Self-sourcing is important for sales leaders and account executives due to current economic conditions. Outbound prospecting allows AEs to control their own destiny and fill in gaps during slow months or quarters. Self-sourced deals tend to have more ownership and pride attached to them.

Prioritizing Calls and Multi-threading

Account executives should prioritize their time on calls that are closest to closing deals. Late-stage calls often involve texting rather than calling. Mid-flight deals require multi-threading and involve various touchpoints.

Effective Outreach Strategies and Time Management

Collect information at the beginning of the sales cycle and use it when calling warm leads. Lead with value and relevance during phone calls. Analyze analytics to determine optimal times for prospecting activities.

Research, Time Blocking, and Pipeline Management

Dedicate research and prospecting blocks to times when prospecting is least fruitful. Separate account research and finding contacts from calls and emails. Prioritize deal work before meetings to set yourself up for success throughout the day.

Effective Cold Calling Techniques and Persistence

Use a simple but effective cold call opener that includes a greeting. Find an approach that works with your personality. Show familiarity and rapport with the prospect.

Effective Communication and Sequencing Strategies

Focus on the problem you solve for the client. Tailor your messaging to align with the specific role of the person you're reaching out to. Having a talk track for different departments and segments can make you more powerful as a salesperson.

Phone Calls, Multi-channel Approach, and Persistence

Use phone calls to confirm contact information. Switch to a multi-channel approach if unable to reach the contact on the phone. Consistently add value and don't give up at the first sign of disinterest.

Chapters

Self-sourcing and Outbound Prospecting
Inbound Leads and Outbound Activity
Prioritizing Calls and Multi-threading
Personalized Outreach and Multi-threading Strategies
Effective Enterprise Prospecting Techniques
Effective Outreach Strategies and Time Management
Research, Time Blocking, and Pipeline Management
Effective Cold Calling Techniques and Persistence
Effective Communication and Sequencing Strategies
Phone Calls, Multi-channel Approach, and Persistence

Summary

Transcript

Self-sourcing and Outbound Prospecting

00:01 - 07:13

Self-sourcing is a big focus for sales leaders and account executives due to current economic conditions.
Inbound leads may be slower and there may be less SDR or BDR support.
The episode features Avi Mesh, an enterprise AE at Orm, who self-sources three to six meetings per week.
The conversation will cover setting up ideal sales processes, creating a culture that supports prospecting, and improving AESDR collaboration.
Orim sells a platform that helps with prospecting and they prioritize outbound prospecting themselves.
Outbound prospecting is important because it allows AEs to control their own destiny and fill in gaps during slow months or quarters.
Some of the biggest deals come from outbound because these prospects typically have bigger budgets.
Self-sourced deals tend to have more ownership and pride attached to them for AEs.
With self-sourced deals, AEs can target people with influence and align with strategic initiatives at higher levels of the organization.

Inbound Leads and Outbound Activity

06:44 - 13:29

Inbound leads often come from enabling managers or sales managers, requiring more work to reach higher-level decision-makers.
Strategically targeting people with influence can help start conversations with mobilizers.
Meetings typically last three hours, but this session won't be that long.
The ORM dashboard shows the outbound activity and meetings landed by account executives at A.E.
Aim for each AE to work at least five meetings per week, regardless of their source.
Session time is the total time logged into Orm, including talk time and dial time.
Dial time accumulates when no one picks up and voicemails are left.
AEs should not prospect outbound for six to eight hours a day; it's not feasible alongside their full-time job goals.
Blocking off focused time for outbound prospecting can lead to more successful meetings.
Sales cycles vary depending on inbound or outbound, generally around ten months for outbound.
The twenty meetings landed include net new accounts and prospects within the organization through multi-threading.
Cold calling can be difficult, so reaching out to warm leads or current contacts can make it easier to drive pipeline using the phone.

Prioritizing Calls and Multi-threading

13:05 - 19:32

Account executives should prioritize their time on calls that are closest to closing deals
The first call should be to late-stage deals, discussing legal security and multiple stakeholders
After the first call, follow up with early-stage deals to build rapport and gather more information
Next, focus on warm prospects who have expressed interest in the past
Lastly, make cold calls to new leads
Late-stage calls often involve texting rather than calling, as there is already a strong relationship with the champion
Champions may avoid bad news by ignoring calls from AEs, so using different numbers can help get the necessary information
Stats shown earlier do not include these types of calls
Mid-flight deals require multi-threading and involve various touchpoints

Personalized Outreach and Multi-threading Strategies

19:16 - 25:54

Avi collects information from initial stakeholders to personalize his outreach and progress deals.
He applies the collected information to his subsequent outreach, making his hooks more relevant.
Avi leads into the call by mentioning that he has spoken with people at the prospect's firm and understands their current situation.
He offers a choice between chatting now or scheduling a meeting, usually resulting in booking a meeting.
Avi always gives something before asking questions to help with the deal, ensuring productive conversations.
When multi-threading, Avi tries to give his contact an opportunity to drive the deal by suggesting other stakeholders who should be involved.
If the contact is not moving the deal along, Avi reaches out to other stakeholders on his own.
In an ideal world, Avi's contact will introduce him to the right people on his side for warm introductions and scheduling calls.
If things slow down or don't progress as desired, Avi applies what he has learned to drive engagement independently.
When reaching out to leaders, Avi insinuates based on research and discussions rather than explicitly mentioning previous contacts.
The bottom line is that Avi is willing to go on the journey himself if necessary but aims for introductions and buy-in from additional stakeholders first.
It's important not to make previous contacts look bad when going on your own and avoid creating unnecessary friction.
Daisy emphasizes making good use of time during warm or cold calls in enterprise prospecting.

Effective Enterprise Prospecting Techniques

25:28 - 32:06

When multi-threading during enterprise prospecting, it's important to make good use of time and not make the prospect do the work
Doing research and providing information ahead of time makes the call more productive
Showing pictures and names of expected decision makers on a slide can help open up discussions about who else needs to be involved
Quality should come before quantity in prospecting, with AEs doing prep work and building groundswell before calls
It's easier to correct than educate, so don't expect prospects to educate you
Warm prospecting includes closed loss deals and anyone you've made contact with at least once
Even unsubscribes can be considered warm leads if you reach out to them respectfully
Call history can help prioritize follow-ups based on objections and timing
95-97% of prospects aren't ready to buy, so creating awareness and interest is key in outbound sales

Effective Outreach Strategies and Time Management

31:38 - 38:00

Collect information at the beginning of the sales cycle and use it when calling warm leads
Lead with value and relevance to grab attention during phone calls
Case studies, scripts, and content can be effective deposits before making an ask
Set up Google alerts for prospects' accounts to stay informed about relevant news
Referencing prospects' current situations shows that they are top of mind
Use tools like Seeking Alpha for insights on publicly traded companies
Collaborate with BDRs or colleagues to strategize on breaking into accounts
Analyze analytics to determine optimal times for prospecting activities

Research, Time Blocking, and Pipeline Management

37:42 - 44:07

Dedicate research and prospecting blocks to times when prospecting is least fruitful
During research, look for triggers or indicators of interest in target accounts
Check outreach history and engagement with prospects over the last six to 12 months
Look for news about new hires or people coming from current customers
Batch research for multiple accounts and do call blitzes at the most connect-friendly time of day
Separate account research and finding contacts from calls and emails
Put in-depth research into CRM notes to avoid repeating the same activity
Block out time in the morning before meetings start to focus on deals, calls, emails, and tapping into internal resources
Prioritize deal work before meetings to set yourself up for success throughout the day
Block off time for pipeline warm-up and cold calling towards the end of the day
Having done everything you can for deals allows you to be present in meetings and cold calling sessions
Pipeline solves all, so maintain drive and excitement even if a deal falls through
'Hi, this is [Name] with [Company]' is a simple but effective cold call opener that includes a greeting
Wishing someone a good morning or afternoon makes it harder for them to hang up on you

Effective Cold Calling Techniques and Persistence

43:41 - 50:06

The opener used by Abi with Orem is simply saying good morning or good afternoon, which makes it difficult for people to hang up on him.
Abi's indication that he can proceed with the call is when the person responds to his greeting and asks who he is calling for.
Abi's goal at this stage is to sell the idea that one meeting with him will be a good use of their time, and if they are not interested in talking or meeting, he tries to gather information from them for future messaging.
Avi's approach creates a flywheel effect where each call improves the outcome of the next one by collecting useful information.
If someone has hung up on Avi previously, he changes his approach and goes straight into his hook without using the opener.
It is important for account executives to find an approach that works with their personality and feels natural to them.
Using the word specifically in the conversation can make prospects curious about why they are being reached out to specifically.
The psychology behind these techniques is to show familiarity and rapport with the prospect, making them feel like they are not just another random stranger being called.

Effective Communication and Sequencing Strategies

49:38 - 56:29

Salespeople should feel genuine and passionate about the words they say to create positive interactions.
When explaining what your company does, focus on the problem you solve for the client.
Tailor your messaging to align with the specific role of the person you're reaching out to.
Training and coaching are essential for understanding different levels of buyers and what they care about.
Having a talk track for different departments and segments can make you more powerful as a salesperson.
Sequencing strategies may vary, but call-only sequences can be effective in initiating conversations.

Phone Calls, Multi-channel Approach, and Persistence

56:07 - 59:27

The speaker prefers having conversations with people on the phone rather than over email.
They use phone calls to confirm that the contact's phone number is correct.
After a few days of reaching out, if they haven't caught the contact on the phone, they switch to a multi-channel approach using emails, voicemails, and LinkedIn touches.
Having a calling sequence allows for urgent contacts without leaving multiple voicemails.
There is no set limit on how many times they call a prospect before stopping. It depends on their confidence in the opportunity.
For the first week of approaching a prospect, it's recommended to call two to four times. Then limit down to three calls per month after that.
By consistently adding value and not giving up at the first sign of disinterest, you can widen your pool of warm leads over time.
The speaker encourages connecting with them and Avi Daisy on LinkedIn for more information.