10 Rules for Outbound
I always struggle to explain how I think about outbound. It becomes a rambling mess.
But just saying “I do things differently” often gets you the eye roll - like they’ve heard it all before.
People’s expectations are rock bottom. Most sellers have done soul-sucking, icky outbound before and the rest have received it.
I’m not a playbook guy either (plays yes) - most times playbooks kill the autonomy (which = accountability) and creativity your people need to win.
Plus by the time you’ve written it, trained it, and got any meaningful results it’s old news. Fish and chip paper. The feedback loop is way too slow and you’re probably fired.
But I DO do things differently. So what to do? How can I share the vision so people get it? Something that sticks? A compass for decisions and a reminder for myself.
So I put together my 10 rules for outbound.
1) Outbound is a low-volume, high-conversion game. Winning means getting more back (outputs), than you put in (inputs) over time - to be efficient.
2) Your buyer’s mind is a pattern-making machine. Interrupt the pattern or be ignored - that’s the first battle. Personalize every sales activity.
3) Fish in puddles, not the ocean. If you sell to everyone you’ll sell to no one. Tight targeting is your biggest advantage.
4) People + Problem > Product. Become a people and problem expert first, not a product expert.
5) Offer more than meetings with Sales.
6) Use relevant social proof/customer voice everywhere.
7) Channel is irrelevant - it’s just the delivery mechanism. Repurpose. Use every channel.
8) You (the sender) own your tactics (scripts, copy, cadences, etc) so long as they fit the vision. That makes you (the sender) responsible for improving your tactics over time.
9) What worked today, won’t next quarter. Experiment most days. Find efficiency before adding speed and volume.
10) Don’t work on an island. Outbound is most efficient working with the rest of the GTM org. Support, product, customers and beyond.
What am I missing?
*I'm opening up a few slots on my calendar again. If you’re a Founder, Sales Leader, or Rep and want the coldest outbound advice pick a time here. I have little time but I’ll always help if I can.
**Wondering where I've been? I've been lazy. New gig last year had swimming (drowning) in a sea of PLG data running outbound experiments. Lots to share!