Building B2B Outbound Sales Strategy From Scratch

      There are three major kinds of sales strategies; the outbound sales strategy, the inbound, and the hybrid one.

      We love the inbound sales strategy for its wonderful effects. In fact, statistics show that inbound sales strategies generate 5x conversions and 5x leads. However, inbound strategies are not the go-to solution for every business, due to the fact that they need an extended period of nurturing, and take time to bring in desired results.

      This is where outbound B2B sales strategies come in. Business and brand owners must make a choice between hybrid, inbound, and outbound sales strategies. And while we believe in the powers of hybrid and inbound sales strategies for the growth of brands and generation of leads, outbound B2B sales strategies just have that extra strength.

      They are faster, have a relatively shorter turn-around time, and deliver better results. If done properly, and at scale, they can even bring in greater revenue than the other strategies. In this article, we would be looking at how to get started on outbound B2B sales from the beginning, and what it takes to set the initial momentum and process.

Planning the Outbound B2B sales strategy

      It is usually a great idea to create an outbound B2B marketing strategy, but so much depends on the productivity and effectiveness of your B2B lead generation team. You need to set them on the right path, and in order to do this, below are steps to follow:

– Get the prospect persona right

      If the foundation of the building is strong, it will weather any storm. So, the very first step to the right outbound marketing strategy is getting the prospect persona right. You have to be clear on what and who your target audience is and why.

      The earlier you get this right, the faster your lead generation can get ramped up.

– Set the first marketing process for your company:

      As a business owner and founder, the first ten sales should be done by you. By doing this, you get to build a clear picture of how your ecosystem will work. Write down your experience on paper the process, even though it is just six steps. This will give the incoming B2B business lead generation head a practical foundation and framework to work on, and refine with time.

      Don’t worry if the process isn’t perfect, as with technology changing, sales will also. For example, a decade ago social selling was not a thing, but today, it is huge.

– Set the right targets for your B2B lead generation team

      You might not know what to expect until you have made a few sales as a business owner. In fact, 200 customers per month may not be realistic for a year or two when you consider the length of your sales cycle and the stakes involved.

      Understand that, most sales require a minimum of five to ten touchpoints before anything would materialize. So, be clear about your expectations.

– Equip and prepare them well

      Outbound B2B marketing is a numbers game. The wider your net is cast, the higher the conversions you can get. A well prepared and equipped B2B marketing team will thus be able to reach out more, schedule more meetings and demos, and generate more revenue in the process.

– Sales Enablement

      A B2B lead generation team might have all the talents in the world, and hustle hard, but end up needing additional support. It could be in the form of training and tools as mentioned above, or in terms of collateral, and having marketing support.

      It could also include purchasing lists from the start when you do not have a beginning point. With time, however, you should put in effort on creating your own list as they convert better than generic or generated ones.

– Incentivize properly

      You may have to design commission structure and bonus programs depending on the scope of your business. Below are the steps to follow in order to create your incentive program:

1.     Assign multi-level targets:
   Most of the members of your lead generation team will be motivated when there are three tiers in your targets. They would achieve the base tier on a terrible month and exceed the top on most.
2. Create entertainment:
   If there is a competitive element added to the B2B sales team, with top performers being rewarded with prizes, people will be motivated.
   Remember to keep the prize non-monetary though, if you want a healthier competitive atmosphere
3.     The Bonus program:
   There should be a quarterly bonus in place. In terms of keeping a team motivated, this works better. If you have the budget and the ramp, do both.
4.     Maintain a public leaderboard:
   With smaller brands, maintaining a public leaderboard would motivate the lagging team members to work harder towards a target and avoid being at the bottom of the list.
   Remember that outbound sales strategy reps would get 2-3 times in commissions than inbound ones.

– Assign the right people for jobs:

      When assembling your outbound B2B sales strategy team, you must make sure you assign the right personnel. Experienced prospects tend to function better in inbound sales, as they handle objections better, and know the right things to say.

      Lesser experienced prospects that are properly trained are great with outbound leads since the energy levels needed are much higher, and it is a numbers’ game.