I’ve grown qualified, outbound opportunity creation by as much as 45% year over year. People often ask me, “How do we become successful with outbound sales?”
Everyone wants to build a rocket. The truth is there’s no silver bullet, and it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s not something you “turn on” like a light. What you do now has a greater impact 3–9 months later than it does in the next 30 days. The best rule of thumb is to strive for 1) consistent 2) quality outreach 3) at scale. This is a balance and the exact ratio depends on your target audience. Enterprise SDRs will generally have a smaller volume than MM.
That said, there is 1 thing you must do to create consistent growth.
It sounds simple, yet it gets dropped more often than you think. It’s the number one cause of those “swings” in individual performance.
I’ll share that keystone of success and the KPIs you should track.
Constantly feed the funnel. Never stop prospecting.
SDRs should prospect every day or every week. That means finding new prospects
- for inbound accounts that didn’t convert,
- for closed lost opportunities,
- for ABM engaged accounts,
- for A/B/C target accounts,
- and any other “bases” you should be covering.
Common mistakes include:
- Building a list and running it all the way through the sequence before going back put fresh prospects in step one.
- Skipping prospecting, “just a few times” because of other tasks. Generally when counted, “a few times” is more than expected.
- Prospecting into only one narrow area for a significant amount. Perhaps that’s one industry, region, or account list. It depends on the role.
Anytime you hear “I try to do it…;” consider that a Red Flag! Hand them “Fanatical Prospecting” by Jeb Blount. It’s a great read!
KPIs
Always keep your finger on the pulse of what the team experiences on the front lines.
As a manager, you can help guide your team toward consistent, efficient outbound growth using KPIs. Here are a few key KPIs I look out for when managing outbound SDRs/BDRs:
- Unique accounts touched
- Prospects:
1) # touched & their titles
2) # of touches per prospect
3) Contact Enrichment Credits Used
4) Journey Stage worked
5) Timeline & Hot Leads - Emails
1) stats (opens, replies, clicks)
2) Replies. Yes, I randomly sample emails to read the prospect’s message and see how the SDR responded additional coaching value. - Calls
1) Per day
2) Per prospect w/ working phone numbers (Use an automation in Outreach/Salesloft to mark these without any manual work.)
3) Average talk time
4) The ratio of call dispositions, including Voicemails
You don’t have to look at all of these data points, but I do every week for each SDR because it helps paint a bigger picture to inform strategy, tactics, and enablement.
Good Luck!
Learn more about Cold Call Skills & Confidence in “Outbound Sales Demystified: Generate Leads and Close Deals.”
