Article

Creative Digital Selling Practices for Outbound Sales

1 June 2021

Ricky Cookson

The past five years have been a catalyst for the evolution of outbound sales strategies. Within the last year alone, the answer for how to do outbound sales has been given a significant facelift. Companies in all verticals have had to reimagine the process from start to finish with digital selling as the focal point.

Part of the outbound revamp is retiring older methods of prospecting and introducing new, more modern and value-driven tactics to the sales process. While using platforms like LinkedIn and tactics like direct sending and video messaging have become popular selling methods, they’re not effective when executed poorly.

Our Modern Outbound Playbook (The Digital Selling Experience Edition) outlines the best practices for executing modern outbound with more creative touchpoints – it’s the only way to successfully do outbound. In this article, we’re giving a teaser to the tips and tricks that help top-performing sellers close more deals using LinkedIn, Direct Sending, and Video.

How to do Outbound Sales: Best Practices and Creative Touchpoints

Outbound Sales Using LinkedIn

LinkedIn is quickly becoming the premier platform for igniting engaging relationships and building effective outbound plays. With more than 750 million members, LinkedIn is by far the largest database of business professionals and decision-makers. Regardless of industry or professional niche, sales reps can connect and engage with their ideal personas by

Creating a professional and engaging profile
Using LinkedIn Sales Navigator to find and connect with prospects

Update Your Profile

Learning how to do outbound sales with LinkedIn begins with updating your profile. No, we’re not talking about making sure your job title is up-to-date. We’re talking about giving your prospects an inside look at who you are as a person. Here are a few best practices on how to make the most out of your profile:

Make your headline more than a title. Tell people not what you do but what you can do for them. Ex: Helping HR Executives Maximize Retention through Smart Technology.
Customize your URL (take out the random numbers, please).
Make your profile a resource, not a resume. Talk about your knowledge of your industry in your “About” section and talk about YOU. Add resources, downloads, and highlights if you have them.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

The selling potential of LinkedIn Sales Navigator is as immense as it is untapped. 90% of Sales Navigator users don’t go past the search bar and lose out on the incredible opportunities to make a B-line right to your ICP’s feed and later their “inbox.”

To get the most out of LinkedIn and Sales Navigator, go beyond the search bar!
Drill down into the various filters, build out qualified searches, save them for later, segment your audiences, and follow their updates -all of this and more are mapped out in the Modern Outbound Playbook.

Once you have Sales Navigator figured out, start engaging with your audience. Like and comment on their posts, post your own content to pique their interests, and respond to comments. There are so many ways to create an effective LinkedIn strategy and maximize your ROI with Sales Navigator.

Creative Touchpoint for LinkedIn Outbound: Building an Active Sales Cycle List

After setting the filters to match your buyer personas, build a saved LinkedIn Sales Navigator list of people you care about. An active sales cycle list, for example. Once you have your list, start sorting by lead news and lead shares, then go and comment on lead posts. You can also comment on company posts and mention it in a post to your leads. Check it every morning and afternoon to keep your list fresh and active.

Outbound Sales Using Direct Sending

There’s something nostalgic and exciting about receiving mail. Not the pesky promotional materials that seem to flood mailboxes, but the thoughtful (and useful) content that helps buyers make a decision. 73% of consumers rate experience as an important factor in their purchasing decisions, and with the right gift or surprise in the mail, you can create an unforgettable experience. As a result, many companies have spiked their direct sending in light of seeing an ROI (29%) that rivals social media.

Give your prospects a unique and memorable human experience by standing out and finding original ways to build new connections throughout the sales cycle. Now, we’re not saying to send random prospects extravagant gifts; you aren’t buying your customers. Build the relationship by sending your prospect a unique gift that’s relevant to what you’re selling.

Creative Touchpoint for Direct Sending: Get Ideas From Your Conversation

Personalization is a best practice for every sales channel. But the best ideas come from your actual conversations with buyers. So listen up when they talk.

Let’s say your prospect mentions something about being gluten-free on your call, so you send them gluten-free cupcakes. This isn’t just a sweet treat; it shows your prospect that you listen and that you care. It’s simple yet powerful.

Don’t believe us? This happened to our CEO, and he tells this story all the time.

Incorporating Video Into Outbound Selling

Video might be the most effective way to humanize your outbound in the digital selling environment. It allows your prospects to put a face to the email, a voice to the DM, and a personality to the LinkedIn profile.

Effective outbound strategies revolve around value. Use these tips to ingrain your videos with value for every prospect.

Grab their attention: You’ll want to grab your prospect’s attention within the first 8 seconds of your video, but also before your buyer even clicks play. Be conscious of how your video thumbnails look. Optimize the experience, not just the content.
Keep it short, keep it simple: Grab attention. Get straight to the point and put as much value in 60 seconds or less as you can!

Creative Touchpoint for Outbound Videos: Reference something recent from LinkedIn

This is a callback to our LinkedIn outbound strategy. After a prospect or their company posts something that day or before, and it’s relevant to your solution, send them a quick video and a short note with a soft CTA.

Example: “Hey John, saw that you just posted this. It really stood out to me around XYZ. I’ll drop a quick note below this video. If this topic is relevant, let me know, I have your email as X, and I’ll send you more details.”

Launch Outbound Plays that Convert

Today’s buyers are savvy. They’re not interested in gimmicky toys with your logo on them or canned InMail messages that boast of unclear advantages. They’re interested in quality, in value, in information, and they’re interested in experiences.

The best practices from our Modern Outbound Playbook (The Digital Selling Experience Edition) highlight the essential plays for how to do outbound sales and create an experience at every step in the sales cycle.

Download now for the entire collection of outbound best practices and creative touches.