Struggling to break through the noise with your cold outreach? Here’s how to turn challenges into opportunities and secure those elusive meetings.
Every day, I am greeted by sales leaders, sales managers, and salespeople who send me notes about their difficulties with cold outreach. People send emails or messages on LinkedIn asking what to do about the so-called apocalypse of cold outreach. If we don’t want to make cold outreach even more challenging than it is today, we need to first examine how we got here.
Those of us who have been selling for decades remember when cold calls included walking through a prospective client’s front door. Sales managers required their salespeople to prove that they had asked to meet with the decision-maker by acquiring their business card. It was also true that if you left the office to see a client, you were required to walk into the neighboring companies. Having driven across the city, you needed to be productive with your time, like a fisherman casting his net wide to maximize his catch. Then, suddenly, there was email.
The Rise of Email and Its Impact on Sales Prospecting
Over time, email became the primary communication tool for prospecting. It’s still a mystery who first suggested that a salesperson could send more emails than they could make cold calls. At that time, there were no data sources like ZoomInfo, which made finding a contact’s email a chore. Had things stayed that way, email might have remained a viable way to contact prospects. But things quickly spiraled downward. Before we move on, take a look at your inbox. Now, imagine you are a decision-maker at a highly sought-after company. How many emails do you think they receive each day? Hundreds? Thousands? The inbox is a battlefield, with each incoming email fighting for a few precious seconds of attention.
I am not criticizing email. Instead, I am pointing out the consequences of combining vast data sources with tools that can send emails at scale. If only one sales organization decided to use these tools, there would be little harm. But when tens, then hundreds, and eventually thousands follow this path, it becomes impossible to get your emails read. Even when one is perfectly on target, it’s often dead on arrival.
Why Cold Calling Is Still Relevant in a Digital Age
In the past, your clients would take your calls. They had to if they wanted to learn what options were available to improve their business. There was no internet, so outbound sales and cold outreach were important to clients as well as salespeople. If you were an excellent, consultative salesperson, they would spend time with you—especially if you were highly knowledgeable about their problems, their company, and both of your industries. Several changes, however, have made cold calling frustrating for both sales reps and their managers.
Leaders, buyers, and decision-makers are too busy to answer every cold call, which is guaranteed to first ring on their office phone, then on their mobile. Second, buyers are armed with the internet and have access to your company’s solutions, along with everything marketing believes will turn visitors into leads—even if those leads are not truly qualified. Cold calling now feels like trying to get someone’s attention in the middle of a noisy, crowded marketplace.
7 Effective Cold Outreach Strategies to Get More Meetings
If I were your sales manager, here’s what I would tell you to do:
- Trade value: The first thing you must do is offer the client something they find valuable instead of asking them to meet with you to talk about your solution. I would teach you to create an executive briefing that explains why your client will need to change soon, if they aren’t already behind the curve.
- Make cold calls and leave voicemails: There is no reason to stop making cold calls if you can trade value for the opportunity. If you’re experiencing what my teams are facing, you’ll find many full voicemail boxes. I don’t believe this is a mistake or a sign of being too busy. Instead, it’s a deliberate move—a shield that prevents more unwanted messages from piling up.
- LinkedIn outreach (part 1): You should reach out to your prospective clients, but avoid pitching them directly in your messages. Don’t do this until you are certain your profile is so impressive that you can’t wait to share it.
- LinkedIn outreach (part 2): In the future, savvy individuals with friends in sales will trade contacts like currency. The real geniuses will build a network that facilitates introductions, with people willing to share contacts with non-competitive sales reps.
- Knock on doors: If you live in your territory, walk through the front door and ask to speak to the decision-maker who cares about the strategic outcomes they need.
- Attend networking events: If you want access to the people you need to meet, attend the events where they gather. It’s like fishing in a stocked pond; you know they’re there, you just need to cast your line.
- Send snail mail or FedEx/UPS: Use traditional mail, whether through USPS or another delivery service, because people will open and read what you send them. Physical mail can cut through the noise in a way that digital communication often can’t.
If you want to get more meetings, you’ll need to be creative. Attention comes before the meeting and before the potential relationship that can lead to a commercial partnership.
Conclusion
Evolution of Cold Outreach
- Cold outreach has evolved from in-person visits and phone calls to primarily email-based communication.
- The rise of email and data sources like ZoomInfo has led to overflowing inboxes, making it harder for salespeople to stand out.
Challenges in Modern Cold Outreach
- Decision makers are overwhelmed with emails, making it difficult for even well-crafted messages to get noticed.
- Cold calling has become less effective due to busy schedules and the availability of information online.
Effective Cold Outreach Strategies
- Offer value upfront, such as an executive briefing, instead of immediately pitching your solution.
- Utilize LinkedIn for networking, but avoid direct pitching in initial messages.
- Attend industry events to connect with potential clients in person.
- Consider using traditional mail or priority delivery services to cut through digital noise.
