Why Most Teams Fail at Cold Outreach and How to Succeed

Sales Content
July 13, 2023

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Why Most Teams Fail at Cold Outreach and How to Succeed

Cold outreach is an essential part of many businesses' sales strategies, but it's not easy to get it right. In fact, most teams fail at cold outreach for a variety of reasons. In this blog post, we'll explore why this happens and what you can do to avoid it.

One of the main reasons why sales teams fail at cold outreach is that they generate massive lead lists based on a superficial ideal customer profile (ICP). They don't take the time to research their lists based on who they can actually help or filter based on who they can help right now. The result is high volume and low impact, with a lot of wasted effort and resources.

Many teams make the mistake of using services like Apollo or Seamless to generate lists based on some superficial search criteria. While these services can be helpful, they're not sufficient for finding your actual ICP. Sending a bunch of emails to the wrong people isn't going to help anyone.

To avoid this, start by creating a large list of your perceived ICP. Then use research to filter down the list to those targets you think you can actually help. These are your real targets. Once you've identified your real targets, research deeper to divide the list into companies you can help in general and those you can help right now. These are your relevant targets.

If you have reason to believe that timing is relevant, then your goal is to book a meeting relatively soon. If you think you can help but have no reason to believe timing is right, then your goal is to engage them in a conversation and nurture them until the timing is right.

This approach requires more work upfront, but the process results in a significantly higher value target list. Having higher value targets means you can justify tailored messaging that is more likely to convert. It's a more targeted and efficient approach that can lead to better results.

In conclusion, most teams fail at cold outreach because they don't take the time to research their targets properly. They generate massive lead lists based on a superficial ICP, which leads to high volume and low impact. To succeed at cold outreach, use research to identify targets that are relevant in general and those that are relevant right now. Then adjust the messaging and strategy accordingly. 

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