So you want to go from inbound to outbound in 2023?
Here are the potholes to look out for. And no, you are not smart enough to think it won’t apply to you because you’re so unique and special.
Why go outbound? (Red Flag)
- Without understanding “why” the company wants to go outbound other than, “growth at all costs”, is a concern.
This means you don’t know how expensive it really is.
- If it’s to satisfy egos (CEO, VCs, etc), this is not rationale.
Raising money and hitting goals is not rationale. It’s emotional.
It’s a fair request; it’s just not rational unless it’s realistic.
Hunting The Right Name(s) (Red Flag)
- Thinking this is something a rep should do is a big concern.
The organization should be getting all the names, phone numbers, emails, geo, etc., and putting them into the CRM.
Asking the reps will hurt the organization’s ability to grow. If some leader is saying “Well it’s cheaper…”, it’s not. It’s 3x-4x more expensive.
Phone vs Email
- It’s not one or the other, its the right balance.
Tools
- Be careful here.
Tools are needed, but we have to be careful to not “overuse” or rely on them.
Skills (Biggest Red Flag)
- These items are NOT skills. They are activities.
Hunting the right name(s), creative outreach, increasing phone outreach, and reducing reliance on email.
Skills are about understanding human nature and what it takes to create interest with sincere intent and have a conversation.
The soft skills are the hard skills.
Change Management
- Moving inbound reps to outbound.
The team will be resistant because they don’t think it will work.
Leadership has provided no evidence or proof it will work.
The job is now going to be harder.
They see this as a pay cut. And it is. Don’t lie to yourself.
No increasing commissions, if they hit goal, will not motivate them at all.
Example: If I am hiring someone for outbound sales, do I hire the person who worked at The Gap in the mall or the person who went door to door selling Cutco Knives? In reality, I might hire both. Even then, in most cases, my gut would bet on the Cutco Knives person.
Square Peg / Round Hole
Not every inbound rep should be doing outbound activities. They either lack the skill or the will. And in many cases, even if you give them the skill, they will simply not want to do it because it’s hard.
- Better define the skills they need to be better at and drill down hard on any buzzword until you get to a use case scenario.
Our outbound reps need to be better at ___. ___, and ____.
When we say cold calling, we mean _______?
When we say emailing, we mean ______?
True/False
We will allow ___ weeks to determine a baseline.
(Recommend two full sales cycles)
If you think its 1-2 weeks, unless it’s one call close, you are wrong, period.
Now here’s the ultimate question.
If you take all the money you are going to spend on going outbound, and put it into more inbound, what happens to your revenue growth, CAC, etc.?
If you need help building out the right approach for your reps, check out our customized 4 week training program here.
