Creating an Outbound Cadence

“Let me take some valuable time out of my busy schedule to listen to what people think about the company they work for.”

– said nobody ever.

An outbound sales cadence is a sequence of activities followed by a salesperson to get a meeting with the right prospect, typically through phone or email. This can include initial contact, follow-up communications, and scheduling of business meetings or demos. An outbound sales cadence aims to effectively engage potential customers and move them through the sales process at the “top of the funnel.”

With an outbound cadence, your actions are spread across a defined number of days and encompass all the attempts at contacting the chance across various channels – in an integrated, value-added way.

Regarding an outbound sales cadence, SDRs are typically cold prospecting after researching specific industries and accounts. Based on this, sellers need to develop an approach or outbound cadence focused on a particular individual in a specific organization. The more detailed, the better. An outbound cadence delivers a sequence of 1-to-1 communications that matter.

Why Create an Outbound Cadence?

Hopefully, you don’t have to go at it alone. When you reach out to a specific prospect, you need help from outbound sales assets, contents, and tools to surface “pain points” (possibilities or problems). You will also need content to help educate prospects as you engage them over the long run.

An outbound cadence provides structure and organization to the lead generation, qualification, and prospecting process and translates activities into a value-added approach.

1. A well-designed outbound cadence adds value to prospects and helps them be successful.
2. Tracking prospects and their position in the sales funnel is more accessible when you map it to the outbound sales cadence.
3. Organizations that follow a sales cadence create consistency in their outreach endeavors, improving their conversion chances.
4. When you take the time to plan an outbound cadence, you do the work up-front, so you’re able to handle interactions quickly.
5. When many members implement the same outbound cadence, we create greater focus and accelerate conversions by sharing what works.

Adding Value to Prospects

Outbound cadences should be valuable – to your prospects.

While it’s tempting to talk about us, share about us, explain why we are the best, and share what others think of us, that approach can come abe selfish.

For outbound cadences to work, they must focus on the prospect’s world. Candidates get to determine was is valuable. We don’t get to. Today’s customers are in control and will know what is useful they experience.

With that in mind, we need to add value to prospects. We can do that by:

1. Sharing customer testimonials
2. Leveraging competitor comparisons
3. Collecting and actioning feedback
4. Serving opportunities to help them be successful
5. Gathering and sharing proof of what works from others
6. Creating content just for the prospect
7. Providing insights about the prospect’s industry, organization, role, or processes

Calls to Action

In an outbound cadence, it’s important to remember that our prospects are getting hammered with emails, voicemails, LinkedIn messages, and the like. They are receiving so many interactions that it’s 100% clear, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that you are trying to get access to them.

The key is to layer in, very subtly, a call to action that doesn’t involve a significant risk (like calendar time) right on the front of the cadence.

Remember, calendar time with you is a risk to them until you prove yourself!

In that way, the “give” to them (such as clicking on a blog or an asset) is a call to action. If they click or skim, they are taking action. And that’s what you want.

Here’s the recommended approach to calls to action – in this order

1. Explore with them, don’t mention your company , and provide a “give” (first 1-2 interactions)
2. Ask them a question, don’t mention your company, and provide a “give” (following 1-2 exchanges)
3. Share ideas about steps they can take, don’t say your company, and provide a “give” (following 1-2 businesses)
4. Ask them if they want to meet with anyone from your company to talk about challenges, and provide a “give” (following 1-2 businesses)
5. Ask them for 15 minutes of their time, and provide a “give” (following 1-2 businesses)

The key to “talking about your company” and “introducing your company” is to only talk about your company when the prospect brings us up first.

When they ask about your company, go for it. Get them so curious that they want to know “how your company can help.”

7 Elements of an Outbound Cadence

Typically, every sales cadence includes seven elements:

1. Interactions: The total number of touchpoints to establish contact.
2. Channels: The type of communication channels.
3. Duration: The period between the first and last attempt.
4. Spacing: The strategic delay between two subsequent attempts.
5. Messages: The messaging is employed to engage, educate, and captivate audiences.
6. Response Time: The time elapsed while responding to leads.
7. Content: The supporting materials and tools to add credibility and impact to the messages sent.

Your Company’s Outbound Cadence

Each outbound cadence should:

1. Have about 8 to 12 touchpoints
2. Over about 90 days
3. Utilize at least two channels (email, voice mail, LinkedIn, social networks, and even postal mail are all channels)
4. Create an interaction between 5-7 days
5. Create curiosity and educate prospects about their challenges, and their reality
6. Provide content that candidates can use and share internally to drive conversations and change

Read More : How To Build Trust With Executives.