The Art of Direct Outreach, Act One

Act One

Direct Outreach: Why You Need It

Since the onset of inbound marketing, I’ve noticed an increase in abdication and downright apathy when it comes to sales. I can actually track the evolution of the sales industry through the training I received and expectations placed on me during different roles. I’ve experienced it all:

• Leader ladders where each day I was ranked against my peers in terms of how much revenue I brought in

• Cold calling ‘parties’ where I sat with the rest of the rookie brokers and dialed for dollars

• Not having ‘sales’ in my title due to fear it would turn people off 

• Competing for my job during a 30 day trial period after which whoever brought closed the least sales was cut

• Contending with clients who insisted their services sold themselves and therefore didn’t need to learn how to market or sell

• Watching influencers do what they do best: influence people into thinking that a large audience or newsletter list equates not having to actively sell

• Receiving an endless stream of cold invites to grab a virtual coffee

Over my 20 year career in sales I’ve seen an industry in crisis: one where pushy sales tactics was the norm to now, one where people hide behind content marketing or referrals and don’t prioritize selling. I attribute this shift in attitude towards sales to the increase in popularity of inbound marketing and you can read more about that here, but what I’d really like to impress upon you is the power of targeted direct outreach. I’ve been leveraging targeted direct outreach in my sales strategies for years. During the height of covid, when my colleagues were struggling to drive sales saying ‘no one is buying during covid’ I closed 6 figures in sales. Targeted direct outreach is not about pushing your product or service onto people who don’t want it, or cold messaging your list with invites…it’s about leveraging existing assets within your business to identify implicit buying signals and then inviting those prospects to a no pressure conversation. 

If you are not incorporating targeted direct outreach into your sales activities not only are you stepping over potential sales - you’re also at risk of only selling to the converted. What do you actually learn from selling to people who already know they want to buy from you? Using targeted direct outreach to drive sales conversations is an excellent way to hone your sales skills by learning strategies like the multiple conversation close and using objections or hesitations to identify content opportunities.

If you aren’t currently using targeted direct outreach as a means to drive revenue inside your business I invite you to reach out. I do this for my clients and I can do it for you too. Think of it like having access to an experienced sales vet without the 6 figure price tag ;)

Tune in next week for Part 2 of this series: The Art of Direct Outreach