From Cold to Connected: Why Great Sellers Build Audiences First | Benjamin Douablin - 1904

Should you email or call prospects? Which method is best for effectively reaching your clients? To find out, listen to my chat with Matt Tharp, the CEO of Hunter.io. He provides data and insights on why businesses should focus more on cold email than cold calling.Meet Matt TharpMatt might be perceived as biased towards email since he's the CEO of Hunter.io, but he was drawn to the company precisely because of its commitment to email.He enjoys working with fast-moving businesses that prioritize high velocity and product-led growth strategies. He believes this approach helps build a robust pipeline with marketing, while the sales motion supports and supplements that pipeline.Sales-driven models, heavily dependent on closing the next deal, can make it challenging for new sellers or businesses to find their footing. Relying solely on cold calling makes pipeline building particularly difficult, and the current business environment is only making cold calling harder.Matt shares his own experience as a decision-maker: if someone cold calls him unexpectedly, he's likely to get annoyed because it almost always interrupts something he's doing.Marketing Strategy for Email OutreachMatt and his team conducted research to determine which marketing strategy prospects prefer. The results showed that 61% prefer cold emails, while less than 10% prefer cold calling. He also found that individuals in the US prefer digital outreach 71% more than calling.To successfully begin email outreach, Matt suggests keeping two key things in mind:1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How you build and segment your email list.2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How you write your content.He advises against trying to reach everyone when building your list. Instead, personalize it and make it relevant to your target audience. Keep your audience segments under 100 contacts to help maintain message relevance.Subject Line TrendsTo create subject lines that generate clicks, Matt emphasizes the importance of addressing a problem the buyer is facing.It's better not to be overly playful. Instead, speak to a problem that prospects genuinely care about, and in the first one or two sentences, demonstrate that you are there to solve it. Then, explain how you will solve their problem. The final step involves adding a clear and easy call to action at the bottom of the email."Looking at current trends for business scaling investments, it's clear: phone calls are becoming less and less effective." - Matt Tharp.ResourcesIf you need help scaling your business with email outreach, consider Hunter.io (I highly recommend it).&nbsp;If you like more guidance with improving your sales skills, join my Sales Mastermind Class.Thinking about starting a podcast yourself? Learn more about Blue Mango Studios.&nbsp;Sponsorship OffersThis episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot.With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales.2.&nbsp; This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at <a...

You have thousands of prospects coming to your website daily, yet 80% of them don’t even sign up for your newsletter. What can you do to turn this around?My guest, Dan Novaes, the founder and CEO of Mode Mobile, is here to tell you how in this quick chat. His advice will make your prospects give away their emails as soon as they click on your website.Meet Dan NovaesDan Novaes is the CEO of Mode Mobile and creator of the EarnPhone. Mode Mobile is revolutionizing the mobile industry with its “Earn As You Go” software, enabling millions of users to turn daily smartphone habits into passive income.Under Dan’s leadership, Mode Mobile achieved 32,481% revenue growth (2019–2022), earned the #1 spot in software on Deloitte's2023 Technology Fast 500 List, and pioneered a fundraising model leveraging 30,000+ everyday investors. Now, they’re on a mission to reach1 million shareholders while tackling a $1 trillion market opportunity.Turning Around Investor Page TroublesEven though his company’s landing page was doing well, he saw that his investor page was struggling to retain prospects. Dan provides the steps he and his team took to make the changes.Knowing that he doesn’t really know what’s going on in a prospect's world when they’re looking at the page, he decided it would be best to send reminders to entice their return.&nbsp;He also found that offering an incentive for returning entices prospects even more.Dan achieved a 600% return by applying this method to his marketing efforts. He spent $ 15,000 to start the efforts, and in a short period, he ended up with a $ 750,000 return.The Most Important ComponentsWhile conducting the marketing research, he discovered that certain components were most effective in achieving his goals.One was targeting the older demographics aged 55 and above. He found that boomers were more receptive than the younger generation.&nbsp;He also found that it is important to put a name to the face within the email.&nbsp;The last component Dan shares is how truly important copywriting is, even in this AI-driven world we live in today.&nbsp;“People don’t invest enough in copywriting. The message has to hit just right. You don’t want to just have AI write generate copy.” - Dan Novaes.&nbsp;&nbsp;ResourcesWant to learn more about Dan? Visit Invest.ModeMobile.com&nbsp;Consider using these resources for your marketing efforts: Retention and Beehiiv.&nbsp;If you like more guidance with improving your sales skills, join my Sales Mastermind Class. Thinking about starting a podcast yourself? Learn more about Blue Mango Studios.&nbsp;Sponsorship OffersThis episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot.With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales.2.&nbsp;&nbsp;This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at <a...

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Thank you, Martin, for going back in time with The Sales Evangelist podcast. Thanks to him, we're going back to episode 1177 where I deep-dived into why leads are creating more work for us.In this episode, I share why many small organizations struggle with their inbound sales and how to fix it. The challenge is always deciding who should follow up on them and how to do it effectively.The Sales TeamAssume that a sales team is composed of three people: the marketing person who does almost everything, the junior assistant who helps with content creation, and the outsourced person who does the marketing strategies. Among the three, who should follow-up the lead?&nbsp;Not all leads are created equal. This means that before deciding who will follow up the lead, the lead should be evaluated first.You don’t want your salesperson pitching to a lead that in the end would go to another competitor.Do a Pre-QualificationDo a pre-qualification in your organization to know if the people you are going to have the conversation with are ready to consider the deal. Set a benchmark and rules for what you consider a marketing quantifiable lead. Consider the following questions:&nbsp;What is considered a sales qualified lead?What is the KPI of your organization?&nbsp;How many new inbound leads do you want to get per quarter/per month?How much money do you want to generate from those leads?The answers to those questions will lead you to your ideal customer. It would also help you identify the triggers that qualify them to be a marketing quantifiable lead and a sales qualified lead.&nbsp;The work is far more efficient because when a lead comes in, your salespeople can vet them and follow the pre-qualification factors you’ve set to see if the lead can generate new business for the organization. This is also helpful in maintaining your current customers.&nbsp;Create a SystemCreate a system to efficiently manage the workload. The marketing team can do the pre-qualification to increase the odds of the lead being converted into something real. Whenever a lead comes in, let marketing take a look at it and check the website and the title of the person.&nbsp;Then let the intern or junior marketing rep take over the other tasks like looking into LinkedIn, HubSpot, Marketo, or other platforms you have to find the data that you can transfer into your CRM.&nbsp;Marketing can help fix the problem of having to go back to the beginning of the funnel and pre-qualify the leads again because they’re not yet ready at the moment.&nbsp;Website Leads MatterThe sales team sometimes takes for granted the leads that they didn’t hunt for. A good example is leads coming in from the websites.&nbsp;It is disheartening when a sales rep doesn’t take that into consideration when a lead comes in via the website.&nbsp;Whenever an inbound lead comes in, it is best to use your flow process to follow-up particular prospects. It should be written and put in your company’s playbook so that everyone can read it and use it with every inbound lead that comes in.Follow-up Right Away&nbsp;A stat from insidesales.com said that a lead that’s contacted within five minutes is 100 times more likely to convert than leads that are followed-up 90 minutes later.When a lead comes in, follow up right away. You’re more likely to convert than if you wait.&nbsp;The sales team can take a quick visit to the person’s website, check their LinkedIn profile, and the pages they’ve visited on your site.&nbsp;Focus On The People That...

Are you relying on crystal balls, bones and feathers, and teabags to know whether you will hit this month’s goals or not?Well, been there and done that and I’m telling you, “voodoo selling” just doesn’t work because you can’t quantify it.In today’s episode, I am talking with Robert Harper and together we will shed light on the repercussions of voodoo selling and what you can do to ultimately be HIGHLY effective in sales. I have talked about this over and over, and again, PROCESS is key. Rather, GREAT PROCESS is key.More About My Special GuestRobert is a serial entrepreneur who currently owns five companies, four of them are in the midwest that do B2B integration, like access controls and CCTV, making buildings safe and comfortable.&nbsp;His other business endeavor is a virtual company that provides virtual solutions to business owners.What Is “Voodoo Selling?”Voodoo selling is based on guessing and hope rather than on planning, implementing strategies, or using metrics.Salespeople forget that they’re creative thinkers which makes it harder to do proper planning when prospecting.&nbsp;It makes us less interested in the process of selling and thinking of sales as a science since we tend to think of it as more of an art.Robert shares how voodoo selling is a waste of time because you’re trying to sell to people who CAN’T say no to you.How to Better Gain Scientific Concepts in Your Sales PresentationsSell to somebody who can say no. If they say no, do it as quickly as possible so you stop wasting time. Break the theory and move on to the next.Determine your budget on how much you’re going to sell. Instead of targeting “X” amount of dollars a quarter, target how many phone calls or meetings it would take you to make that dollar amount.Start today. Start keeping track honestly of:How many phone calls you make?How many of those phone calls will get you a meeting?How many of those meetings will get you a proposal?How many of those proposals will get you a sale?Tracking your information allows you to introduce a change into your process and see how it affects those numbers.Have the process for the actual sale itself.Analytics and a great process are keys.Know your customer’s pain pointsBring out the numbers and give precise informationLook at the metricsProvide real data to the customerA Special Tips for Sales ManagersDon’t talk about the numbers. Don’t judge people based on how many phone calls they’re making. Otherwise, your people will lie on those forms. The numbers are for them and not for you to judge them.Don’t ever be afraid to ask every prospect if they have the ability and if they are willing to say no if this isn’t a good fit for their company. But, if it is a good fit, are they able to say yes?For every sales meeting, have an agenda and send it to your prospect at least 24 hours before the meeting. In the agenda, go over what you want to cover and leave room for them to edit it for what they want to cover. During the meeting, follow the agenda. Ex: budget, decision process, the decision maker.“There’s no way to improve if you’re using your crystal ball.” – Robert Harper.&nbsp;ResourcesConnect with me on LinkedIn and send me a message for more help with cold outreach, or send me an email: [email protected] you need more help elevating your sales game, join my Sales Mastermind...

I’ve made it 1,900 episodes of The Sales Evangelist podcast. Not quite at 2,000 yet, but I’m close.But since I’m still going strong, I thought it would be a good idea to share the nine biggest sales lessons I've learned from hosting this podcast. Hopefully, one of these lessons will help you grow your sales pipeline too.1. There's No One Way of SellingEveryone is always asking me, “What’s the number one method of selling?” If you want my honesty, there isn’t one.From all of my interviews, I've found that it’s best to focus on who you’re going to sell to and how to break through the noise to grab their attention.I also recommend just testing out the different sales methods we share on this podcast. If it works for you, great; if it doesn’t, then try another one.2. Always Be ProspectingI’m a firm believer that a seller should always be prospecting, even when you’re closing deals.&nbsp;If you have options in the sales pipeline, great. But you should also always be figuring out how you can do a better job at sales prospecting to keep prospects coming to you.3. Accountability Moves Sales ForwardI've heard this over and over again from my countless conversations: sales reps need that one-on-one time so they can stay accountable.I share a story about how an old manager of mine stopped her one-on-one time with me. This caused me to slip up and make little mistakes from not receiving coaching.4. Be on LinkedInLinkedIn will always be a powerful tool in helping you find and close deals. I've found that when sellers aren't using LinkedIn correctly, they tend to struggle with prospecting.Connect, share, and engage on LinkedIn and see how your sales pipeline starts building.5. Address Objections FirstIf you don’t handle the “nos” first, they’ll be an issue later. Going back to episode 446, Tom Gates shares how easing a customer’s objection can increase your win rate.Don’t be afraid to bring it up; doing so will let you circle back when the prospect is ready to close a deal or prevent having unnecessary clients in your pipeline.6. Little Things WorkBob Berg shares details on how to get endless referrals, and he does this by just going the extra mile. Make yourself memorable by simply sending handwritten notes. The little things actually do work when trying to build your network.7. Sales Is About RelationshipsThere’s so much information out there, and if you’re not making things personal, prospects aren’t going to connect with you.Go back to episode 1898; I share how relevancy and personalization give you a higher response rate. In the world of AI, no one wants robotic messages.8. Make Buying EasyTransparency is everything in sales, and people want to know what they’re getting before they buy.&nbsp;Marcus Sheridan shares how giving the price upfront provides a mutual action plan that helps make it easier for prospects to buy from you.9. Understand Your ICPWhen you know who you’re targeting, your message becomes clearer, and you have a higher closing rate.&nbsp;In episode 1625, I share why adapting to your ICP is important and how it

Someone recently asked me, “How can I send an email that prospects actually like and reply to?” I’m going to answer this question and share three types of emails that land appointments for sellers. Check it out and be sure to connect with me on LinkedIn.Level 1: Probing EmailsThis email shares that you’re unsure if the prospect is the exact fit for your company or if they even have a problem. You just know that they match your ICP, and asking them questions will let you know if they need your services or not.Despite what you think, there are benefits to sending probing emails. This is how you get an idea of what a company needs help with, at least from the ones who respond. Even though it’s the weakest cold outreach level, it’s still beneficial.Level 2: Relevant EmailsWhen probing emails become less effective, it’s time to switch to sending a relevant email. This is where you look for specific triggers that are causing a prospect to have issues.For example, maybe you start reaching out to people who have HubSpot and you know people who use this tool may have issues with customer service portals. You can reach out to prospects who use HubSpot and let them know that you have a solution that can help them out.Level 3: ReferralThere are two sides of referral emails: internal and external sources. An internal email may come from the person you spoke to from the relevant email, and you can let the next person know that you spoke with them and they told you to reach out to the next person.Try following these three levels of emails to get your next appointment.“Prospects get an average of 100 to 200 emails per day. There are three buckets of emails you need to send to get responses from these prospects.” - Donald Kelly.ResourcesConnect with me on LinkedIn and send me a message for more help with cold outreach, or send me an email: [email protected] you need more help elevating your sales game, join my Sales Mastermind Class.Sponsorship OffersThis episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot.With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales.This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at linkedin.com/tse.This episode is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Foundation.Improve your connection on LinkedIn and land three or five appointments with our LinkedIn prospecting course. Go to the salesevangelist.com/linkedin.CreditsAs one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey<a href="https://tsesales.typeform.com/to/lc5yAa8P" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

For this episode, we’re going back to episode 1431, featuring my chat with Ollie Whitfield. He shares how you can use LinkedIn features to your advantage. Listen to learn how to use LinkedIn voice messages and videos to schedule more appointments.Using LinkedIn Voice Messages for Effective AppointmentsThe LinkedIn voice message is something new and not many people have seen it before. That’s why many are prompted to open it and listen to it.LinkedIn voice messages show that you’re giving effort; it’s a slightly elevated way of showing your desire to build a connection with others.Showing your face or letting other people hear your voice improves your outreach. A mere text cannot convey your body language or your tone.A video message allows the prospects to see your mannerisms and that helps in building trust between people and implores them to do business with you.Improving Your Video Messages or Voice Messages on LinkedInThink of it as a very targeted approach. You can’t send video messages or voice messages to everyone. Pick the right people to send the messages to.Instead of going through all the other channels, take it directly to the decision-makers and have a great chat with them.Make it a seamless conversation. Make sure not to send a voice message right off the bat. Set the expectation first. You can send a written message first, a heads up that you’re sending a voice note on a certain subject.Lay the foundation first before sending the voice or video message so that they know what’s coming their way.Ollie also curates content and posts it on LinkedIn. He takes note of the people who engage with his posts, lists the names of the people who engaged and fall under his ideal client profile, and then connects with them. Following up with these people with a video makes the outreach personalizedResearch the people you’re going to send videos to. Don’t jump into doing videos right away. Do your research and think of what you’re going to say before you make the video.“LinkedIn voice messages show more effort and wanting to make a human-to-human connection instead of just sending a regular message.” - Ollie Whitfield.ResourcesFollow Ollie Whitfield on LinkedIn.&nbsp;Sponsorship OffersThis episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot.With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales.This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at linkedin.com/tse.This episode is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Foundation.Improve your connection on LinkedIn and land three or five appointments with our LinkedIn prospecting course. Go to the salesevangelist.com/linkedin.CreditsAs one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: <a href="http://thesalesevangelist.com/survey" rel="noopener...

It may be easier for you to copy and paste a ChatGPT-generated email for your cold outreach, but it’s probably not landing the results you want from your prospects. Instead, get on the phone and dial your potential clients to close a deal. Before you tell me that you can’t do it, I’m telling you that it’s way easier than you think.&nbsp;Why I Think Phone Calls Are BetterAfter working with various organizations and sales reps, I've noticed how phone calls have been proving more effective for them.Following the pandemic, many of us grew tired of constant online interactions. Everyone is craving genuine human connection now, and this includes your prospects.Those hundreds of automated messages you’re sending? They're making your prospects feel disconnected from you and believe you’re not genuine. Phone calls allow you to build real trust, helping them feel connected to you and less like you’re just after their money.Also, when you take the time to actually converse with your prospects, building rapport becomes much easier. I'll even share an example from a client of mine who prefers phone calls over emails, perfectly illustrating this point.And even if you’re making phone calls and not immediately reaching clients, remember there are tools to help you out. For example, services like JustCall can help you reach more prospects effectively, without spamming them."If we can have ways to have more engaging conversations, you can have a higher chance of success.” - Donald Kelly.ResourcesTry JustCall to automate your outreachConnect with me on LinkedIn and send me a message for more help with cold outreach, or send me an email: [email protected] you need more help elevating your sales game, join my Sales Mastermind Class.Sponsorship OffersThis episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot.With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales.This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at linkedin.com/tse.This episode is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Foundation.Improve your connection on LinkedIn and land three or five appointments with our LinkedIn prospecting course. Go to the salesevangelist.com/linkedin.CreditsAs one of our podcast listeners, we value your...