Today’s sellers have a multitude of sales outreach tools at their disposal. By revising and refreshing, or completely redoing, your strategy in response to shifting trends, you stay competitive. Your prospects are constantly receiving communications from every direction; you must be proactive to make sure that your messages stand out. 

What is outreach and why do sales outreach tools matter?

The professionals at GetProspect define sales outreach as follows:

“Sales outreach is reaching out to potential clients to generate warm and hot leads. Outreach is a part of prospecting, which includes making lists of relevant leads and contacting them to qualify further.”

The tools and strategy that sellers use have a major impact on how leads receive outreach, as well as their response rate. Crafting a strategy requires thoughtfulness and a course of action and use of tools that will resonate with buyers. And it’s vital that as buyer preferences and habits shift, so do sellers’ outreach attempts. 

Research reveals that buyers appreciate varied outreach tools

SalesFuel’s Voice of the Buyer study reveals phone calls, email, LinkedIn InMail or direct message, and even text messages are among buyers' preferred ways of sales outreach. Other research shows that video is increasingly appealing to buyers and can drive response rates. 

While phone calls have always been a popular outreach tool, and continue to be popular among buyers, they shouldn’t be the sole method sellers use. Embracing digital methods allows for more successful outreach as more buyers are receptive to these communications. Many sellers are struggling with outreach, as nearly a third say that it’s getting even harder to generate new business. By updating your strategy, the tools you use, and how you use them, you more easily connect with leads.

Start by updating how you use email

Of all the digital sales outreach tools, email is the most common and considered effective. GetProspect reports that 67% of sellers say email is the top channel for lead generation. But simply sending out emails won’t cut it anymore. Modern buyers are deluged with email messages, so sellers need to be thoughtful when crafting and sending their own email outreach. They must personalize emails to connect with the buyer and demonstrate credibility. Adding other key elements, such as video, can boost interest even more and drive response rates. 

Using tools for automation and tracking will help you stay on top of your communications. Make sure to leverage any of the wide variety of tools available, some of which are free. As GetProspect points out, “Email tracking allows sales professionals to design campaigns that keep consumers engaged at every step of the process. By using their purchase history and area of interest, outreach campaigns are designed with customized deals and offers. CRM software allows users to track the effectiveness of their campaigns. This will enable [sellers] to tweak their outreach campaigns and sales activities.”

SalesFuel also has great advice for writing personalized, attention-​grabbing outreach emails that will stand out and invite a response. Our selection of professional tips, which can be found here, cover everything from writing subject lines to adding calls to action and effective ways to include video.

Don’t forget the value

Most importantly, include value in each and every sales outreach regardless of what tools you use. This value will be what sets your emails, calls, social media messages, and other communications apart. Keep in mind that our research shows sellers value the following from reps:

• Knowledge of their products and how to use them to solve their business problem or achieve their goal
• Relevant insight and ideas to help my business
• Caring about them and their business
• Responsiveness
• Delivering what they promise
• Knowledge about their company/​line of business

By taking time to update your sales outreach strategy and the tools used, you improve your outreach efficiency and boost response rates. Implementing these tips position you to align communications with buyer preferences and ensure your sales outreach tools are successful.

Photo by Christina @wocintechchat.com