Outbound 2.0 - Takeaways from Sales Leaders
How is Outbound 2.0 different? Is it AI-led or AI-assisted or AI-dominated? Explore what’s next in sales techniques, account prioritization, and process automation to improve outreach efficiency.
Hey, Welcome to this week’s edition of “Future of Prospecting” Newsletter by “Evabot”.
We have been researching Generative AI Technology for the last 18 months and have been astounded by the use cases it brings in Prospecting through Hyper Targeting and Personalisation. For Sales leaders and Revenue leaders, the main challenge with AI-led Prospecting is “How and What not?”
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Last week, we had a webinar on “Outbound 2.0 - Predictability with AI” with Scott Martinis.
More than 90 participants registered and 40+ have attended the webinar. Here is the link to the entire recording of the webinar… Keep reading for takeaways.
If you've ever wondered how to get more eyes on your emails or boost those reply rates or get engagement on your sales calls, we have some interesting actionables for you below…
The interaction was too insightful and more than 60% of registered participants requested for the recording.
We have written a detailed post on the key pointers that were discussed in the webinar.
In short, we discussed on the following topics
Outbound 1.0 vs Outbound 2.0
Tech amplifies your prospecting
What processes are the best sales teams following?
Build the engine, hire the team
Future proof sales
Outbound 1.0 vs Outbound 2.0
Remember the old outbound sales playbook? More team members, more templates, more emails, and more LinkedIn messages equaled more meetings.
Well, times have changed.
The world where spending big to gain less became a wake-up call. Outbound 1.0's spray-and-pray strategy isn't cutting it anymore, especially with budgets tightening and buyer skepticism at an all-time high.
But here's the kicker: Outbound 2.0 isn't just a change; it's a revolution.
Why the Shift?
Interest rates and the cost of money have shifted dramatically.
Businesses are demanding faster payback on tech investments, making sales tougher.
Question: Have you noticed it's harder to get your message heard?
Outbound 2.0 is about smart scaling and efficiency. No longer can we rely on hiring and hoping.
The new era demands a pre-built playbook, incorporating AI into list building, account research, confidence scores and messaging for precision and impact.
Key Elements of Outbound 2.0:
AI-Driven Strategies: For list building, messaging and deep account research
Highly Personalized Outreach: Beyond templatized messages, shift to relevant, and pain-based personalisation.
Integrated Playbooks: Embedding successful strategies like deep research, account prioritization, pre-intent signals, call-prep with insights into existing sales processes.
Outbound 2.0 aims for a data-driven, AI-enhanced approach that respects both seller effort and buyer attention.
The Difference:
- Before: Hiring first, building strategy later.
- Now: Strategy first, hiring into a functioning engine.
We're not just throwing more tasks into the sequence; we're building targeted, intelligent sequences that resonate. It's about getting it right from the start, ensuring every outreach counts.
What makes Outbound 2.0 stand out is its focus on precision, leveraging AI without losing the human touch.
The aim? To elevate reply rates and engagement by understanding the buyer's needs and crafting messages that truly speak to them.
Food for thought
How are you adapting to ensure your sales strategy is not just another noise in your prospects' inboxes?
You can find the recording of this section here
Tech Amplifies Your Process
We are at a crossroads.
- On one side, some folks argue that AI could replace SDRs entirely — a world where AI sends out millions of emails without a human in sight.
- On the flip side, others believe tools like Evabot, which uses LLMs for reasoning and correlation, should handle research, prioritization, and pre-intent signals to 10x your outreach.
But, let's be real, isn't there more to the story? Efforts, Risks, Possible Outcomes?
Here’s the lowdown:
- Blindly increasing email volume is not the solution. Lowers brand value every time.An upside, if done right:
- Targeted outreach to prospects as per their recent pains highlighted anywhere on the internet, for which they are about to take action. Level-up the brand value all the time.
Thought:
Ever felt overwhelmed by the flood of "next big AI tool" promises?
Scott brings an eye-opening perspective:
it’s all about the inputs and the strategy behind using AI. It’s not magic; it’s methodical. Tossing industry and company size into a lookalike tool and expecting miracles? Wishful thinking.
The top tools like Evabot, they dive deep — leveraging rich, relevant data to truly understand and engage your ideal customers.
Key Insights:
- Data-Driven Approach: The best AI tools mimic top sellers’ thought processes. They don’t just look at data; they understand it.
- Feedback Loops: Essential for refining AI tools. A tool without a way to learn and adjust? That’s a no-go.
But here’s a twist — as companies create AI for outbound, others are crafting AI for inbound defenses. Soon, we might see AI gatekeepers, screening calls and emails just like in the ‘80s.
So, what's the takeaway?
- AI isn’t about replacing human interaction; it’s about enhancing it. Making every message, every call count.
- Question: Are we headed towards an era where AI talks to AI, leaving humans out of the loop?
Food for thought
Do you actually leverage AI tools like a sales leader on the team helping SDR / AE in execution, rather than a blackbox doing all the magic?
You can find the recording of this section here
What processes are the best sales teams following?
What separates the best sellers from the rest?
It’s not just about having the latest tools; it’s about mastering the process. After 2022, we all realized the hard way that a great process isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s essential. And guess what? It pays off.
Leveraging AI smartly has helped teams boost their meeting output by a whopping 2.5x without adding extra heads. Whether it's making calls or crafting compelling emails and LinkedIn messages, the right approach changes everything.
Scoop:
- No Magic Bullet: AI won't magically fix everything. It’s about enhancing what you’re already doing right.
- Quick Thought: So, how do top sales teams seem to always hit their quota? Spoiler: It's all about the process.
The key? Don't look for AI to save the day; instead, focus on refining your processes.
- What tasks are eating up your time? Could AI streamline them, not replace them, but make them faster and more effective?
The Best Sellers' Playbook:
Deep Customer Analysis: Start with who's already paying you. What do they have in common?
Persona Messaging: What do they need to hear to take that meeting?
Frameworks over templates—that's where the magic happens. Templates can make life easier, but frameworks adapt, grow, and truly resonate. It’s about moving beyond a one-size-fits-all approach to creating messages that speak directly to your prospects' needs and challenges.
Consider this: the best use of AI might not be in creating something entirely new but in amplifying the effectiveness of your existing strategies. It's about taking those lengthy processes and trimming them down to minutes without losing the essence of personal touch.
In short, it’s all about using AI for deep research, targeted prioritization, pain-based personalisation, call-prep with facts and insights, pre-intent signals
Food for thought
Are you involving contextual research, account readiness, and hyper-targeted personalization in your sales process?
You can find the recording of this section here
Build the Engine, Then Hire the Team
Have you ever fallen for the old question mark subject line?
Building Blocks of a Strong Sales Engine:
- AI Coaching: Tools are emerging to help live coach calls and improve email crafting.
- AI-led Data-Driven Strategy: Leverage tools like Evabot to analyze, prioritize, inform and refine your prospecting, not just execute it.
Today tools have become more prescriptive, using rich data to guide sales outreach more accurately.
– Pre-Intent signals with data and facts from deep account research
– Account Insights in Call Prep
– Expert Frameworks for hyper personalization
– Account Prioritization as per recent pains
Takeaways:
Building your sales engine with AI and data at its core is crucial. It’s about setting up a system that learns, adapts, and scales.
The journey is about evolution, from spray-and-pray tactics to a finely tuned machine where technology and talent work hand in hand.
You can find the recording of this section here
Future-Proofing Sales
Ever wondered how to keep track of 1000+ accounts with their recent pains, prioritization scores, pre-intent data with confidence to include in communication?
Bottomline, it's not about replacing human touch but enhancing it, scaling your processes with research experts in a team as AI, without losing that personal connection.
Key Takeaways:
- Lean on AI, Wisely: Automation can either boost your output or backfire. The trick? Automating the right parts of your process.
- A Cautionary Tale: Just like a self-drive car company (would not name) learned, the wrong automation can do more harm than good. It's about smart scaling.
You can find the recording of this section here
Want to experience the real AI powers in prospecting?
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So, as you venture into another sales quarter, ask yourself: are you just keeping pace, or are you setting the pace? With AI, the future isn't just bright; it's yours to define.
Super Interesting. I just loved the visuals and thought provoking questions. Already have started discussing these pointers with my team.