Salespeople: Here's Why Prospects Ignore Your Outreach

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1. A great outreach tactic is like a great email subject line. Its purpose isn’t to convey your entire value proposition. It’s simply to stir enough interest and emotion in your customer to get them to lean in and want to continue the conversation. “If your tactic doesn’t entice me to take the next step, I’m bouncing.” The world of sales is changing, and it’s getting harder and harder to get customers to part with their time and attention. If you find the effectiveness of your outreach diminishing, it may be time to revisit your playbook and take a different approach.

   In Campaign offer design

2. I wanted to reach out because my company [insert vendor name] helps organizations like [insert your company name] [insert top 10 list of pain/value propositions every vendor claims — e.g., increase productivity, reduce sales cycle time, boost engagement, manage leads, improve conversion, connect with key prospects, etc.] “Our solutions have helped customers like [insert list of generic famous companies designed to impress me] see an improvement of [insert ROI stat].” Do you have 15 minutes to speak this week? Looking forward to hearing from you!

   In Customer logos and name-dropping

3. Now I know many of you reading this will say your outreach is different — that you pen a snappy/personal opening, use a unique format, include a screenshot of your app and customer quotes, start your subject lines with “Re:” or claim to never send cold emails. Or even better, that you first connect with your prospects on LinkedIn to build trust before making an ask. “News flash: You sound the same (and nothing screams “I’m prospecting you” like a LinkedIn invite from a BDR with zero context).” It’s important to note here that sounding “the same” is different than sounding “bad” (although it certainly can be). The problem with sales tactics (like the good old alligator email often used as a last-ditch effort to engage a silent stonewaller like me) is that they work for a while, so people fall in love with them, and then they become so pervasive that we become desensitized.

   In LinkedIn connection request outreach

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