Finding success by adding structure to your prospecting Outreach (Anthony Natoli, Commercial AE @ Outreach)

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1. 3:27

   growth to get to that 250 million, that 500 and ultimately that 1 billion ARR mark per year. So I'm now using that as a reason why to reach out to that account. And I know that's exactly what the C-level is focused on. Beautiful. Anthony, what's number two? Number two. “So this ties back into number one, but based on that research, create a hypothesis of why” you're reaching out. So based on the research that I've done from that 10K or maybe understanding what customers that they're selling to or personas, I can now develop a hypothesis of why I'm reaching out to that account in my account plan.

   In Account research briefs

2. 3:39

   And I know that's exactly what the C-level is focused on. Beautiful. Anthony, what's number two? Number two. So this ties back into number one, but based on that research, create a hypothesis of why you're reaching out. So based on the research that I've done from that 10K or maybe understanding what customers “that they're selling to or personas, I can now develop a hypothesis of why I'm reaching” out to that account in my account plan. So for example, I can now say, hey, this is exactly why outreach is going to be a good fit for their business based on me knowing that they need to build enough pipeline to generate enough revenue to take them from 150 million to a billion in ARR each year.

   In Account research

3. 4:08

   fit for their business based on me knowing that they need to build enough pipeline to generate enough revenue to take them from 150 million to a billion in ARR each year. Very nice. Round us out, Anthony. What's number three? “So number three is building a system and a framework for prospecting.” So this goes for SDRs, but especially for AEs. So if you have a system and a framework in place, it allows you to do two things. Number one, you have to hold yourself accountable because it's only a certain amount of accounts that you're focused on each week. And so for example, what I like to do is I like to select two accounts per week, and

   In Prospecting

4. 7:16

   fully remote, hmm that's interesting to me, I can use that in my hypothesis, and so using that all that information, I now have a really good understanding of what problems maybe the executives care about, who I need to be reaching out to, and now all I need to do is go execute, and so that helps me guide my framework for my “prospecting, and then it also helps with, once I book a meeting, I know exactly” what to be chatting about in that initial call. Anthony, one of the things I've been super focused on recently is something we call the art of the segue, and the art of the segue is the idea of, you find some interesting nugget about the account or prospect you're reaching out to, and you use that to get their attention in your prospecting email or

   In Account research briefs

5. 9:50

   They could sniff out very quickly, like what's automated, what's not. And so for me, my first step is a triple touch. It's that personalized email. And my framework for that email is the subject line is either personalized, it's funny, it's clickbaity, it's human, right? “The goal is to get them to open it.” And then I use my hypothesis from the account plan in that first line of the email. And the second is the common challenges that we hear for.

   In Subject lines and openers

6. 11:34

   So I said outreach in the Gamecocks and I said, the South Carolina Gamecocks basketball organization had to go in a different direction. Their current head coach just wasn't getting the results that they needed. And then I tied it back to, I've heard from your team for these reasons that competitor X is also not getting the same results to drive growth in your organization. “And then trying to tie back that, that personalization, but also make it relevant.” So what's fascinating is a lot of these things like the Gamecocks, for example, they have nothing to do with sending emails or coaching your apps, nothing at all. And that is okay because the subject line and the first line are meant to get someone to open the email and

   In Account-based personalization

7. 11:51

   And then trying to tie back that, that personalization, but also make it relevant. So what's fascinating is a lot of these things like the Gamecocks, for example, they have nothing to do with sending emails or coaching your apps, nothing at all. And that is “okay because the subject line and the first line are meant to get someone to open the email and” keep reading. But then you're not just saying, Hey, it's the Gamecocks outreach helps you do this better. You are to Nick's point, segwaying those things effectively. Okay. So those are really good subject lines and it doesn't matter necessarily the topic. What are some examples

   In Subject lines and openers

8. 16:48

   is the guy that emailed you. And then a couple of things happen after that. So if they read my email three or more times, I'll call them again on day three. But if it goes unopened, Armand, I know you love this one. It's the any thoughts. It's the any thoughts bump. And then I continue. “I continue to call. I'll also view the profile on LinkedIn. If they've accepted,” I'll start engaging with content, but I'm not asking for anything. And while I'm doing this, all my CTAs are interest-based. I'm not like, Hey, can you give me 30 minutes? I usually say like in my call to actions, Hey, I know you're a CRO. I'm not expecting you to give me 30 minutes right away, but are you interested in learning more?

   In LinkedIn outreach cadence and follow-up

9. 18:30

   into a champion who then now later on can bring this to their CRO and that CRO knows me. So it's something that I use, especially later down the sequence. If it's apparent that this person is not going to talk to me, I can start calling people out. Hey, can you introduce me to your “VP of sales, John Smith? And I think they appreciate you calling it out by name.” Anthony, when you're thinking about the messaging as it goes to at the line, for example, or below the line, how does that change when you're working with your SDRs or someone else?

   In Specific introduction requests

10. 22:15

    you only have 40 accounts. So let's say you get to the end of your sequence. My guess is you're probably gonna have to reach out to these people again sometime this year. And so what's your process for refreshing or re-engaging with accounts? Yeah, so this is when I take a deeper dive into like historical data. “So when's the last time we've talked to them?” What was the reason they didn't buy? Are they on a competitor? I gotta get a little bit more creative now, right? So if they haven't answered, I've got to reevaluate my messaging in the first place. Maybe I have to dial in my hypothesis more. Maybe things have changed. Maybe there's new executive hires, right? So I think it's really important to,

    In Data decay and refresh cycles

11. 25:04

    Maybe I need to pick up the phone more. I should make sure that they're still at the company. I think oftentimes reps will forget to check LinkedIn. I had a deal that I was working and they went silent and I forgot to check LinkedIn, but the CRO left. Oh, no duh, things got put on hold. So don't forget to check LinkedIn to make sure that people are still at the company or maybe “they made a new hire that they're just like not seeing your notes and making sure you got the” right contact info all that stuff but yeah it's you have to have an honest conversation if you're not if you're not getting any opens like probably a you problem and you need to figure it out the things that I described are good ways to kind of combat it. And then what do you do when they're

    In Contact verification

12. 26:08

    need to come back with a compelling customer story oh that's interesting XYZ company recently just switched over from Conversca these were the reasons and they were able to do X I'm curious how's that land with you so people often think that they need to go into pitch mode but I always “like to ask a question with an objection but if it's on a competitor you need to make sure you're” telling a relevant story and if you have a customer that is a competitor of theirs that's switched over recently that's even better so I think whenever I'm on the phone I'm answering objections with questions and doing discovery keeping them on the phone and then on email I'm making sure I'm telling a customer relevant story and that's where that research comes into play well it's like

    In Incumbent vendor objections