At Outreach, I’ve labored with many purchasers who wrestle with their prospecting technique.
New clients usually search recommendation on partaking prospects throughout a number of channels, what to say, and how usually.
Whatever the dimension of the gross sales org, the challenges stay the identical. And not using a blueprint, preserving prospects engaged and hitting quotas is sort of unattainable.
And not using a blueprint, preserving prospects engaged and hitting quotas is sort of unattainable.
Enter sequences — the inspiration of an awesome prospecting technique and the engine fueling your playbook.
Sequences simplify engagements with prospects and current clients, making certain your most vital communications don’t fall by means of the cracks. Sequences are probably the most used function in Outreach, and creating one includes three phases:
Part 1 – Sequence construction
Part 2 – Sequence upkeep
Part 3 – Measuring sequence success
Let’s have a look below the hood.
Sequence construction
Scale is a phrase that’s used incessantly lately.
A phrase I usually hear is “development requires scalable processes.”
Creating a correct sequence construction permits you to personalize prospect engagement at scale whereas making certain reps spend time centered on extremely valued prospects. For those who construction your sequences accurately from the start and attain out to the precise prospects, with the precise message, on the proper time, it turns into a breeze.
Easy methods to construct sequences in Outreach
There are 4 key steps to constructing a sequence:
- Establish and outline your personas
- Design your blueprints
- Optimize particular person sequence steps
- Implement governance
Establish and outline your personas
A persona-based sequence strategy will set the inspiration.
When prospecting and connecting with present clients, your messaging and speak observe will differ primarily based on a person’s title and division throughout the account.
For instance, you’ll strategy a VP of gross sales a lot otherwise than a gross sales supervisor, proper? It’s because every function has totally different challenges and issues to resolve. Under is an instance of which sequence strategy to leverage when coping with a selected persona.
Unsure who your purchaser personas are? A wonderful place to start out is with your advertising group. Your advertising group has already slotted these personas into cohorts to optimize advertising efforts. Don’t have a advertising group? No worries! Get a gaggle of key stakeholders collectively and establish your purchaser personas collectively.
Want extra assist? Signal-up for our Content material 2.0 College course, discover ways to Configure Personas in our assist portal, or examine How Outreach Makes use of Outreach to Promote Outreach.
Design your blueprints
One of the best ways to jump-start your sequence creation is to make the most of one of many Outreach blueprints. This allows you to hold your sequences easy and observe a fundamental two-tiered, high-touch/low-touch strategy to outbound prospecting. The picture under has some common tips to observe when utilizing these blueprints.
Need to optimize your sequences additional? Listed below are some professional ideas from Outreach content material creator, David Plutschak.
- Apart from follow-up and event-based sequences, each sequence must be a minimal of 8 touches spanning over three weeks.
- Create sufficient sequences to achieve all goal personas for personalization at scale. This might be so simple as utilizing the two-tiered strategy outlined above or including in a 3rd tier to achieve extra personas.
- Outreach follows the 3-tiered strategy under:
- Tier 1: management personas – This can be a handbook sequence centered on name steps. Reserve this tier on your highest precedence prospects.
- Tier 2: mid-level personas – This can be a handbook sequence with computerized reply steps and calls all through. Reserve this tier on your heavy influencers (these that may affect the choice maker).
- Tier 3: Low-Degree Personas – This can be a 100% automated sequence. Reserve this tier for if you’re asking for a referral, in search of one of the best contact, or you have to acquire perception on firm particulars/challenges.
Searching for extra sequences to create? Find out about Outreach workflows in our eBook “It’s Not Who You Are, It’s What You Do: From Roles to Workflows,” and browse our Outreach workflows part within the assist portal.
Optimize particular person sequence steps
The following step to contemplate is the forms of steps you wish to use in every tier.
Ought to step one be a name or an electronic mail? How do you have to observe up? When ought to your reps use a LinkedIn interplay?
Most clients wish to know tips on how to greatest interact with prospects throughout channels. By means of in depth A/B testing, we’ve discovered one of the best strategy is:
- Begin robust with a one-two punch! First, begin your sequences with a number of duties collectively (e.g., have reps name and electronic mail on day one). After, slowly taper with steps unfold out over the sequence. This methodology will instill urgency in your prospects.
- Alternate your handbook touchpoints. This fashion, reps can full varied quantities of handbook duties, lowering monotony of their day-to-day.
- Use social touchpoints corresponding to LinkedIn. Finishing LinkedIn view duties was so final yr! Apart from, in the event you’ve included name duties, most reps will view the prospect’s LinkedIn to prep earlier than the decision. As a substitute, have reps eat and work together with content material a prospect has shared. For instance, have them remark within the thread and observe up with a message the following day.
Need to study extra about writing emails? Join our Content material 2.0 College course.
Need assistance crafting your sequences? Try our Galaxy associate – REGIE.
Need to incorporate extra multichannel engagement? Study extra about which Galaxy Integrations could make this occur.
Implement governance
You’ve outlined your purchaser personas, designed blueprints, and optimized the person steps. The final step, however maybe most vital, is implementing correct governance round creating and enhancing content material.
We propose limiting the power to create and edit content material to a couple group members or teams who’ve been educated and vetted. This ensures your content material is top quality, meets your model tips, and helps your sequence technique.
Take into accout: limiting content material creation to a choose group will allow you to check sequences towards each other and create significant benchmarks. This lets you use information to see what’s driving outcomes and iterate primarily based on these findings.
With out controlling content material creation, this activity turns into difficult. Bear in mind, it’s at all times simpler to provide permissions than take them away. Over time, you might take into account introducing content material creation to a choose group of reps (e.g., senior reps or a content material committee).
Sequence upkeep
Now that you just’ve constructed your sequences, it’s time to take care of them.
Sequence upkeep is important to preserving your content material updated, related, and efficient. However, identical to common upkeep in your automobile or residence, with out some fine-tuning, you threat breaking down, shedding worth, or getting to this point behind it’s arduous to maintain up.
Fortunately, sequence upkeep is simple, and with common check-ups, you’ll keep the integrity of your content material and keep on high of any points which will come up.
Easy methods to keep your sequences in Outreach
Your purchaser personas are outlined, blueprints are in place, sequence steps have been optimized, and governance insurance policies are set. Now your sequences are dwell and within the fingers of your reps — the trusted crew steering you in direction of gross sales glory! Right here’s what to do to make sure your technique stays efficient over time.
Evaluation all sequences on a proper cadence
Evaluation sequence efficiency throughout their first month. As soon as everyone seems to be educated on the platform and utilizing sequences usually, you may improve the time between critiques. rule of thumb is to overview efficiency not less than each six months however not more than each quarter.
For those who’ve allowed reps to create content material, overview the way it’s performing and if it’s being utilized earlier than locking it in bulk.
Monitor adoption
Take this time to see in case your sequence technique is being adopted throughout all groups. You are able to do this by preserving tabs on the quantity of prospects being sequenced usually.
Leverage the facility of A/B testing
If one sequence outperforms others, use that as a baseline to tweak your different sequences. Likewise, if one sequence outperforms others, use that as a baseline to tweak your different sequences.
Word: Make one change at a time. For those who make too many modifications without delay, you gained’t be capable to inform what change was chargeable for what.
When you’re prepared, it’s time for the ultimate part of your sequence build-out, measuring success!
Measuring sequence success
In my skilled opinion, that is one of the best half. It’s time to measure the success of all of your arduous work! In doing so, you’re not solely seeing the fruits of your labor — you’re additionally getting an opportunity to refine your work utilizing information to achieve extra clients, guide extra calls, and develop your enterprise.
Easy methods to measure sequence success in Outreach
Any nice steady enchancment cycle features a measurement part. Constructing killer sequences that improve conversion charges isn’t any totally different.
You’ve strategized, applied, and executed. How are you going to now iterate on what you’ve accomplished to make your gross sales pipeline much more profitable? What measurements do you have to take note of? Under are the suggestions I inform all my clients to look out for:
Control your efficiency information
Throughout the platform, you’ll discover quite a lot of methods you may acquire perception into your sequence efficiency. Open and reply charges could be discovered at each the sequence and particular person step ranges, and also you’ll have clear visibility into which sequences and steps outperform others.
Interpret and iterate primarily based on A/B check outcomes
Reap the benefits of Outreach’s built-in A/B testing. Simplicity is vital, so restrict the check to 2 messaging methods however not more than three. This can hold your A/B check manageable and mean you can collect correct outcomes.
Establish how a lot is an excessive amount of
You at all times need prospects flowing out and in of sequence. Nevertheless, there may be such a factor as including too many prospects into sequence without delay.
For those who begin seeing the variety of overdue duties rising, take into account lowering the variety of prospects sequenced. Alternatively, if the variety of remaining duties per day is at all times zero, take into account sequencing the next variety of prospects.
Steadiness is essential. Over time, you’ll discover the quantity that works on your group. We advocate including 10 to twenty prospects each day, as it’ll almost certainly compound from there. Inside a month, you need to be capable to decide your ‘actual’ quantity.
You now have the instruments to create the engine that can gas your playbook— sequences. Now, it’s time to construct, keep, and measure your sequences. The world is your oyster!
This text was initially written by Katie Douglas.Katie is a former buyer success supervisor who joined Outreach in 2017 and departed in 2021. Whereas at Outreach, she gained the celebrated buyer success supervisor of the yr award for her section. Katie’s obsession with serving to company clients succeed was rooted in her concentrate on implementing and driving gross sales engagement methods.
