What is an Outbound Sales Cadence and How Do I Use One?

Kixie Team
What is an Outbound Sales Cadence and How Do I Use One? | Telephones for business

Outbound sales cadences and sales automation are two essential components of modern sales strategies. Outbound sales cadences involve a structured sequence of steps that sales representatives use to interest and convert potential buyers.

Sales automation, on the other hand, involves using technology and software to automate repetitive tasks, streamline sales processes, and optimize efficiency. By automating your outbound sales cadence, you can save time, increase productivity, and improve your chances of success.

In this article, we will explore what outbound sales cadences are, how you can use them them, and best practices for implementing them in your sales strategy.

What is an Outbound Sales Cadence?

An outbound sales cadence refers to a structured sequence of steps that sales representatives use to engage and convert potential customers. This process usually involves a series of outreach attempts through different channels such as phone calls, SMS, emails, social media, or even direct mail, with the goal of gradually building a relationship and ultimately closing a sale.

Here are some common steps you might include in an outbound sales cadence:

  1. Research: Before reaching out to a prospect, conduct research to gain insights into their needs, interests, and pain points. This will help you tailor your messaging and approach.
  2. Initial outreach: Make the first contact with the prospect through a personalized email, a phone call, or a social media message. Introduce yourself, explain your value proposition, and ask for a meeting or call.
  3. Follow-up: If the prospect doesn’t respond to your initial outreach, don’t give up. Follow up with a reminder email, a phone call, a LinkedIn message, or create a custom trigger for lead follow-up, but try not to be too pushy or aggressive.
  4. Value-add touchpoints: In between your follow-up attempts, add value to the prospect’s experience by sharing relevant content, industry insights, or case studies. This will help build credibility and establish your expertise.
  5. Closing attempts: If the prospect has shown interest and engaged with you, it’s time to make your closing attempt. Schedule a demo, present a proposal, or send a personalized video message that showcases the benefits of your product or service.

To create an effective outbound sales cadence, you need to experiment with different approaches and find what works best for your target audience. You can use a CRM tool to manage your cadence and track your progress, and analyze your metrics to refine your process over time. It’s also possible to automate parts of your outbound sales cadence with sales engagement software like Kixie. Remember, the key to successful outbound sales is to focus on building relationships and adding value, rather than just pushing for a quick sale.

What Kinds of Value-Add Content Should I Use in My Cadence?

Value-add content is any business-related content that provides information or resources that are useful and relevant to your target audience. When creating value-add content, it’s important to consider your target audience’s needs and interests. The content should be relevant, informative, and provide solutions to their pain points. You can also use analytics tools to track which pieces of content are resonating with your prospects and adjust your content strategy accordingly.

Here are some examples of value-add content you can use to support your outbound sales cadence:

  1. Blog posts: Write blog posts that provide insights into your industry, address common pain points, or offer solutions to common problems. Share these blog posts with your prospects as part of your value-add touchpoints.
  2. Case studies: Share case studies that demonstrate how your product or service has helped other customers. Case studies can be powerful tools for building credibility and establishing your expertise. They are especially useful in B2B sales, since other businesses/logos using your product can lend credibility to your brand.
  3. E-books and guides: Create e-books and guides that provide in-depth information on a particular topic related to your industry. For example, if you sell marketing software, you could create a guide on how to create effective marketing campaigns.
  4. Webinars and podcasts: Host webinars and podcasts that provide expert insights, industry updates, or best practices. These can be valuable resources for your prospects and can help build your thought leadership.
  5. Infographics: Create infographics that visually present complex information or data. Infographics can be effective tools for simplifying information and making it more accessible to your prospects. They can also be a great way to showcase how your product or service works in a quick and easily digestible format.
  6. Newsletters: Send newsletters that provide updates on your company, share industry news, discounts, and give valuable resources. Newsletters can help keep your prospects engaged and informed, and get them excited about upcoming sales or product announcements.

How Can I Automate My Outbound Sales Cadence?

Automating your outbound sales cadence can save you time and streamline your sales process. There are many sales automation tools available on the market today to help you grease your sales outreach cadence. Here are some steps you can take to automate your outbound sales cadence:

  1. Use a CRM tool: A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool can help you manage your sales pipeline, track your interactions with prospects, and automate your sales cadence. You can set up automated workflows that trigger different actions based on prospect behavior, such as sending a follow-up email after a certain amount of time has passed since your initial outreach.
  2. Use a sales engagement platform: Sales engagement tools allow you to automate much of the routine busy-work that comes with following up in sales. For instance, you can set up event-based automation to trigger emails, phone calls, or text messages to go out after the prospect engages with your brand in a specific way (i.e. they fill out a form, open an email, etc.) What’s more, you can automatically track all interactions (via email, phone, and SMS) with a prospect in your CRM, eliminating the need for manual CRM updates.
  3. Implement email automation: Use an email marketing tool or your CRM’s email automation feature to send personalized emails to your prospects at predetermined intervals. You can create email templates for each step in your cadence and set up automated sequences to send them out automatically.
  4. Use chatbots: Chatbots can help you engage with prospects on your website or social media channels. You can set up chatbots to answer common questions, collect contact information, and schedule appointments. Chatbots can be useful for both sales and customer support teams, to provide and collect information in a timely manner.
  5. Use video marketing: Video can be a powerful tool for building relationships and closing deals. You can use video marketing tools to create personalized videos for your prospects, such as demo videos, product walkthroughs, or customer testimonials.

Remember, while automation can help you save time and improve efficiency, it’s important to balance automation with personalization. You should still take the time to research your prospects, tailor your messaging, and build relationships with them. Automated outreach should supplement, not replace, your personal touch.

Get Started With an Automated Outbound Sales Cadence

Ready to build your own automated sales cadence and start closing more deals? After all, it takes on average 5 outreach attempts before a deal closes! You can automate each of these outreach attempts with Kixie, so that your sales agents can focus on closing deals and building relationships with your ideal customers. Start a free, 7-day trial of Kixie today (no credit card required) and begin creating the perfect outbound sales cadence for your organization.