The Best Outbound Sales Strategies and KPIs To Track

Outbound sales proactively reach out to potential customers and engage them in conversation to sell products or services. Unlike inbound sales, where customers come to the business, outbound sales require a sales team to identify, contact, and pitch to potential customers.

 Outbound sales are crucial for business growth, allowing companies to expand their customer base and reach new markets. It is an effective way to connect with potential customers who may not have heard of the business and showcase the value of the products or services offered. 

They also help companies to build relationships with potential customers, establish trust, and ultimately close more deals.

This blog post will explore the best outbound sales strategies and KPIs to track for successful outbound sales. We will also discuss using the Plecto tool to track these metrics and improve sales performance.

Outbound Sales Strategies

Targeted Prospecting

Targeted prospecting is a crucial outbound sales strategy that involves identifying the ideal customers for a business and using lead generation tools to find them. Here are some best practices for targeted prospecting:

• Identify ideal customers: The first step in targeted prospecting is identifying the perfect customer for the business. This includes demographics, industry, job titles, and pain points. By understanding the ideal customer, sales teams can tailor their outreach efforts and messaging to resonate with the target audience.
•  Utilize lead generation tools: Once the ideal customer is identified, sales teams can use lead generation tools to find and reach out to potential customers. These tools include LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Zoom Info, and Hunter.io, which allow sales teams to search for and gather contact information for potential customers.

Personalization

Personalization is another important outbound sales strategy that involves tailoring messaging to the prospect and utilising relevant information to stand out. Here are some best practices for personalization:

• Tailor messaging to the prospect: To stand out in a crowded sales landscape, sales teams need to personalise their messaging. This includes referencing specific pain points, challenges, or goals the prospect may have mentioned on their website or in previous conversations.
• Utilise relevant information: Besides personalising messaging, sales teams can stand out by utilising relevant information. This includes referencing recent news or events related to the prospect’s industry or mentioning mutual connections or interests.

Multi-channel Approach 

A multi-channel approach is a key outbound sales strategy that involves using different channels, such as email, phone, and social media, to reach prospects. Here are some best practices for a multi-channel approach:

• Utilise different channels: To maximise outreach efforts, sales teams must utilise other channels to reach prospects. This includes email, phone, social media, and even direct mail. Each channel offers a unique opportunity to connect with the potential and move them further down the sales funnel.
• Utilise the best channels based on the prospect’s preferences: Some prefer different communication channels. Some may prefer email, while others may prefer phone or social media. Sales teams must understand the prospect’s priorities and utilise the best channels to connect with them.

Follow-up 

Follow-up is a critical outbound sales strategy that involves consistent and persistent follow-up with potential customers. Here are some best practices for follow-up:

• Consistent and persistent follow-up: Follow-up is critical to moving prospects further down the sales funnel. Sales teams must consistently and persistently follow up with potential customers to stay top-of-mind and build relationships.
• Utilise a sales cadence: To keep track of follow-up efforts, sales teams can utilise a sales cadence. A sales cadence is a predetermined outreach effort schedule that includes phone calls, emails, and other touchpoints. Sales teams can stay organised and consistently follow up with potential customers using a sales cadence. 

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are metrics used to measure the success and effectiveness of outbound sales efforts. Important KPIs for outbound sales are: 

Lead Generation KPIs

Lead generation is the first step in the outbound sales process, and it is crucial to track its effectiveness using KPIs. 

The two key KPIs for lead generation are the number of leads generated per week or month and the conversion rate of those leads. By measuring leads generated, sales teams understand the number of potential customers they are reaching out to, while tracking the conversion rate helps them know the quality of those leads. 

By analysing these KPIs, sales teams can identify which lead generation strategies are working and which need improvement, ultimately increasing the number of high-quality leads entering the sales pipeline.

Prospecting KPIs

Prospecting KPIs are essential to outbound sales success, as they measure the effectiveness of the outreach efforts that initiate contact with potential customers. The number of prospecting calls made per day/week/month and the number of prospecting emails sent per day/week/month are two key KPIs for measuring the number of outreach efforts. 

By tracking the number of calls and emails sent, sales teams can understand how many opportunities they create to engage with potential customers. In addition, the response rate of prospecting emails/calls is an important KPI to track, as it measures the effectiveness of the messaging and channels used to initiate contact. 

By analysing these KPIs, sales teams can identify the most effective prospecting strategies and adjust their outreach efforts accordingly. 

Sales Outreach KPIs

Sales outreach KPIs measure the effectiveness of the outreach efforts after lead generation, with the ultimate goal of converting leads into customers. The number of leads generated from outreach efforts, often tracked as leads per week/month is a key KPI for measuring the effectiveness of sales outreach efforts. By monitoring the number of leads generated from outreach efforts, sales teams can understand the success of their outreach strategies and adjust their actions accordingly.

Number of follow-up calls/emails made per day/week/month

The response rate of follow-up emails/calls

Number of meetings scheduled per day/week/month

Sales Closing KPIs

Tracking the number of deals closed per day/week/month is important to understand the overall effectiveness of the sales team’s efforts. This KPI helps sales managers determine if the team is on track to meet revenue goals and can be used to identify any potential issues that may be affecting the sales process.

Average deal size is another important KPI that can help sales teams measure the effectiveness of their sales closing efforts. By tracking this KPI, sales teams can identify if they are successfully closing deals with larger customers and ensure their sales strategy targets high-value prospects.

Finally, the conversion rate of proposals to closed deals is an important KPI for measuring the effectiveness of the sales team’s closing efforts. This KPI measures the percentage of proposals successfully converted into closed deals. By tracking this KPI, sales teams can identify where their sales process may fall short and adjust their approach to improve their conversion rate.

Sales Performance KPIs

To get an overall picture of the sales team’s performance, it’s important to track the KPIs that measure the success of their efforts throughout the entire sales process. These KPIs include revenue generated, average sales cycle length, and sales activity levels such as the number of calls made, emails sent, and scheduled meetings. 

Sales revenue generated is the most important KPI for measuring the sales team’s success. This KPI tracks the revenue generated from sales efforts over a specific period, such as a month or a quarter. By following this KPI, sales teams can identify whether they meet revenue goals and adjust their sales strategy.

Average sales cycle length is another important KPI that measures the duration it takes for a lead to move through the sales process, from initial contact to a closed deal. By tracking this KPI, sales teams can identify any bottlenecks in their sales process and adjust their approach to reduce the sales cycle length and increase revenue.

Sales activity levels, such as the number of calls made, emails sent, and meetings scheduled, are also important KPIs for measuring the overall sales team’s performance. By tracking these KPIs, sales managers can determine if their sales team engages in enough sales activity to meet revenue goals.

Customer Success KPIs

Once a sale has been made, tracking the KPIs that measure the success of the customer’s experience with the business is important. These KPIs include customer retention rate, customer satisfaction score, and upsell/cross-sell revenue generated.

The customer retention rate measures the percentage of customers who continue to do business with the company over a specific period. This important KPI indicates customer loyalty and satisfaction with the company’s products or services. By tracking this KPI, businesses can identify areas for improvement and adjust their approach to improve customer retention.

Customer satisfaction score is another important KPI for measuring the success of the customer’s experience with the business. This KPI measures customers’ satisfaction with the company’s products or services and can be measured through surveys or other feedback mechanisms. By tracking this KPI, businesses can identify areas for improvement and adjust their approach to improve customer satisfaction.

Finally, upsell/cross-sell revenue generated is an important KPI for measuring the success of the company’s efforts to sell additional products or services to existing customers. By tracking this KPI, businesses can identify which products or services are most successful at driving additional revenue and adjust their sales strategy accordingly.

Metrics to Track Using Plecto

Plecto is a business dashboard tool that allows businesses to track and visualise their key performance indicators (KPIs) in real time. By using Plecto, businesses can track their outbound sales KPIs more efficiently and gain insights into the performance of their sales team.

Plecto offers a variety of pre-built sales dashboards that can be customised to suit a business’s specific needs. These dashboards can display KPIs such as leads generated, prospecting calls made, deals closed, and revenue generated. With Plecto, companies can easily track their outbound sales performance and identify areas for improvement.

One example of how Plecto can help track outbound sales KPIs is by displaying a leaderboard of the sales team’s performance. This leaderboard can track KPIs such as the number of calls made, emails sent, and deals closed and can be updated in real-time as new data becomes available. Using this leaderboard, sales managers can motivate their team to perform better by creating healthy competition among team members.

Plecto is a powerful tool that can help businesses track their outbound sales KPIs more efficiently and gain insights into their sales team’s performance. Using Plecto, businesses can optimise their sales process, improve performance, and drive more revenue.

Importance of Tracking KPIs in Outbound Sales

• Allows businesses to measure their performance and identify areas for improvement.
• It helps businesses to make data-driven decisions about their sales strategy.
• Enables businesses to set goals for their sales team and hold them accountable for their performance.
• Creates a culture of accountability and motivation within the sales team.
• It helps businesses allocate their resources more effectively and focus on the tactics driving the most results.
• It provides insights into the sales process and helps companies to optimise their approach over time.
• It drives better results and allows companies to gain a competitive edge in their industry.

Utilising the Right Tools to Track KPIs and Measure Success

Utilising the right tools to track KPIs is essential for measuring success in outbound sales. While spreadsheets and manual tracking methods can work, they can be time-consuming and prone to error. There are many tools available that can help businesses automate the process of tracking KPIs and make it easier to gain insights into their sales performance. Here are a few examples of tools that can help businesses to track outbound sales KPIs:

• Plecto: As mentioned earlier, Plecto is a dashboard tool that can help businesses track their outbound sales KPIs in real time. It offers a range of data visualisations and can integrate with various data sources, making tracking KPIs from multiple platforms in one place easy.
• Outreach: Outreach is a sales engagement platform that can help businesses manage their outbound sales campaigns and track their KPIs. It offers features such as automated email and calls sequencing, analytics and reporting, and lead prioritisation, making it a comprehensive solution for outbound sales teams.
• Close: Close is a sales CRM platform offering various tools for tracking outbound sales KPIs. It includes lead and deal management features, email and call tracking, and reporting and analytics, making it a versatile tool for managing outbound sales activities.

By utilising tools like these, businesses can streamline tracking KPIs and gain insights into their outbound sales performance more efficiently. This can guide them to identify areas for improvement and optimise their sales process to drive better results over time.