9 Best Outbound Lead Generation Strategies [2024]

One thing that keeps changing? 🤔

B2B buying behavior. 

Methods and strategies that worked a decade or even five years ago do not work today. It’s all about value-based selling now, and this has a big impact on outbound lead generation.

Outbound leads aren’t always easy to move through the sales funnel since they’re leads that might not already know about your product or service (or have a limited understanding).

It’s time to rethink your approach. Let’s break it down!

9 outbound lead generation strategies for 2024

Good sales reps know that the lead generation strategies (“spray and pray,” etc.) used in the past feel stale now. 🍞

It’s time to focus on these nine strategies instead. 

1. Relationship-building.
2. Multi-channel outreach.
3. Personal branding.
4. Multi-threading stakeholders.
5. Connecting with prospecting on new channels.
6. Account mapping.
7. Creative prospecting.
8. Look beyond BANT.
9. Make your cadence longer.

1. Relationship-building 

Outbound lead generation now centers around forming relationships rather than just selling the meeting. This process takes time to get right and shouldn’t be rushed.

You’ve got to have a relevant and personalized message for your prospect to engage.

So what does this mean?

Relevancy is:

1. Why you’re reaching out.
2. Why it’s important to them.
3. What actions you can take to address their pain points.

Personalization isn’t just about demonstrating what you know about the prospect but how you put your personality across. You’ve got to be able to stand out against the other reps who are trying to get a meeting booked with your prospect.

2. Multi-channel outreach

One of the great things about outbound lead generation is that reps aren’t limited to just one channel. 👍

Before, sales reps couldn’t rely on website CTAs with a high conversion rate or spend time browsing the social media page of a prospect. But these are both strategies SDRs of today have.

Instead of cold calling, reps can use social media connections, high-quality content marketing resources, pre-targeted ads, email campaigns, and more. But you’ve got to be quick. Popular channels change fast, and there’s always going to be a next best thing.

Generate leads for free

“Kaspr is a must-have. When it comes to B2B sales, you need something to find emails and phone numbers.” - Christian Neff, Founder and CEO at Markentive.

New emerging channels to contact prospects on include:

• Videos.
• Slack Connect.
• WhatsApp.

First movers always win!

3. Personal branding

Another relatively new strategy is creating a personal brand.

A personal brand is how a sales rep promotes themselves and shares specific skills, experience, and personality with the world. It’s all about creating visibility and influencing public perception.

When a prospect sees a salesperson with a solid and reputable profile, it establishes trust and authority within the industry. And for reps, it can help get their name and face out in front of the right people to build a quality network and attract more potential buyers. 

A good place to start is LinkedIn. Especially in B2B, prospects are likely to exist here already. 

Ensure every section of your profile is complete, skills and credentials are visible. From there, post and create content showcasing who you are, what the organization offers, and how you can help. Even if a prospect isn’t interested in the offer, they’ll see you as a subject-matter expert should that change.

🔛 Make sure you’ve got “creator mode” switched on so you can see deeper analytics into your posted content.

4. Multi-threading stakeholders

Let’s think of it like this: 

🔙 Then: Close a deal by sending cold emails to a single person and getting their buy-in as the primary decision-maker.

🆕 Now: Getting the involvement of multiple deal stakeholders across several departments, each with different points of view, concerns, and needs throughout the buying process.

There needs to be an understanding of who will be influencing the deal. This means speaking with users to find out what’s happening within the business so that you can go to a decision-maker fully informed.

They can tell you about:

• The solution that’s in place now.
• How well it works.
• How the solution could be better.

Reps also need to understand how to speak with these stakeholders on their level. Someone in procurement for example, has different interests from someone who’s a user.

This strategy can be vital for closing deals too. Cognism tested this and found that their sales reps were 7x more likely to get closed-won business if they involved five or more stakeholders in the opportunity versus one. 

5. Connecting with prospects on new channels

Sometimes, to take the outbound lead generation process to new heights, you must think outside the box. 📦

Take a look at what’s already working. For example, is there a blog post or article on the company website that’s already performing really well? 

Turn it into a YouTube video or (gasp!) a TikTok. And no, you don’t have to make up a trendy dance. Simply get in front of the camera and be informative and answer the top questions your prospects may have about your product or service. The article's main points could also work well within a podcast episode to target a different audience base.

These strategies are more ways to get your company and its product or service out in front of your ICP.

6. Account mapping 

Account mapping helps SDRs to determine the best path to making a sale.

These visual data points mean that you can identify:

• Decision-makers.
• Economic buyers.
• Users.
• Champions.
• Blockers.

This means you’ll know exactly who to speak to within the account. It could look something like this. 👇

7. Creative prospecting

Aside from new channels, SDRs need to think about what they can do differently to stand out. 

This is what ✨ creative prospecting ✨ is all about.

You look at what you can do to inject your personality into cold outreach. This might look like bringing your dog into sales videos or sending personalized gifts, like branded t-shirts, straight to your prospect’s desk. Check this example out. 👇

8. Look beyond BANT

Budget (B), authority (A), need (N), and timing (T) is a commonly referenced sales framework. But too often, it’s used as a checkbox exercise by SDRs. Since it’s for potential leads at the top of the funnel, they’re likely to be in education mode.

This results in disqualified prospecting before the prospect is even problem-aware.

Instead, reps can try using other frameworks like PACTT. 

This stands for:

• Pain.
• Authority.
• Consequence.
• Target profile.
• Timing.

Shabri Lakhani, Brand Ambassador & Subject Matter Expert at Kaspr explains:

“I like PACTT because the ‘P’ focuses on pain, whereas the ‘N’ in BANT is need, and there is often no immediate need when you’re doing outbound methods.”

 

“The pain bit means the rep can uncover whether the prospect is experiencing a pain that they might not be aware of. And maybe your solution can address it.”

9. Make your cadence longer

When buying behavior changes, so do sales cycles. In the past, the addition of more decision-makers, stakeholders and blockers. And this means longer buying cycles.

So, what does this mean for sales reps? 🤔

We know that, on average, sales reps give up after 3-4 touchpoints. But we also know that 90% of meetings are set after touchpoint six. 

Jack Neicho, Senior Account Executive at Salesloft says:

“Optimal sequences need to be 14-16 touches so that you aren’t leaving pipeline or revenue on the table.” 

 

“Alongside this, reps need to be mixing up their channels. This means using multiple channels in your cadence, whether it be across phone, direct mail, LinkedIn, video, email and so on.”

It’s important to remember that in value-based selling, more often than not, you’ll need to play the long game.

Outbound vs. inbound leads

Now, let’s look at the difference between inbound vs. outbound leads.

In outbound, a lead is someone a rep contacts first or actively pursues. 

To generate demand, there are usually marketing activities like a paid campaign or social media marketing at play to support this outbound activity. Companies have more control over outbound leads because they can hone in on certain criteria and determine the ideal customer profile (ICP).

Outbound sales tactics are used to ‘warm up’ the prospect and keep them engaged until they are ready to buy.

These tactics include:

• Cold calling. 
• Cold emailing.
• Videos and voice notes.
• Direct messaging.
• Networking at events.

There are two types of outbound leads:

• Marketing-qualified lead (MQL). An MQL is an individual who is already shown interest in your product. This could be through your website, a newsletter, or social media engagement. 🔍 
• Sales-qualified lead (SQL). An SQL is an interested individual who’s looking actively looking at your product or service. This person has likely engaged with your brand several times and has reviewed more advanced content, like pricing, case studies, and product comparisons. 💰

There are also leads that are completely cold. These people might already be happy with a similar solution, so are technically “not thinking about it” according to Chet Holmes’ buyers’ pyramid. 👇

This 30% of people are a goldmine for reps. It’s the winning zone because they might not actively seek a new solution but could be open to change.

An inbound lead is where a prospect engages with the company first. This is often classed through the submission of a form, so you get access to their contact data. For example, an e-book download or ad form submission.

To attract inbound leads, teams need lead generation campaigns that bring users to their websites and social media profiles. A sales development representative (SDR) could also gain inbound leads from word-of-mouth or a recommendation from a current customer. Though naturally, these are harder to come by.

Converting inbound leads into buyers really comes down to how much they are open to knowing about your product or service. This totally depends on the intent of the action.

That’s why more traditional marketing, like e-book campaigns, are now being questioned, they don’t always provide high-quality leads since the intent isn’t high enough. 

A lot of B2B marketing is shifting towards demand generation, where the goal is to expand your audience and generate interest around your brand, which results in high-quality leads. This typically looks like ungated content and collaboration with industry influencers.

Who's in the outbound team?

Outbound teams have both sales and marketing tactics at their disposal. The long-asked question about sales and marketing alignment question is literally a no-brainer. 💯

An outbound marketing team uses more traditional methods to get messages in front of potential customers. They may run campaigns through email, manage paid advertising campaigns on social media, and handle brand marketing elements. These are your content marketers and campaign marketers.

The outbound sales team seeks out potential customers through standard lead generation tactics, like cold calling and emailing. This helps guide a prospect through the sales funnel and toward purchasing. These are your SDRs, Business Development Representatives (BDRs), Marketing Development Representatives (MDRs), and Account Executives (AEs).

What’s the difference between SDRs, BDRs, MDRs, and AEs?

• SDRs - Qualify and reach out to cold or warm prospects. Their goal is to get a meeting or demo booked. 
• BDRs - Mainly dedicated to generating business and exploring new markets, also may help close deals. 
• MDRs - The focus is on the follow-up activity for MQLs.
• AEs - Come in once the prospect has requested a demo or meeting to get the business closed.

Effective outbound lead generation tactics

When it comes to outbound lead generation, there are three main tactics sales reps often use. 

Cold calling

Cold calling is the bread and butter of any sales rep. 📳

It’s the OG outbound tactic and means you can target your ICP.

Incorporate these cold calls into a sales cadence, take the time to research to stand out from a potentially crowded voicemail box, and know how to make the prospect feel valued.

Trying to speak with a prospect who hasn’t expressed interest in buying yet can feel scary and a little daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s all in the technique of remembering not to get frustrated and not to be afraid of rejection.

Want to get past the cold calling fear? Check out Shabri Lakhani's advice👇

Cold emailing

This outbound tactic is the ultimate sidekick to calling. 📨

You can get right to the point by outlining exactly how you’ve identified the need for your product. Reps should consider testing different angles in their cold emailing sequence and see which resonates most. 

So, how do you write emails that actually get responses?

Do your research

Show that reaching out isn’t a shot in the dark. Kyle Coleman, Chief Marketing Officer at Copy.ai has a 5x5x5 approach that works like a charm. It goes like this:

• Spend five minutes on research.
• Extract five key insights.
• Dedicate five minutes to crafting your email.

Subject line and preview text best practices

Limit your subject line to just three words. Anything longer risks going unopened. 

Morgan J Ingram, Creative Advisor at Cognism says:

“If your subject line isn’t engaging, your prospect is unlikely to read beyond it. A good example of a subject line that piques interest is: greater than less sign, your company name (e.g. Morgan <> Kaspr).” 

 

“This works because it leads to an internal email that they would respond to, and they see the greater than less sign as a connector.”

Remember, your first line is going to massively impact your open rate, as this will show in the preview text.

This is where you use the research we mentioned earlier. Include this in the first line to show it’s relevant to them right away.

Keep it short

Keep the email nice and short. Focus on one key pain and keep it below 150 words.

Get to the point. Highlight the pain, how to fix it and then a simple CTA.

Morgan says:

“Instead of asking for ‘30 minutes of their time’, ask if they’re open to learning more. People get defensive when you ask for their time. And so instead asking for interest creates less friction and will help increase the chance of “yes” being the response.”

 

💡 Check out “The Spark” series to get more tips on writing emails that get replies.

Social selling

Using channels like LinkedIn can be a game-changer for outbound lead generation. 

Combined with the right tools (such as Kaspr 😉), you’re not only finding the right prospects. But also building meaningful relationships. 

Here’s what makes social selling your go-to outbound lead generation tactic:

• You can build an online presence.
• LinkedIn or Sales Navigator are great for prospecting and lead generation.
• Engage with prospects and strike up a relationship.
• Create and share valuable content.
• Personalized outreach.
• Tracking and analytics in line with other sales activities.

While this approach may take more time, the investment is worth it. 

Think long-term, and don’t be discouraged by slow initial progress. 

Tom Boston, a Top Social Selling voice on LinkedIn, highlights the importance of commitment and consistency. He says:

“The difference between myself and other sellers who dropped off and didn’t do that again is that I made a commitment to doing it every week. Then, I would come back and learn from the week before.” 

 

“It’s so important not to beat yourself up if it doesn’t do very well, because two years from now, you’ll thank yourself for the mistakes that you made two years ago.”

💡 Looking for better ways to prospect on LinkedIn? Take advantage of the Kaspr LinkedIn Chrome Extension to instantly access accurate phone numbers and email addresses.

Outbound lead generation FAQs

What is outbound lead generation?

Outbound lead generation helps connect with people who may not be familiar with your product. 

This approach involves salespeople reaching out to potential customers to spark their interest and start building relationships. 

Methods like cold calling, cold emailing, and social selling are commonly used in B2B outbound lead generation. The aim is to generate interest in your product or service and build a sales pipeline.

How do you prioritize and manage outbound leads?

The first step to prioritizing leads is to create an ICP. This clear definition should include characteristics like industry, job title, company size, and pain points.

Next, consider these. 👇

• Qualify your leads. Qualification criteria mean that SDRs take the time to make sure the prospect has a real need for your product or service. It also makes it very hard to mis-sell.
• Score your leads. You can prioritize your qualified leads using a scoring system (lead scoring software helps) based on factors such as fit with your ICP, engagement with your content, and level of interest.
• Develop a lead nurturing cadence. Not all leads are ready to buy right now, so it's essential to have a cadence that keeps prospects engaged. 
• Track your leads. You’ve got to use outbound sales software that to track your interactions with each prospect, add notes, and next actions for follow-up.
• Monitor the results. Outbound requires constant iteration. Use metrics like conversion rate, lead quality, and cost per lead to see how effective your strategies are.

What are some common mistakes to avoid in outbound lead generation?

Here are some of the common mistakes to avoid. 👇

• Focusing too much on quantity over quality. Remember, “spray and pray” is dead. You’ve got to focus on high-quality leads who are more likely to convert.
• Not personalizing enough. It’s no good just sending a generic email anymore. You’ve got to add details like key intent signals, such as acknowledging the prospect has just started a new job.
• Being too pushy. Be persistent but never pushy. Remember that you’re here to guide your prospect.
• Ignoring compliance and regulations. Make sure you are familiar with relevant laws and regulations and follow them closely.
• Not measuring your results. You’ve got to know what’s working for you. This could look like A/B testing your cold emails or looking at the conversion rates on your sales cadence.
• Lack of alignment with the sales team. Not aligning your outbound lead generation efforts with your sales team leads to a lack of follow-up and missed opportunities. You need a good system in place for passing leads on and tracking their progress.

What are outbound lead generation tools?

Outbound lead generation tools are essential for proactively reaching out to potential customers. 

They help sales and marketing teams identify, engage, and nurture leads, ultimately driving revenue growth. 

Some of the benefits of using outbound lead generation tools include:

• Efficiency and scalability. Automate tasks like sending emails and managing contacts, freeing up time for high-value activities.
• Improved targeting. Tailor outreach efforts to specific audiences with detailed data and segmentation.
• Improved tracking. Gain insights into campaign performance to refine strategies and improve ROI.
• Consistent communication. Ensure no lead is missed with automated follow-ups and integrated communication channels.

What are the main outbound sales activities?

Outbound sales activities are the proactive efforts sales teams make to reach out to potential customers. Here are the main activities involved in the sales process:

• Cold calling. Directly calling potential customers who haven’t expressed interest in your product or service. This method allows for personal interaction and immediate feedback.
• Cold emailing. Sending tailored emails to prospects. This can include introductory emails, follow-ups, and nurturing emails designed to build a relationship over time.
• Social selling. Using social media platforms like LinkedIn to connect with prospects, share relevant content, and engage in conversations. This helps build a network and generate leads.
• Direct mail. Sending physical marketing materials like letters, brochures, or samples to potential customers. While less common, it can be very effective when done creatively.

Closing thoughts

No matter who your target audience is for your outbound lead generation strategy, what was done 10 years ago won’t work today. 

Your prospects are more clued up than ever, and they expect more, too.

✅ Cold outreach needs to be genuine! Call because you think your product or service will help them, not because you’re trying to reach a quota of phone calls for the week.

✅ Find out the real problems your prospects face. Do this by forming a relationship and being a subject-matter expert in your field.

✅ Discover who is the primary decision-maker on the team. Loop them in often and early! Otherwise, you’re wasting everyone’s time.

✅ Take the time to build a personal brand. Prospects will recognize you, maybe before you even reach out to them!

Try Kaspr for free

To connect with outbound leads, sales reps need accurate contact data, and that’s where Kaspr comes into play. 

With our LinkedIn Chrome Extension and a seamless dashboard, access to emails, phone numbers, and all the relevant data in just one click.

Best of all? You can sign up for free today and access even more leads.