Good afternoon,
I’m reaching out today to gauge your interest in a unique product that—
Delete.
Hello,
I hope this message finds you well! I’m reaching out to see if you’re interested—
Delete.
Hi,
Your profile caught my eye, and I think our product could be an opportunity—
Delete.
Why do we send messages like these straight to the trash when we log in to LinkedIn or check our email? In addition to being terribly boring, unspecific and unmotivating, users understand that these messages are copy-and-pasted into dozens or hundreds of inboxes — not exactly what you’d call “making a human connection.”
“It’s not enough to simply reach out with a generalized message and hope something resonates,” Meg Larkin, a business development representative at video review and collaboration platform Frame.io, said. “These messages come off as untrustworthy or even just simply as ‘spam.’”
So what do we respond to? Messages that resonate with us. For Larkin, who sends prospect messages daily, research and personalization ensure that potential customers become partners — and not just another sale.
“People are constantly bombarded with information via email, phones and social media,” Larkin said. “Today, it’s important to gain the trust of your prospects and provide personalized value.”
Below, Larkin shared the prospecting strategies she’s found useful, the one she hasn’t and the way she’s found success as a BDR.
When it comes to prospecting, what actions have you found to be critical to success?
Research and personalization have been absolutely critical to my success as a BDR. Today, people are constantly bombarded with information via email, phones and social media. We’ve begun to tune out information that doesn’t seem worth our time or relevant to what we are trying to accomplish. Because of this, we must find a way to stand out from the hundreds of other “things” vying for our prospect’s attention.
To start, I do research at the account level to understand the company’s goals, challenges, strengths and weaknesses, which gives me a strong understanding of how my product could fit in their day to day and provide value. I also take the time to research my prospects to better understand their responsibilities, what they care about, what they’ve accomplished and what they are looking to accomplish — I use all of this to tailor my emails. The more tailored and unique, the better!
Taking the time up-front to do my research and personalize my outreach has also provided me confidence when on the phone because I can easily respond to any objections that my prospect brings up.
The more tailored and unique, the better!”
What’s an underrated technique or strategy that you’ve found to be really effective in sales prospecting? Has your team invested in any new or emerging technologies that have helped improve sales prospecting?
An underrated technique I believe to be actually effective is utilizing social media. As social media continues to be an everyday part of our lives, that means you can learn a lot about a prospect from their LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.
Not only is social media valuable for fact-finding, but it’s is a great way to communicate with prospects. I utilize LinkedIn Messaging for this purpose. When I’m connected to a prospect, I can send a personalized message or voice recording (a more personalized and humanized approach). If I am not connected, I can send an InMail through Sales Navigator.
When drafting an InMail I start socially, which can include anything from mutual connections to a shared alma mater, similar interests or compliments of their work. I then include a quick pitch for transparency, and conclude with a call to action. In cold outreach, I use interest-based call-to-actions instead of asking for a specific time.
Frame.io has provided my team a wealth of tools for success. We use a few different ones dependent on the task and they all work together to allow my team understands what we did well and what we could work on in the future.
What’s a technique or strategy that you’ve found to actually be ineffective?
The “spray and pray” method of outreach. The goal of this strategy is to send a generic message to a massive number of prospects, in the hopes that someone finds it intriguing enough to ask for time. This technique values quantity over quality.
In theory, prospecting and outreach is a game of numbers and I do agree that getting more touches can be highly beneficial, but it’s not enough to simply reach out with a generalized message and hope something resonates. These messages come off as untrustworthy or even just simply as “spam.” Today, it’s important to gain the trust of your prospects and provide personalized value which is why this technique ineffective.
