Read Time = 8 minutes
Everyone says outbound is a numbers game. The more outreach you do the more pipeline you are going to have, right?
This used to be true, but I no longer see it that way.
It then became a personalization game. Every email needs to be tailored very specifically to each person you are emailing.
And now it’s an AI game.
But none of these motions are actually fixing the problem of outbound… and why most AEs & SDRs are struggling right now to generate opportunities.
AI generated emails are everywhere & to be completely honest - they’re not great. Most large companies are blasting hundreds of thousands of emails a week.
People’s inboxes are too full, so the amateur rep then tell themselves that they need to up the volume.
However, I’m sending around 150-200 emails a week and consistently getting replies and meetings.
Why?
Because I’m not trying to reach everyone. I’m just trying to reach the right people.
Outbound is no longer a numbers or personalization game… it is now a prioritization game & most reps are still playing the wrong sport.
The Problem with Volume (Numbers Game is Dead)
Just a few years ago sales reps were the gatekeepers. If a prospect wanted information they had to go through the sales rep to get that information.
So, the more activity that the sales rep did the more chances they got.
That is no longer true.
Today, at least in my market, most buyers are already educated to some degree on the players in my space. There is a ton of overlap & lots of competition.
Plus, buyers can go to LLMs and have a pretty detailed conversation on a product to see if it would be a fit for their pain or project. I’m not saying this is going to be 100% accurate, but the reality of it is that it can get them pretty far.
And with AI filling inboxes more & more each day, sending more emails does not directly result to more meetings anymore.
Something else that isn’t spoken about enough is that these AI generated campaigns actually might be doing more harm than good in my opinion.
This is because a very bad email that comes through an inbox can equal a negative brand impression to prospects who have never heard of your company.
The Shift from Volume to Personalization
About 2-3 years there was a massive shift that happened. Once all the government handouts were all spent (many companies were bailed out by the government to prop the economy up) a lot of the reps weren’t seeing the responses from low level outreach that they were seeing before.
That’s when the shift happened. Personalization. Each message needs to be tailored to a specific prospect.
A lot of this “personalization” looked like:
- mentioning company news
- reference a LinkedIn post
- or something about their university, etc.
But this got phased out quickly because it was not tied to an actual business problem that the prospect was facing. It also feels forced & out of place.
So, personalization without relevance is just noise. I’m not saying it is never going to work & that there isn’t a time and place for it… but generally speaking no one cares that you saw the podcast they were on, or that they recently went on vacation.
Prospects & buyers care if you can help solve the problems that they are currently facing.
It doesn’t matter if you spend 15 minutes researching and crafting the perfect email to a prospect if you are knocking on the wrong door.
What Actually Matters → Prioritization
I no longer believe in volume or personalization messages with the wrong things. These are not the answers anymore. Those days are long gone.
Reps need to be focusing on prioritization.
This is the idea of talking to the right person, at the right company, at the right time.
Not all of your accounts in your book are created equal. Some are much better than others. Some accounts if you were to land a deal at them they could retire your quarterly or even annual quota.
Just as not all leads are worth your time. They aren’t your ideal ICP, they don’t have the pains you solve, and they don’t actually have any intention of purchasing your solution.
The best reps stop trying to convince. They start to identify.
The key with prioritization is they don’t always create demand, they capture it.
Capturing Intent > Creating Intent
Timing (The Buying Window Concept)
As you (hopefully) know by now, sales is a timing game.
Most “no’s” aren’t because you didn’t write the perfect cold email, but it is because they’re not in the buying window.
Opportunities need 3 things to become a real opportunity:
- budget
- pain
- urgency
If none of those exist, no call or email will fix it. However, being able to identify one of these is how you begin the conversation.
For example, say you speak to an IC (individual contributor) on the phone and they tell you that their current tooling it is too expensive, they have missing features, and there have been internal conversation around looking into new vendors.
Congratulations, you just identified an ‘in’ into the company.
Think about the best opportunities you’ve had as a sales rep.
What did the first discovery call look like?
Easy conversations, flow, & there was plenty to cover. It also led to a follow-up call.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Typically I begin by identifying the accounts in my territory showing intent signals.
These intent signals can be different for everyone, but for me they are: contact requests, page & pricing views, trials, webinars, & signing up for events (rare, but golden).
By focusing on signals, it gives me fewer, more focused accounts.
Another approach is building Salesforce reports to find prior conversations & closed / lost opportunities.
If you don’t know how to build these types of reports learn first thing tomorrow. There is no excuse with Claude being around.
From these prior opps & conversations you can extract timing, current tech stack, budget, key decision makers, pain, and why they didn’t close last time.
Use this information to your advantage with your outreach.
Here is an example of what this would look like:
“Hi [Name] -
Noticed recently that your team has been exploring [specific signal - e.g. hiring engineers / viewing pricing / expanding into X].
Typically when I see that, it means [relevant problem tied to that signal].
Im curious, is that something that you are currently exploring?
– Rook ♜”
The reason these types of emails work is because of a few reasons:
First, it is tied to a signal. Your org is currently doing this & they likely know about it.
Secondly, it is personalized (with the right content), but not forced. This email could only be sent to people in their organization & in their situation.
Thirdly, it is rooted in a problem that they are likely facing today. You sound like you understand their world… because you do.
Lastly, it is low friction. There is no fluff. Just relevance to them, their org, and gives them an in or an out. Simple.
By using this type of information to your advantage, you can now prioritize where your time should be spent as an AE or SDR. And why I think 200 well placed emails in a week beats 3,000 automated ones.
It is a mindset shift. I understand that it can be tough & feel like you aren’t doing enough. I get this.
But think of it as less “doing more”… and more “doing the right things.”
All this to say, the people online who are saying email & calling are dead, are just misaligned.
Outbound isn’t dying, but bad outbound is.
Volume alone doesn’t work. Low-level personalization doesn’t work either.
Prioritization is what actually moves the needle in your book of business.
It isn’t about sending more emails. It’s about sending the ones that actually matter.
Until next week.
– Rook ♜
ps… I respond to all messages