Best Outreach Method: First Contact

August 09, 2024

by a professional from Wayne State University in Detroit Metropolitan Area, MI, USA

Hello All,

I am curious to hear your thoughts on your methods of contacting companies and executives.

I've heard interesting and creative methods from some people and would like to know what works best for you.

I understand there are so many ways to go about your outreach, and some searchers are self-funded or have limited funds to use on leads and marketing so it'c nice to know what works for those who operate on a smaller budget compared to a larger-scaled search.

Do you like dealing with warm leads only? Only prefer inbound leads from your brokers? Do you contact the owners only? Is there a certain executive title you like to reach out to first.

Outreach:
Do you do a funneling type of outreach?

For example the following:
Least Expensive to Most Expensive (all while tracking, delivery, open rate, reply, etc. etc.)
- Cold Email
- Cold Call
- Post Card
- Letter
- Big Envelope Letter
- Send a Gift

Some people follow this option and after they've tried all the approaches, they filter the clients that have responded and put them in a different marketing list, while those who did not respond; get put into the cycle again until they've fullyextended every opportunity to reach the prospect.

What are your thoughts on this method. and I'm eager to learn what your experience has been so far.
Are you making the calls yourself, or do you utilize interns or outsource your marketing team to collect leads for you?

Any comment helps!

Reply by a professional
in Dubai - United Arab Emirates

^redacted‌ - After testing many of the channels you mentioned above across different industries and countries I can say the combination of all of them into an ecosystem is the key to getting tangible results and leverage steenghts of each channel. Depending on the industry I want to focus, company size, and many other variables I would pick the few that have performed better historically then order them into a waterfall system. Channel that can do the most volume is the one I am starting with moving unresponsive leads down to the other ones as I gather data. For example: No point in calling 1000 businesses I can get some of them to reply (positively or negatively) via email, social, sms or others. You can work your way down and then be left at the bottom of the waterfall with a list on unresponsive leads that may require manual output from your side, like calls, visits etc. There is not one size fits all, and guidance + the right strategy are key in building an outreach strategy that works.

Reply by a searcher
from University of Wisconsin in Los Angeles, CA, USA

I prefer cold calling if I am very interested in the company. It will often take time to get the owners on the phone, but once you get them on the phone, it is a good opportunity to start building a connection, show them what you bring to the table, and learn more about their company and future plans. Even if today they are not interested in selling, bringing on a partner, or raising capital, if you build and nurture that relationship it could be an opportunity in the future (or they could introduce you to someone looking to sell). Additionally, most owners and industry experts enjoy talking about their business and industry, so it is a great learning opportunity. If you have a large target list, you could also bulk email to identify people interested in bringing on a partner or selling. In that email discuss your experience and plans to build credibility.

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