Outreach gets a bad rap. Cold calling is so 1990. I mean… Talking to strangers???

In all seriousness, it’s laughable to think that way (even though plenty of people do) because that’s what business is all about… bringing in new business while keeping your current clients.

There’s a difference in our approach though; these new business opportunities aren’t just any strangers we blast an email to, these are hand-picked, carefully chosen and targeted prospects with whom we aim to develop real business relationships on your behalf.

Last week we found out about what it takes on a daily basis to manage ad campaigns and make them successful.

Today we’ve interviewed one of the top players on our outreach team, Jeni Slane, about how she actually organizes outreach campaigns, what she does for clients, who she reaches out to and how, and how she fits it all into a day of work.

Before we start the conversation with Jeni though, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that while outreach is an oft-forgotten (not-as-sexy) way to reach targeted prospects as ad campaigns are, they definitely have value when used properly. That value is only enhanced when an outreach campaign is used as part of a robust multichannel approach to lead generation and sales development. 

Our services deliver interested prospects who book calls. We do that through utilizing multiple channels - outreach, content, LinkedIn, ads all working together to reach your prospect at various levels. Most important to the strategy is the backend to any campaign. It utilizes email, messaging, and phone calling directly to prospects who’ve responded to our outreach efforts.

With that in mind, we’ve asked Jeni Slane a few questions about how she approaches her work, what her day looks like, how she makes sure the outreach campaigns are on target, how she stays motivated, and how she helps clients meet their goals.

What’s the first thing you do in the morning when you sit down?

First thing I do is check my email and answer anything considered urgent for clients. After that I pop into client inboxes to check for responses that may have come through. Then I will plan out my to-do list for the day. 

If there are any upcoming meetings with a client, I’ll prep for those as well. For example, we’ll have an onboarding meeting this morning and a Campaign Strategy meeting later on as well. 

So, a typical day for me consists of: 

• Checking my email 
• Monitoring clients' inboxes on both LinkedIn and email
• Recording data on tracking sheet
• Review SDR call notes
• Entering new prospects into funnel for a client
• A 15-30 min client check-in call
• And at least one 30 minute internal agency meeting to discuss a specific client.

Awesome! We’ll get into what those meetings look like in a second. But first, can you explain what “client inboxes” you’re referring to?

Yes. They give us access to their LinkedIn and email inbox. We send and answer emails and messages to targeted prospects on the clients’ behalf. If there is any activity in either inbox, I respond and record the necessary data in the client tracking sheet to keep metrics and KPIs updated daily.

You said you had a new client as well you’ll meet with today. Walk us through what an onboarding call looks like, give us an example. What’s the end goal of that call?

The goal of the call is to:

• introduce the team they’ll be working with, 
• make sure we have a solid understanding of their business and their target prospects, 
• and inform them of what to expect during the foundation and ongoing phases of the campaign.

So for example, recently with one client, for their onboarding call we laid out some client expectations of what will be needed from them as far as quick replies, feedback and resources. We asked them - in detail - about their goals for the campaign, and what they're hoping to get out of our partnership - whether that’s just spreading awareness for a new product line, getting booked appointments for their sales team, or signing 2 new clients by the end of the year. 

We also ask them to outline their clients pain points and what problems they can solve for the prospects they want to target. Lastly, the goal of the call is to confirm what necessary items we’ll need to get started/ for example…

Do they already have a booking link?

Who’s the face of the campaign?

Do you use Hubspot/Infusionsoft/Salesforce?

And so on…

This new client… What were they hoping for and did these outreach campaigns help with that?

Absolutely! They were great to work with and very happy with the results. Originally, they had reached out to LinkedSelling because they needed a better way to attract more qualified sales leads to their pipeline. With inconsistent outbound marketing efforts, they weren’t giving their sales reps enough quality at-bats. They had tried cold calling and email marketing but they wanted to MASSIVELY grow their pipeline.

They also wanted to eliminate the guesswork and reallocate their team’s time and energy to focus on holding more qualified conversations rather than spending a lot of time prospecting. 

Really, they needed a lead-generation strategy overhaul.

Once we reviewed the options and the strategy with them, they opted for a direct messaging strategy. They only wanted to talk with qualified prospects who had expressed an interest in their cost containment solutions. Through our outreach strategy, we were able to connect them over 1,500 targeted prospects on LinkedIn and they’ve seen a huge uptick in sales! Not to mention the increased awareness and market authority.

Wow! That’s great to hear. So when you start a new campaign, where do you start? Give us Week 1, for example.

Sure! So week one will be completing the profile optimization, setting up a new domain/email so that we don’t affect the health of their current domain (any cold outreach has the potential to downgrade a domain so we never affect our clients). Setup internal client documents and review any client branded materials. 

From there, we meet with the team (that includes their project manager, Senior Campaign Manager, Campaign Manager, Ads Manager, their SDR (Sales Development Rep) Manager and a copywriter to discuss the initial campaign strategy and layout necessary items for the messaging strategy. They meet with the copywriter for Outreach and SDR, as well as to discuss the preliminary Ads lead magnet and copy strategy. 

Later today, for example, some “Week One” items include setting up a new domain/email address for a client, reviewing a completed profile optimization from the copywriting team, and giving feedback for changes before we send it to the client for approval.

That is a very in-depth set-up phase! What’s next? Walk us through what happens afterward… Week 2.

For Week Two of any campaign, we engage in initial list building and prospecting. So that means we gather samples to send to the client to ensure our targeting is on track, after which we make any tweaks to our searches if there’s feedback from the client. 

In this stage the domain/email warmup also begins. That’s where we meet with the outreach team and the copywriter to discuss messaging strategy and set up any accounts needed to run the campaign such as email software, Zapier integrations, and a booking link for appointments.

I did some of that just today actually; I set up a new account in our email software for a client and started domain/email warmup for a client.

Sounds like a lot! Moving on to Week three and onward, what’s your process for managing and optimizing campaigns on a daily basis? What markers do you look for in a successful campaign?

Week three is reviewing scripts and getting the clients’ final approval. Then later in the week, we’ll have a Campaign Strategy meeting with the client to review the initial launch of the campaign, answer any questions they may have and make any necessary last minute adjustments. 

Some markers for a successful campaign are good open rates, reply rates, decline rates and the number of  booked appointments. If the open rate is low then we’ll start with optimizing the headlines. If the open rate is higher but the reply rate is lower then we’ll take a look at the copy and see if we can tweak the pain point or wording to better resonate with the prospects. 

For example, we did that for another client. This time an IT company. 

Using multi-touch messaging campaigns on LinkedIn, and then later included the added addition of an SDR (sales development rep) component, we’ve been able to target and connect Itegria with the right kind of prospects, getting quality prospects to book appointments. Here’s an overview of the system we implemented on their behalf:

1. We target Small to Mid Size RIA's all over the continental U.S.A. (their exact audience), under Itegria’s guidance, we research their ideal customer and create a prospect profile to determine what motivates them to take action.
2. Find and connect with targeted prospects on LinkedIn.
3. Develop and nurture strategic relationships with them using LinkedIn messaging and email campaigns, sending out bi weekly messaging campaigns to stay top of mind, while adding value and positioning Itegria’s expertise. (These messaging campaigns follow our proprietary strategy, and are only used after client approval).
4. To further increase the volume of leads, we also implemented an SDR component, where Sales Development Reps will call interested prospects on Itegria’s behalf to encourage them to book an appointment and keep the conversation going.

(Read the full case study to see what kind of results we got for Itegria.)

Any tips for people looking to get better results from their ad campaigns?

Hire us! 🙂 But if they don't, some easy things they can do is always be testing and stay consistent.

A/B test different headlines or pain points to see what gets a better open and response rate from your prospects. Remember, don’t just message your prospects once then give up after no response, keep going on a consistent basis until they respond. You’d be amazed by how many people answer on the 11th email or 4th call!

As a side note, tell us a little about you. What’s a lunch that keeps you going? Do you listen to music as you work?

Oh jeez, so many favorite lunches… but top 2 are Blues City Deli (fantastic sandwiches) and Epic Pizza (the name says it all)

Some hobbies I have are roller skating (like old school 2 wheels in front 2 in back!), playing video games, and wine nights with friends (I consider that a hobby lol).

My family and friends definitely motivate me. I have a lot of family in St. Louis so I try to see them as often as I can. My friends are just as driven as me and constantly inspire me to do more.

Who do you talk to/consult with when you have questions about the campaign?

It depends on the question but most often the Project Manager first and then possibly the team as a whole, or I’ll ask the client directly.

How often do you speak with the client?

At least on a bi-weekly basis but sometimes weekly if they prefer.

How do you help the client meet their goals? What makes a good outreach  manager?

The opportunity for clients with outreach is huge. A client needs outreach to not only increase the number of appointments their sales teams get but also to educate their prospects and to get their company’s name in front of potential clients.

I think a great manager must offer consistent communication with clients and make sure they educate the clients on the process so they always know what to expect. 

They need to be proactive in reading the data and knowing when to make adjustments, then also effectively communicate the changes to the client. Having the confidence to push back (if necessary) in a friendly way to clients in order to align them with what would be best for the campaign is also a must.

Through SDR phone calls, email and LinkedIn we create more opportunities to get in front of prospects and have them book appointments.

Thanks Jeni!

If you’d like to see how our outreach team works within a multi-channel outbound lead generation framework, check out our case studies here, or if you’re actively searching for solutions to scale your lead gen and see real company growth, let’s chat! Our Director of Client Strategy can recommend the right approach for your company, industry, budget, and timeframe - no obligation. Just click below to schedule.