The competitive B2B space demands your business to master reaching and retaining potential customers to thrive. In this scenario, you must learn the outbound lead generation techniques. It is not just an advantage; it’s a necessity.
If you’re becoming more and more skeptical about outbound lead generation, this guide is for you.
Outbound is the more traditional approach to B2B lead generation; the process of actively reaching out to new prospects through targeted campaigns, with the aim of eventually selling to them. Some industry influencers claim that this approach is declining , as inbound marketing strategies grow in popularity, due to an industry shift towards prioritizing demand generation. However, when done well, it is still vitally important and should play a part in all B2B marketing strategies.
The trick to do well, without annoying your potential customers is to leverage data to deliver what your customers already want.
What Is Outbound Lead Generation In B2B?
An outbound lead is a potential customer who is directly approached by your company rather than finding you on their own. Every business dreams of a pipeline of well-qualified leads that land in their sales team’s laps. The reality, of course, is that go-to-market teams still need to take an active role in pushing their companies to new heights of growth.
Outbound B2B lead generation has a more direct approach. It engages with potential customers who are not aware of your product or service yet. It works via sales representatives sending out communications to potential leads.
The goal is to generate interest in a product or service and build a sales pipeline. The communication methods used for B2B outbound lead generation encompass cold calling, direct email, social selling and direct mail.
Let’s break it down for you!
| Category | Outbound Lead Generation | Inbound Lead Generation |
| Definition | You Reach Out Directly to Potential Leads | Leads Come to You through Helpful Content and SEO |
| Tactics | Cold Emails, LinkedIn DMs, Calling, Personalized Outreach | Blog Posts, Whitepapers, Webinars, SEO, Lead Magnets |
| Tools | Outreach Tools, Data Providers, Email Automation, LinkedIn Sales Navigator | Marketing Automation Platforms, CMS, CRM |
| Speed | Faster Results in Days or Weeks | Builds over Time |
| Control | You Choose Who to Target and When | Dependent on Algorithms and Search Behavior |
| Best For | Immediate Pipeline Generation, Especially in B2B | Long-Term Brand Building and Education |
| Scalability | Grows with Data Quality and Campaign Structure | Grows with Content Investment |
| Predicatability | Easier to Measure and Optimize | Difficult to Forecast |
Let’s take an example. You go to an email marketing seminar. And, you also get a list of other attendees. Now, you find many of these attendees interesting and you reach out to them. That’s outbound marketing.
Today, outbound B2B marketing is a way of delivering marketing messages to prospects. It allows businesses to put their message in front of customers who aren’t aware of their products or services, who are not aware of the problems they solve or who may have become unengaged with the company.
While the social era has brought new outbound sales channels like social media ads, warm calling, and account-based advertising, traditional outbound tactics still remain just as effectiveness. The only difference between the outbound marketing tactics of today and the past is the ability to segregate the audience.
Today, it is likely easier to identify the audience that requires your solutions. So, B2B companies save a lot of time and resources when using outbound marketing as they use data-driven strategies and reach only those audiences who might be interested in their services.
Step-By-Step Process to Generate Outbound Leads
To yield new outbound leads, a company is always on the lookout for potential buyers to understand their needs using various Lead Generation Channels like emails, social media, calls, and targeted ads. The process creates detailed profiles of ideal customers that focus on demographics, interests, purchase routines and product preferences.
Understanding potential customers provides insight into their industry challenges and goals. Knowing this information is important to improve conversations over time. Hence, it makes it easier for companies to communicate with people by sending interactive emails, LinkedIn DMs and by hosting webinars.
Build a Target Account List
Outbound strategies are more targeted and emphasize specific decision-makers who have been identified as more likely to have an interest in your product or service. This is constructed on factors like the type of industry, job title, company size and any previous interactions with your company.
- Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
- Develop Buyer Personas
- Find and Collect Leads
- Prioritize and Segment Your List
- Verify and Maintain Your Data
Craft Personalized Outreach Messages
Outbound lead generation seeks to engage potential customers through direct methods like cold calling, cold emails and connecting on LinkedIn.
Here’s what sets this method apart:
Cold Calling: Direct phone calls to prospects to introduce your product or service.
“Hi (Prospect’s Name), it’s (Your Name) from (XYZ Company). Congratulations on your recent expansion into (market). (Prospect’s Company) is clearly growing fast. Based on our work with other companies in the (industry) sector, we’ve helped them (achieve a specific result, e.g., streamline logistics / reduce costs by X% / improve customer retention) as they’ve expanded.
I know you’re busy, but do you have about 15 minutes to see if we could do the same for you? Perhaps we could schedule a quick call for (Date) at (Time)?”
Cold Emails: Sending personalized emails to potential leads to initiate a conversation.
Subject: Idea for (Prospect’s Company Name) regarding (specific challenge)
Hi (Prospect’s Name),
I saw that (Prospect’s Company Name) recently (mention recent achievement, e.g., launched a new product, won an award). Congratulations!
I noticed your team’s focus on (mention a specific area, e.g., optimizing logistics, enhancing customer onboarding) and wanted to share a quick thought. Based on my experience helping companies like (Mention a similar, non-competitor company) to (quantifiable result, e.g., reduce delivery times by 15%, increase customer retention by 10%), I believe our solution could offer similar benefits for you.
Would you be open to a brief 15-minute call next week to discuss if this is a good fit?
Best regards,
(Your Name)
(Your Title)
(Your Company)
(Link to your LinkedIn profile or company website)
LinkedIn Outreach: Connecting with prospects on LinkedIn to engage them more personally.
Based on a shared connection/interest
Subject: Connection through (Shared Connection or Interest)
Message: Hi (Prospect’s Name),
I noticed that both of us attended (University Name) and share an interest in (Industry/Topic). I have come across your work on (Specific Project) at (Company Name) and am extremely impressed. I believe our shared interests could lead to a productive collaboration. Would you be open to a meeting and discuss further?
Some useful tips for writing in a more personalized approach are:
- Start with a Strong Opening
- Customize Content
- Use the Right Tone and Language
Use Multi-Channel Outreach
In a fragmented digital world, a well-crafted multi-channel sales strategy has become the new norm for B2B outbound sales teams. Today’s buyers use multiple platforms to communicate, like email, LinkedIn, phone calls and texts. One single outreach channel will limit your effort. On average, people use 6.7 different social platforms monthly, showing how varied their communication habits are.
- Higher Reach and Engagement
- Increased Opportunity
- Better Targeting
- Communication Preferences
Track Metrics and Optimize
To initiate this process effectively, start by clearly defining your target customers. This involves conducting thorough research to understand their demographics—such as age, gender, income level, location, and education as well as their preferences and purchasing behaviors.
It is crucial to consistently monitor key performance metrics like conversion rates that measure the percentage of visitors who complete a desired action, customer acquisition costs which reflect the total cost of acquiring new customers, and customer retention rates that highlight how well you retain your existing clientele over time.
This approach makes sure that the marketing and business strategies remain relevant, impactful, and responsive. It will help build a loyal customer base and achieve sustained growth in a competitive landscape.
- Number of Leads Generated- Leads Needed = (Revenue Target ÷ Average Sale Price) ÷ Lead-to-Customer Conversion Rate
- Cost Per Lead (CPL)– Total Marketing Spend / Number of Leads Generated
- Lead Source and Channel Performance- (Revenue – Cost) / Cost x 100, Channel Efficiency = (Desired Outcome/Cost) x 100
- Lead Qualification Rate- (Number of Qualified Leads / Total Number of Leads) x 100%
- Number of MQLs vs. SQLs- (Number of SQLs / Number of MQLs) x 100
- Lead Scoring Metrics- Lead Score = (Points for Demographics) + (Points for Engagement/Behavior)
- Email Open and Click-Through Rates- Email Open Rate = (Unique Emails Opened / Total Delivered Emails) x 100, Click-Through Rate (CTR) =(Total Clicks / Total Delivered Emails) x 100
- Landing Page Conversion Rate- (Number of Conversions / Total Number of Visitors) x 100
- Content Engagement Metrics- (Total Engagements / Total Audience) x 100%
- Lead-to-Customer Conversion Rate- (Number of Leads Converted to Customers / Total Number of Leads) x 100. To calculate it, divide the number of new customers by the total number of leads generated and then multiply by 100 to get the percentage.
- Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)– CAC = (Total Sales and Marketing Costs) / (Number of New Customers Acquired). This formula calculates the average cost to acquire a single new customer over a specific period by dividing all sales and marketing expenses by the number of new customers gained during that same timeframe.
- Sales Cycle Length- Average Sales Cycle Length = (Sum of Sales Cycle Lengths for all deals) / (Number of Deals Closed), Sales Cycle Length (for one deal) = Date of Closing – Date of First Contact
- Lead Velocity Rate-((Current Month’s Qualified Leads – Last Month’s Qualified Leads) / Last Month’s Qualified Leads) x 100. This formula calculates the percentage growth of qualified leads month-over-month, providing an indicator of future sales revenue potential.
- Multi-Touch Attribution- U-shaped model (40% first-touch, 40% last-touch, 20% distributed among the rest) and the linear model (equal credit for all touchpoints). The time-decay model uses formulas like y=2(−x/7)y equals 2 raised to the open paren negative x / 7 close paren power 𝑦=2(−𝑥/7), where xx is the number of days before conversion, to give more credit to touchpoints closer to the conversion event.
- Lead Engagement over Time:
- Lead Response Time: This measures how quickly you first respond to a lead. Formula: Time/date of follow-up – Time/date of initial contact
- Average Response Time: To find the average across multiple leads. Formula: Sum of (#) time passed to respond for all leads / (#) contacts.
- Average Engagement Rate: This measures overall engagement with your content over a period. Formula:(Total Engagements/Total Reach)×100
- Lead Conversion Rate: This tracks the percentage of leads that become customers. Formula: (Number of Converted Leads/Total Number of Leads)×100
- Time to Conversion: This measures the total time it takes for a lead to become a customer. Formula: Date of Conversion – Date of Initial Contact.
Best Channels for Outbound B2B Lead Generation
The best channels for Outbound B2B Lead Generation are:
- Cold Email- These emails are used to reach prospects directly in their inbox.
- LinkedIn Outreach- This professional network helps you connect with decision-makers, engage with their content and send personalized messages to build credibility.
- Cold Calling- It is a direct method for instant feedback and can gauge intent and handle any objections.
- Paid Advertising- This uses PPC Ads on platforms like Google and LinkedIn to target their audience.
- Direct Mail- This is a physical method that cuts through the digital noise and leaves a lasting impression when using targeted campaigns.
- Multi-Channel Outreach- Combining multiple channels creates a more consistent approach that increases the likelihood of getting responses.
- Webinars and Virtual Events- These are some of the interactive ways that demonstrate expertise to capture leads from those who have registered or attended the event.
Advanced B2B Outbound Strategies
You have more control over Outbound marketing because it isn’t influenced by external factors like search engine changes or social media algorithms. It includes direct mail, cold calling, email campaigns, and targeted ads, enabling you to actively generate interest in your products or services.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is an outbound lead generation strategy with the huge benefit of knowing in advance which leads you’re trying to capture. It is the process of making a list of businesses you want to target, and then going after them with a very personalized approach. That means lots of research into their business needs, and time and effort spent on creating content and messaging that will resonate with them.
Key ABM tactics include:
- Personalized content creation for target accounts
- Coordinated multi-channel outreach (email, social media, direct mail)
- Account-specific landing pages and microsites
- Tailored advertising campaigns
Data-Driven Prospecting
- Intent data provides insights into the topics prospects are researching.
- This knowledge helps customize outreach and messaging strategies.
- Advanced analytics identify promising accounts and key decision-makers.
- Analyzing engagement patterns directs marketing and sales efforts effectively.
- Focused efforts maximize conversion chances and enhance audience connections.
AI and Automation in Outbound
Outbound sales is about precision, timing and showing up with the right message, similar to an autopilot mode. Leveraging AI technologies alongside human expertise can lead to improved sales processes, increased revenue, and enhanced customer satisfaction. Understanding core AI technologies such as Natural Language Processing, Predictive Analytics, and Autonomous Sales Agents is crucial to unlocking the potential of AI-powered outbound sales.
Key highlights include:
- 30% of outbound marketing messages will be AI-generated by 2025.
- 80% of top sellers use AI, achieving a 10-20% ROI increase.
- 74% of sales professionals expect AI to reshape their roles.
- Digital channels will make up 80% of B2B sales by 2025.
Conclusion
Outbound lead generation isn’t the way it used to be. Thanks to intent data targeting and ABM tactics, B2B outbound lead gen, done well, is now much more precise and effective.
There is now a significant focus on quality over quantity: fewer leads, but better leads. That means marketing qualified leads (MQLs) who are already in your marketing funnel, and thus already aware of your brand and services, and showing strong intent signals.
FAQ
How Do You Find Out Who the Decision-Maker Is in a Company?
To find out the Decision-Maker in a company, research their organizational hierarchy chart and look for senior job titles (like C-suite executives or department heads) on the company website and LinkedIn.
What Titles Are Decision-Makers in B2B Sales?
B2B sales decision-makers are usually people in high-level jobs, like CEOs , CFOs, and CIOs . Other important decision-makers can include Vice Presidents, Directors of Procurement , technical experts like CTOs or lead engineers, and certain managers, depending on the industry.
How Do You Approach Decision-Makers in B2B?
Research the company and the key decision-makers to understand their challenges and objectives. Develop a personalized outreach strategy that highlights how your product addresses their pain points. And finally, collaborate with internal teams like product experts and sales leaders to enhance the buyer’s experience and improve the chances of a successful partnership.
