Outbound Lead Generation – Proven Way to Get More Clients

Outbound lead generation is a proactive and practical approach to identifying and reaching potential customers who are largely unaware of your product or service. It allows the business to directly contact people through calls, emails, messages, or any other means.

The goal of this lead generation is to identify customers (who may or may not have an interest in your site) and ultimately compile a list of potential sales prospects from them.

What Are the Outbound Lead Generation Processes?  A Step-by-step Guide

Already, we have the idea that outbound lead generation is effective in reaching those individuals who meet the ideal customer profile (ICP) as defined by the business.

Whereas inbound lead generation works by targeting organic leads through an organic sales process, outbound lead generation works by targeting outreach through cold emails, calls, LinkedIn, and ads.

Therefore, a successful outbound lead generation includes two parts-

1. A right team structure.
2. A step-by-step lead generation process.

Part One: A Right Team Structure

When marketing fuels the pipeline, sales are focused on outreach and closing. However, we have already mentioned that the outbound lead generation team consists of two direct teams: the sales team and the marketing team.

The role of the sales team

• BDRs (Business Development Representatives): research the market to find potential customers. Thus, to find new business opportunities.
• SDRs (Sales Development Representatives): Reach out to the leads. Qualify the leads. Finally, pass good-fit prospects to sales representatives.
• AEs (Account Executives): Build relationships. Address customer needs. Finally, close sales deals.

The role of the marketing team

• Campaign marketers: Send messages to people through email, social media, and events. They use these outreach and outbound campaigns to capture their attention and interest.
• Demand Generation / Paid Ads Specialists: Run hyper-targeted LinkedIn Ads, Google Ads, and intent-based retargeting to warm up the cold leads (which are going to sales outreach). Also, use account-based marketing (ABM) techniques to engage high-value prospects.
• Sales Enablement (Optional but helpful): Co-operate sales teams with scripts, templates, and competitor insights. Ensure smooth handoff between marketing and sales.

Part Two: A step-by-step lead generation process

Once you’ve got your outreach lead generation team, let’s get the step-by-step process. Here’s how outbound techniques work in practice:

Step 1: Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Before reaching out to the people list, know exactly who you are targeting! If you don’t know who your ideal customer is, how could you expect your customer to feel better about your site?

So, at first, know what is an ICP for you? Simply, an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is a clear picture of the perfect customer (who would get the most value from your product or service) for your business.

It includes traits such as industry/company size, revenue, location, job titles or roles, pain points or needs, buying behavior, etc. It is the type of person or company that needs your product/service, which can afford to get your product/service, and can become a loyal customer for you.

An ICP includes:

• Industry/company size/ revenue
• Job titles & decision-makers
• Pain points your product solves

Different tools to define your ICPs:

• LinkedIn Sales Navigator
• ZoomInfo
• io
• Facebook Audience Insights
• Google Analytics
• Crunchbase

However, a clear ICP helps you:

• Focus only on those people who are intending to purchase from you.
• Write messages that match your customer’s needs
• Works faster.

Step 2: Build a Targeted Prospect List

There is no point in sending thousands of messages to random or wrong people. To reach the right people, you must know who they are! The better your list of targeted prospects, the better your results.

So, take time to find prospects who need what you offer. And once you have your target list, collect their contact information.

Collect their emails:

To collect your targeted prospect’s email, you can use tools like Hunter.io, Snov.io, VoilaNorbert, FindThatLead, Skrapp.io, etc.

Process:

• Upload your prospect list in the tool (company name plus domain). Use the tool Hunter.io/Snov.io.
• To get an email, use the domain search.
• Use Skrapp.io or Snov.io’s LinkedIn extension to get LinkedIn-based results.
• Now export your file in CSV format.
• Get further verification.

Collect their phone Numbers:

Use tools like ZoomInfo/Lusha/ZoomInfo (Premium)/Apollo.io on your Chrome.

Process:

• Extract phone numbers of your targeted prospects from their LinkedIn profile.
• Use Truecaller or CallHippo to verify those extracted phone numbers.

Collect their LinkedIn Profiles:

You can use tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator ( B2B prospecting), Dux-Soup (Automates data extraction), Phantombuster ( LinkedIn profiles in bulk), Octopus CRM (LinkedIn automation + lead extraction).

Process:

• Use Sales Navigator and filter prospects’ information (job title, industry, and company size).
• Use Phantombuster or Dux-Soup to export leads.
• Use Octopus CRM to make automation of connection requests + follow-ups.

Verify their emails:

It is critical to follow these steps carefully. However, use tools like NeverBounce ( bulk verification), ZeroBounce ( spam traps + disposable emails), Hunter.io’s Email Verifier (Free), and Clearout.io (deliverability in real-time) to complete these steps.

Process-

• Use NeverBounce/ZeroBounce and upload your email list to them.
• Remove invalid/catch-all/ spam-trap emails.
• Keep only the ‘Safe to Send’ (verified) emails in your wanted list.

Step 3: Choose Your Outreach Channels

Different channels work for different audiences. However, the most effective outbound strategies utilize multiple touchpoints.

Channel	Best for-
Cold emails	B2B, high-ticket sales
Cold call	Urgent offers, Local business.
LinkedIn	Executives, Long sales cycles
SMS	B2C, time-sensitive deals
Paid advertising Google Search Ads, Display Ads, Facebook/Instagram Ads, LinkedIn Ads	Building awareness, retargeting, and driving traffic to landing pages
Direct mail (Postcards, Flyers)	Local marketing, real estate, healthcare, personalized offers
Events & Trade Shows (Prospecting)	In-person networking, lead generation from specific industries
Telemarketing Campaigns	Wide outreach, follow-ups after email or mail, gathering quick feedback
Third-party Lead Databases	Finding new prospects with verified contact info

Step 4: Craft a High-Converting Outreach Pitch

Write high-converting outreach messages to hit your clients’ sentiment directly.

Key rules for making this step successful: Personalize your text.  So-

• Mention something specific (company news, mutual connection).
• Focus on their pain point, not your product.
• Finally, conclude with a valuable yet straightforward question, e.g., “Can we discuss it at 4 p.m.?”

Example of one cold Email

Subject: Quick question about (Prospect’s Company)
Body:
Hi (First Name),
I noticed your company (company name) is facing one relevant problem(address the problem). We have already resolved similar issues in the last week. Would a 15-minute call on (date and time) be suitable for your company?
Best,
(Your Name)

Step 5: Follow Up

Most sales don’t occur after just a few clicks. Eighty percent need at least five follow-ups. However, many businesspeople stop messaging just after a few attempts.

Use a multitouch sequence like- Email-LinkedInp-calls-Message etc.

You can make a To-Do list to make your follow-up efficient. Like-

Day-1 =(sref cold email)

Day-3=(linkedIn connection request +message)

Day 5 =(follow-up emails with previous history or case studies, or other social proof)

Day-7=(Do cold calling plus cold voicemailing)

Day 10 =Finally, do a break-up email (example: Should I close your file?)

Step 6: Qualify & Nurture Leads

Not every lead will buy from you instantly! Some potential leads require more time, information, and nurturing from you to make their final purchase.

Utilize lead scoring to target your efforts effectively.

Make scoring based on the actions they took on your sites (i.e., Visiting your price page, your page, Opening emails, Downloading resources). Use lead scoring to prioritize-

• Hot Leads (Booked a call? -Pass to sales)
• Warm Leads (Opened emails? – Nurture with content)
• Cold Leads (No response? – Re-engage or drop)

Tools for Lead Tracking:

CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce)

Email tracking (Yesware, Mailtrack)

Outbound lead generation strategies for growing businesses

Although outbound lead generation is one of the most effective ways to scale up your business, it’s essential to note that not all outreach is effective, so you must research and implement proven strategies.

Only the perfect strategies will cut through the noise and convert!

Here are 11 powerful outbound lead generation strategies. All these strategies have been proven effective in winning more potential customers and boosting revenue-

• Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
• Multichannel Marketing
• Sales Cadence Tools
• Video Prospecting Tools (e.g., Loom)
• Cold Email Tools (e.g., Hunter.io, Apollo.io)
• Voice and SMS Campaign Tools
• Social Selling Platforms (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter)
• Webinar and Virtual Event Platforms
• Retargeting Tools (e.g., Facebook Pixel, Google Ads tags)
• CRM and Lead Scoring Tools
• Referral Marketing Platforms

Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

You can choose ABM instead of choosing any other wider net! We suggest that this is your top choice because it focuses on key decision-makers in your ideal customer profile (ICP).

Why it’s effective for growing businesses:

Higher ROI: Concentrates resources on accounts most likely to convert and provide significant value.

Personalization: Enables deeply personalized messaging and content tailored to the specific needs and pain points of the target account.

Sales & Marketing Alignment: Fosters collaboration and shared goals between sales and marketing.

Shorter Sales Cycles (Potentially): Engaging key decision-makers directly with relevant solutions can speed up the process.

How to Implement ABM:

• Identify those accounts or companies that meet with your ICPs.
• Research key stakeholders (that means decision makers, stakeholders, etc.)
• Design customized emails, LinkedIn outreach, and other tailored offers.
• Use multi-touch outbound campaigns (such as email + calls + related social engagement).

Multichannel Marketing

If you rely on just one channel (like cold emails), it only limits your reach! You need a multi-channel approach to ensure you can connect with prospects wherever and whenever they are active.  

Best Channels to Combine:

• Cold Emails (works through a more Direct & professional way)
• LinkedIn Messaging (sort of B2B goldmine)
• Phone Calls (this allows for all higher conversion rates)
• SMS (perfect for quick follow-ups)

Why it’s effective for growing businesses:

Higher Response Rate: Reach prospects where they are most engaged.

Faster Conversions: Multiple touchpoints (almost 7+) reduce the sales cycle.

How to Implement Multichannel Marketing:

• Map your prospect’s journey. That means- identify where your potential customers spend most of their time(whether on FB, LinkedIn, Email, etc)
• Once you have the channel track, create channel-specific content. Then do the outbound content marketing.
  • Emails: focus on clear CTAs
  • LinkedIn: focus on conversational and relationship-based
  • Calls/SMS: Short, personalized & direct
• Sync all your outreach. (e.g., email → LinkedIn follow-up → call).
• Utilize analytics to determine which channel effectively brings you the most customers. You can automate your follow up process by HubSpot or io to save you time and manual afford.

Leverage Sales Cadence

It is the follow-up formula that usually closes the deals. Most sales occur after five or more touches, yet 44% of reps quit after just one.

Why it’s effective for growing businesses:

• Increases conversion rate
• 80% of sales require 5+ follow-ups
• Proper cadences increase reply rates by 300%
• Nurtures potential leads until they are ready for sales.
• Make predictable outreach workflows.

How to Implement:

• Build 7-12 touch sequences over 2-3 weeks
• Mix channels (email, call, social, video)
• Space touches 2-3 days apart
• Include value-adds at each touch (case studies, invitations)
• Automate reminders in your CRM

Video Prospecting

Outbound lead generation can also occur through the use of personalized video messages. In the mess of a noisy inbox, it can lead to sales generation!

Why it’s effective for growing businesses:

Higher response rate: 4x higher response rates than text-only

Buyer preference: Surprisingly, 65% of buyers prefer to see video content

Build trust: If you compare with any written content, video content builds trust faster.

Others: Easily can be easily seen even in the mess of a crowded inbox.

How to Implement:

• Use Loom to create a 60- to 70-second video.
• Mention specific prospect challenges.
• Add a clear next step here.

Cold Emails

Cold emailing can also generate qualified leads. For outbound lead generation, use targeted and value-driven specific emails. Such emails perfectly reach out to ideal prospects.

Why it’s effective for growing businesses:

$44 ROI for every $1 spent: Email delivers a high return on investment.

Better than the phone outreach: You can reach more people compared to other means.

Easier to personalize and automate: You can easily personalize or automate your message as per the customer’s needs. Severe automation tools are available; you can choose the best one to suit your business center.

How to Implement:

• Build targeted lists (Hunter.io, Apollo.io)
• Write an effective subject line(not more than 50 characters).
• Research to get a perfect personalization, customer-wise. Start with a perfect, personalized tone.
• Include one clear CTA.
• Weekly, go for an A/B test (with different templates).

Voice and SMS Campaigns

Both are direct communication channels to personal connections through phone calls and text messages.

Why it’s effective for growing businesses:

Higher Open Rate: 98% open rate for SMS (whereas only 20% by email connections)

Higher Response Rate: 8x higher response than email alone. (as open rate is a huge difference)

Best suits for time-sensitive offers: Can meet urgency.

Authentic human connections: Voice or SMS campaigns offer a more authentic vibe than any other channel.

How to Implement:

• Get TCPA regulations to ensure proper consent for SMS.
• Make a clear and concise message. Do not cross 160 characters for each text message.
• Send the message at the perfect time. 9 AM-5 PM local time is the ideal business hours for most business centers.
• Respect people. Always include opt-out instructions to tell them they can unsubscribe or stop getting your messages.
• Keep track of who opens your message and when they open it.

Social Selling

Nobody can make a direct sales pitch! So, use social media to build professional connections and then go to make the sales pitch.

Why it’s effective for growing businesses:

Social sellers perform better: 78% of social sellers outsell peers who don’t use social. Therefore, utilize professional networking platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to achieve better sales outcomes.

Better Quota Achievement: Social seller are 64% more likely to hit their sales quotas.

Builds Trust and Credibility: This especially impacts B2B sales. Make a good business impression through the know-like-trust factors of social media.

Warms Up Cold Outreach: Even cold outreach can also convert into warm sales or conversions.

How to Implement:

• Create client client-focused LinkedIn/Facebook/Instagram profile.
• Comment on prospects’ posts with insights
• Post case studies/industry trends/about your service
• Participate in LinkedIn Groups, Facebook groups, Messenger chat groups, and Twitter chats.
• Use tools like Hootsuite to monitor prospect triggers (that is, like-promotions, funding).

Hosting Virtual Events or Webinars

Virtual events, live classes, and webinars are among the most innovative ways to generate outbound leads. You reach out to your customers with your valuable content. So they see your expertise here, trust you, and thus turn viewers into leads.

Why it’s effective for growing businesses:

40% Convert to MQLs: No doubt, webinars attract an engaged audience. And nearly half of this target audience becomes strong and qualified leads. These leads are ready for your marketing funnel.

Build Thought Leadership: As you share expertise insights, you build authority and trust. Thus, gradually, your brand becomes a go-to resource in your industry.

Better Than Gated Content: Unlike gated PDFs, webinars attract highly qualified leads.

Reusable Content Assets: Reusable content, such as recording clips, comes in various formats, including blogs, social posts, or training materials. Ultimately, all these turn into a valuable asset for your brand.

How to Implement:

• Use AnswerThePublic/or same like others to address urgent industry challenges.
• Allocate 30% of your budget to promoting your webinars via email, LinkedIn, and paid ads (or other channels).
• Boost your engagement. Include live polls and Q&A.
• Do not forget to follow up. Within 24 hours, send all recordings and details about the next steps.
• Turn your webminer clips into social posts & blog articles.

Using Data-Driven Retargeting Campaigns

Sometimes, a few customers visit your site (through outbound marketing) but leave without making a purchase. So re-targeting those customers offers you a second chance to bring them back.

Showing targeted ads to such clients who have already shown interest in your business increases the conversion rate compared to starting from scratch.

Why it’s effective for growing businesses:

70% Higher Conversions: Almost 70% more conversions than cold audiences. It’s because people who have already visited your site are familiar with you. So they just need one more knock to come back to you.

 3x More Engagement: Retargeted ads are more relevant. As these are related to the past leads, so offer three times more clicks and interactions than standard ads for the new audience/customers.

Stay Top-of-Mind: As prospects are deciding what to do, your ads just show them a perfect way to your brand. This gentle reminder does not make them intrusive; instead, it influences their final decision.

Lower Cost Per Lead: As you are re-targeting your familiar audience, the second-time ad campaign costs 50–80% less than campaigns aimed at new target audiences.

How to Implement:

• Add Facebook Pixel and Google Ads tags site-wide
• Create audiences by analyzing their behavior (which includes page visits, time spent, etc.).
• Show them your products (already visited) and your offer.
• Control the ad frequency to avoid fatigue. Weekly 3-5 ads are perfect.
• Exclude already converted. To optimize spending, remove purchased leads.

Utilizing CRM and Lead Scoring

It’s a smart way to score your leads based on how well they align with your business and how engaging they are.

Why it’s effective for growing businesses:

Boost conversions by 30%: Focus on the right leads and boost conversions by 30 %. Also closes more sales leads.

77% more productive: As this channels spend less time on low-quality leads. So actively can handle proactive leads into sales.

Marketing and sales on the same page: As everyone works on the same page, so almost generates the sample lead quality.

Others: Shows you which channels bring you the highest leads.

How to Implement:

• See the customer’s job title, company size, clicks, downloads, and score them accordingly.
• Mark’s sales-ready leads (up to 50 marks) need nurturing (1 to 49).
• Use automation for further follow-ups.
• Train your team
• Review and improve on your teamwork, system, etc.

Use Referral Marketing

Encouraging another loyal customer to refer others also helps lead generation. Referral marketing turns your satisfied customers into brand promoters.

Simply put, when your loyal clients refer your brand to others, those leads are more likely to believe in your brand and thus convert more easily. Referral marketing is a cost-effective and high-impact way to generate leads through outbound strategies.

Why it’s effective for growing businesses:

5x better conversion rate: Give a higher conversion rate compared with cold outreach.

Trusted Source: 92% of people trust their referral from their known people.

Lower Costs: Costs 30–50% less than paid ads.

Better Customers: Referral customers stay longer and spend more quality time with your business.

How to Implement:

• Focus on loyal customers
• Make it easy to share referral links and email templates for those customers.
• Offer simple rewards—discounts, credits, or bonusesTrack referrals with in-house links or codes.
• Say thanks.

Practical Outbound Lead Generation Tips

Outbound lead generation is not about blasting generic messages! Nor is it to send the same messages repeatedly to everyone! It’s about acting proactively, acting smartly! It is about targeted outreach.

Here are all the battle-tested outbound tactics we are offering for you-

Hyper-personalize your text!

Suppose, do not say-” Hey, do you want to grow your business with me?” Instead, start with more personalization. You can start by saying-” Hi, loved your post——”

Send an email at an unusual time:

Everybody sends an email during business hours. Right? Especially avoid sending emails on Monday mornings (when emails are flooded). Instead of sending emails during the usual business hours, you can use a 7–8 AM or 6–7 PM slot (when inboxes are less flooded).

Use Video for 4x Higher Replies:

Sending a 15- to 30-second Loom video is more effective in biasing your leads. Record like- “Hi (Name), we helped (Similar Company) achieve (Result)-thought this might help you too.” Also, add a proper thumbnail to your video to get a higher response.

Write No Reply in the Subject Line

Write, no need to give a reply on the subject line! It works like magic!

The Breakup Email Trick

Write a breakup email in the subject line. And write, Hi, I have already knocked on your door a few times. Should I close this file? Sending such an email just triggers the response! And open the chance to make positive conversations with your leads.

Track Everything:

Use tools like HubSpot, Mixmax, and Outreach.io to monitor open rates, reply rates, and meeting rates.

Steal competitors’ customers:

Search-“switching from (Competitor)” on LinkedIn or Twitter. Offer a better option to such customers and pull them towards your brand.

Go for Automation:

Use tools (Yesware or Lemlist) to automate your follow-up process. It is better to be accustomed to a combination of automation and manual touch, tailored to the specific lead generation process.

Finally, Outbound lead generation with CallingAgency

Tired of cold outreach that does not convert to a successful lead? The Calling Agency takes responsibility for converting your cold outreach into a successful sales lead.

CallingAgency helps you get real meetings with people who are ready to talk!

Yes, it is 100 %true!

We identify and connect with the right prospects, allowing you to focus solely on closing sales. From us, you will get-

• Qualified leads/warm prospects lined up and ready to talk!
• An experienced & well-known team.
• Clear reports & flexible pricing.

Want to see how we work?  Attend a 5-minute on-call meeting!