--- name: sales-prospecting-outreach description: Execute outbound sales prospecting including lead research, personalized outreach sequences, multi-channel campaigns, objection handling, and prospect engagement tracking. Use when building prospect lists, crafting outreach sequences, running cold campaigns, following up with prospects, or optimizing prospecting performance. Triggers on phrases like "prospecting", "outbound", "cold outreach", "cold email", "cold call", "lead research", "prospect list", "outreach sequence", "multi-channel outreach", "cold calling", "social selling", "LinkedIn outreach", "follow-up", "objection handling", "lead scoring", "qualification", "SNAP framework", "BANT", "MEDDIC". --- # Sales Prospecting & Outreach Execute outbound sales prospecting including lead research, personalized outreach sequences, multi-channel campaigns, and prospect engagement tracking. ## Workflow ### 1. Prospect Research & Targeting ``` PROSPECT RESEARCH FRAMEWORK ═══════════════════════════════════════ Ideal Customer Profile (ICP): ═══════════════════════════════════════ Firmographics: → Industry: SaaS, FinTech, Healthcare Tech → Company size: 200-2,000 employees → Revenue: $20M - $200M → Geography: North America, Western Europe → Tech stack: Uses [competitive product], AWS/Azure → Growth stage: Scaling (Series B+) Decision Makers: ═══════════════════════════════════════ Role Title Examples Pain Points Influence ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Economic Buyer CEO, CFO, VP Budget, ROI HIGH (approves) Champion Director, Manager Pain point, solution HIGH (advocates) Technical Buyer CTO, Architect Technical fit, security MEDIUM (evaluates) End Users Team members Usability, workflow LOW (influences) PROSPECTING DATA SOURCES: ═══════════════════════════════════════ Source Data Available Accuracy Cost Update Frequency ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── LinkedIn Sales Nav Contact info, triggers 90% $99/mo Real-time ZoomInfo Email, phone, org chart 85% $15K/yr Monthly Apollo Email, phone, sequences 80% $9K/yr Monthly Clearbit Tech stack, firmographics 85% $5K/yr Weekly Hunter Email find/verify 80% $35/mo On-demand Crunchbase Funding, M&A, growth 90% $2K/yr Daily BuiltWith Tech stack 95% $5K/yr Daily PROSPECT LIST BUILDING: ═══════════════════════════════════════ 1. Define ICP criteria (firmographics, technographics) 2. Pull list from data source (LinkedIn, ZoomInfo, Apollo) 3. Enrich with additional data (Crunchbase, BuiltWith) 4. Verify contact info (email, phone) 5. Segment by priority (fit, timing, budget) 6. Assign to reps (territory, industry, round-robin) 7. Load into CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive) ``` ### 2. Outreach Sequence Design ``` MULTI-CHANNEL OUTREACH SEQUENCE (14 days, 8 touches) ═══════════════════════════════════════ Day 1: Cold Email #1 — Value-First Introduction → Subject: "Quick question about [company] [challenge]" → Body: Personalized opener → Pain point → Social proof → Soft CTA → Length: 100-150 words → CTA: Reply with "yes" or schedule 15 min Day 1: LinkedIn Connection Request → Note: "Hi [Name], noticed your work at [company]. Would love to connect" → No pitch in connection request Day 3: Cold Email #2 — Social Proof → Subject: "How [similar company] solved [problem]" → Body: Case study reference → Results achieved → Relevance to prospect → CTA → CTA: "Interested in seeing how?" Day 5: LinkedIn InMail / Message (if connected) → Content: Share relevant article or insight → CTA: "Thoughts on this approach?" Day 7: Cold Call #1 → Script: Introduction → Reason for calling → Value proposition → Question → Next step → Voicemail: 30 seconds, one ask, callback number Day 9: Cold Email #3 — Direct Approach → Subject: "Worth exploring?" → Body: Direct value prop → Specific benefit → Social proof → CTA → CTA: "Open to a 15-min call this week?" Day 11: Cold Call #2 → Different angle (new insight, recent trigger) → Voicemail: Different message from first Day 14: Breakup Email → Subject: "Should I close your file?" → Body: Polite, no pressure, leave door open → CTA: "If timing isn't right, no worries — just let me know" SEQUENCE VARIATIONS: ═══════════════════════════════════════ By Persona: → Executive: Focus on ROI, strategy, competitive advantage → Technical: Focus on integration, security, architecture → Manager: Focus on team efficiency, workflow, reporting By Trigger: → Funding announcement: Congratulate + relevant use case → Hiring spree: Growing team → need for tools → New product launch: Complementary solution → Competitor switch: Migration story + benefits ``` ### 3. Email Templates ``` COLD EMAIL #1 — VALUE-FIRST (100-150 words) ═══════════════════════════════════════ Subject: Quick question about [company] [challenge] Hi [First Name], I noticed [specific observation about company — recent news, product launch, LinkedIn post, hiring trend]. We recently helped [similar company] [achieve specific result — reduce X by Y%, increase Z by $amount] in [timeframe]. Given [relevant context], I thought there might be a fit. Would you be open to a brief 15-minute call this week to explore? If not, no worries — just reply and I'll keep you in mind for the future. Best, [Your Name] [Title] | [Company] COLD EMAIL #2 — SOCIAL PROOF (100-150 words) ═══════════════════════════════════════ Subject: How [similar company] solved [problem] Hi [First Name], [Similar company] was struggling with [specific pain point]. Sound familiar? They implemented [solution] and saw: → [Result 1: metric improved by X%] → [Result 2: time saved by Y hours/week] → [Result 3: revenue impact of $Z] I think [Prospect's company] could see similar results. Can I share a quick 5-minute walkthrough of how it works? Best, [Your Name] BREAKUP EMAIL (50-75 words) ═══════════════════════════════════════ Subject: Should I close your file? Hi [First Name], I've reached out a few times about [topic], but I don't want to be a nuisance. Should I close your file for now? If [problem] becomes a priority down the road, feel free to reach out. Best, [Your Name] NOTE: Breakup emails have 2-3x response rate of regular emails ``` ### 4. Cold Calling Framework ``` COLD CALL SCRIPT FRAMEWORK ═══════════════════════════════════════ Opening (10 seconds): ═══════════════════════════════════════ "Hi [Name], this is [Your Name] from [Company]. I know I'm catching you out of the blue — do you have 30 seconds?" If yes → Continue If no → "No problem, when's a better time?" → Schedule callback Reason for Calling (20 seconds): ═══════════════════════════════════════ "The reason I'm calling is we help companies like [Prospect's Company] solve [specific pain point]. We recently helped [Similar Company] achieve [specific result]." Discovery Question (15 seconds): ═══════════════════════════════════════ "How are you currently handling [related process]?" OR "Are you currently looking into solutions for [pain point]?" Next Step (15 seconds): ═══════════════════════════════════════ "Based on what you've shared, I think there's a strong fit. Can I schedule a 15-minute call with our solutions team this [day]?" → If yes → Schedule on calendar → If no → "No worries — mind if I send a quick email with more info?" VOICEMAIL SCRIPT (30 seconds): ═══════════════════════════════════════ "Hi [Name], this is [Your Name] from [Company]. We help companies like yours [specific benefit]. I'd love to share how [Similar Company] achieved [result]. Call me at [number] or reply to my email. Thanks!" OBJECTION HANDLING: ═══════════════════════════════════════ Objection: "Not interested" Response: "I understand. Is it timing, or doesn't this align with your priorities?" Objection: "We're happy with current solution" Response: "That's great. What's working well? Many of our customers came from [competitor] because of [differentiator]." Objection: "Send me info" Response: "Happy to. What specifically are you looking for? I'll make sure it's relevant." Objection: "Too expensive" Response: "Understood. What's your budget range? We have flexible options." ``` ### 5. Prospecting Metrics & Tracking ``` PROSPECTING METRICS DASHBOARD ═══════════════════════════════════════ Activity Metrics (Weekly per Rep): ═══════════════════════════════════════ Metric Target Current Status ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Cold emails sent 150 165 ✓ Above target Cold calls made 80 72 Below target LinkedIn messages 40 45 ✓ Above target Connections sent 30 28 Near target Follow-ups 100 95 Near target Outcome Metrics (Monthly): ═══════════════════════════════════════ Metric Target Current Status ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Email open rate ≥ 45% 52% ✓ Good Email reply rate ≥ 5% 6.8% ✓ Good Calls connected ≥ 25% 28% ✓ Good Meetings booked 20 24 ✓ Above target SQLs generated 8 10 ✓ Above target Revenue influenced $50K $68K ✓ Above target CONVERSION FUNNEL: ═══════════════════════════════════════ Prospects contacted: 500 → Engaged (reply/call connected): 125 (25%) → Qualified: 50 (10%) → Meeting booked: 24 (4.8%) → Demo completed: 18 (3.6%) → Proposal sent: 12 (2.4%) → Closed-won: 5 (1.0%) Overall conversion: 500 → 5 (1.0%) Target conversion: 1.5% (improvement needed) Average deal size: $25,000 Revenue per prospect: $500 ``` ## Edge Cases - **Highly regulated**: Compliance-approved messaging (finance, healthcare) - **Enterprise**: Long sales cycles, multiple stakeholders - **Competitive**: Switching from competitor, displacement strategy - **Global**: Multi-language, cultural adaptation - **Low-volume/high-value**: Few prospects, heavy customization ## Integration Points - **CRM**: Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive - **Data**: ZoomInfo, Apollo, LinkedIn Sales Navigator - **Email**: Outreach, SalesLoft, Mailchimp, Gmail - **Calling**: Aircall, RingCentral, Dialpad - **Social**: LinkedIn, Twitter, Clubhouse - **Analytics**: Gong, Chorus, Clari ## Output ### Prospecting Status ``` PROSPECTING — Q4 2024 ═══════════════════════════════════════ Prospects contacted: 1,850 Meetings booked: 89 (4.8% conversion) SQLs: 34 (1.8% conversion) Revenue influenced: $256,000 Avg reply rate: 6.8% (target: ≥5%) ✓ Top channel: Cold email (62% of meetings) Best performing sequence: 14-day, 8-touch Next priority: Improve cold call connect rate (28% → 35%) ```