Empathy is a vital step towards enhancing outbound strategies. Generic automated sequences are easy to tell apart and annoy customers. Sure automation tools are helpful, salespeople remain fundamentally human. Consider the client's interests and difficulties from their point of view. Collect information and create tailored strategies rather than sending out generic emails. Discuss actual business issues and provide workable answers. More relevance and less spam make all the difference.
Fact: Outbound sales is broken. Incentives and strategies are misaligned. Tools like Salesloft and Outreach didn’t cause it. They amplified it. Now marketing and sales need to work together to fix it. The real issue is that sales managers push SDRs to prioritize volume over quality, leading to generic outreach that no one wants to read. Fixing this starts with focus. Give SDRs a small set of accounts, 30 per quarter, and tier them into A, B, and C priorities (using tools like Clay, Tofu, Unify). This makes it clear who they’re targeting and allows them to spend their time understanding the industries, companies, and people they’re reaching out to. Instead of chasing volume, they can dive deep into the problems their prospects are trying to solve. With the right tools, resources and 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, SDRs can educate themselves on the pain points, motivations, and challenges of their target audience. They can craft outreach that adds value and speaks directly to what matters most. Take me as an example. If you’re reaching out to someone like me at MoEngage, don’t send lazy, cookie-cutter emails like: “Does getting more pipeline keep you up at night” “Would you be interested in getting more qualified meetings” “Do you want customer lists of your competitors?” “Are you still interested?” “I haven’t heard back. I’ll assume this isn’t a priority.” These don’t work. They’re noise. If you want my attention, show me you’ve done your homework. Understand that I’m focused on growing in North America. Recognize the challenges of expanding into a crowded market. Tell me something valuable about how companies like mine are navigating those problems and how you can help. This approach may lead to fewer meetings overall, but the meetings you get will be better. SDRs and AEs will know their audience. They’ll understand the pain points. They’ll deliver messaging that lands because it’s relevant and thoughtful. And this isn’t just a sales problem. Marketing has to help. Marketing should train SDRs and AEs with insights about the market, the ICP, and the problems worth solving. Outbound sales works best when sales and marketing are aligned, working together to get the right message in front of the right people. Stop trying to get more meetings. Focus on getting better ones.