Why Outbound Prospecting is a Company Level Strategy

This is a part of a series that was cre­at­ed to help you get the prac­tice of out­bound prospect­ing built into your com­pany.  This series will walk through the process, nec­es­sary roles, in addi­tion to guides for each role to help your com­pany get started quickly.

A properly executed outbound prospecting effort adds measurable value, but as with any practice, it takes time and resources to get the practice off the ground, make adjustments, get it running smoothly, and produce the results you want. In addition, it will be essential that your marketing, sales, and product management teams are all involved with the effort as well; these departments will need to interact with the business development team and help implement ongoing improvements in order to ensure the program’s medium- and long-term success.

Given the length of time and the cross-functional nature of the practice, the CEO and the rest of the executive team must buy-in to the value of the program, determine the long-term strategic goals and the shorter-term goals for the practice, communicate its importance to employees, and dedicate the proper resources to the effort. In addition, participating employees should be given goals and the right measurements to track performance.

Your outbound prospecting strategy and practice at the executive level includes:

• Setting the right long-term goals and shorter-term goals/milestones
• Assigning senior sponsorship
• Appointing a person (an outbound prospecting manager) to be responsible for the effort
• Approving an approach and plan that is right for your situation
• Properly resourcing the effort
• Constantly communicating the importance of the effort to everyone involved
• Reviewing results and making adjustments over time.

Next week I’ll be sharing some tips on how to find the best approach for your business.