How to Build an Outbound Sales Strategy with HubSpot and Salesforce

Outbound sales isn’t dead. While outbound has a reputation for being interruptive, impersonal, and unwanted, outbound can be executed in a way that converts. While outbound sales teams require the right tools for the job, the tool won’t matter if it’s not accompanied by a thoughtful strategy.

Building an Outbound Sales Strategy

The modern approach to sales focuses on objectives-based selling. Rather than focusing on what you need from the prospect, focus on how what you’re selling helps the prospect achieve their business objectives. If you can’t draw a direct line between your offering and your prospect’s objectives, move on.

To do this, take a new approach to think about building your prospects list and outbound content.

1. Rather than looking for your blanket ICP (ideal customer profile), categorize your existing customers into the problems you solve.
2. Create sales content around how you solve those problems. 
3. Focusing on the highest value problems first, start to look for companies likely facing those same problems. 
4. Add your targets to your HubSpot Target Accounts list and start engaging with prospects via email, LinkedIn, and calling (if that’s your thing) and focus on confirming they have the problems you identified in step one.
5. Once you know they are experiencing the problem you solve, share as many solutions to their problem as possible to earn a meeting with them. 

Taking this objectives-based approach and leading by providing value rather than asking for a sale will result in a higher conversion rate. Then, consider assigning traditional inbound marketing metrics to measure the success of outbound sales, and you will have the makings of a solid relationship-building strategy.

Reporting on Outbound Sales Efforts

Traditional outbound sales metrics include:

• Target accounts identified
• Target contacts created
• Calls initiated 
• Calls connected
• Emails sent
• Email replies received
• Meetings booked
• Revenue generated

While these metrics are certainly worth tracking, they fail to paint the full picture in an objectives-based outbound approach. These metrics represent the tangible deliverables of the sales process. But, they fail to account for the influence of outbound sales.

To fully track the impact of outbound sales, consider incorporating metrics traditionally owned by marketing in your tracking. These include how sales efforts influence:

• Website traffic
• Blog subscriptions
• Content downloads
• Webinar attendance

With the combination of sales and sales-influence marketing metrics, you can paint a full picture of how your outbound sales efforts impact the customer journey rather than just measuring the bottom-funnel outcomes.

Implementing Outbound Targeting in HubSpot

While Salesforce is traditionally viewed as a sales powerhouse, the base platform falls short regarding outbound sales enablement. If you’re leveraging the HubSpot Salesforce integration, the sales enablement features offered by HubSpot’s Sales Hub will be a true game changer when it comes to executing and tracking success with outbound sales.

Identify Target Accounts in HubSpot

Your team can add companies to the Target Accounts list using the Prospects tool, the Company view, or list imports. Once companies have been identified as Target Accounts, HubSpot enables you to track easily:

• Amount of Target Accounts
• Accounts with Open Deals
• Open Deal Value
• Roles Identified for Target Account Contacts (Buying Role, Decision Makers, etc.)

Create Meeting Scheduling Links in HubSpot

The initial goal of outbound prospecting is to schedule a meeting with prospects. Salesforce does not offer an out-of-the-box meeting scheduling link. HubSpot Sales Hub offers a meetings link tools that allows sales reps to set their desired availability and choose questions to ask prospects while they book meetings. This removes friction from the booking process and allows reps to qualify prospects further before they get on the call.

Your reps can add this link to their email signature, LinkedIn profile, posts on community forums, and more to generate qualification meetings. Once a meeting is booked, an activity is created in HubSpot and Salesforce. This record allows your reps to report on their booked meetings and activities in both HubSpot and Salesforce. 

Call Tracking in HubSpot

Outbound calling isn’t for everyone, but it has proved to be a successful approach when implemented well. If calls are an important part of your outbound approach, leverage call tracking in HubSpot to record calls, track call volume and initiate and receive calls directly from HubSpot. If you’re looking to level up your calling capabilities, consider a Kixie integration for HubSpot or Salesforce.

Outbound Sequences in HubSpot

Outbound Sequences in HubSpot give your sales reps the power to schedule sales emails, call reminders, and more to ensure all connection opportunities are taken and the ball is never dropped. While Salesforce allows you to send 1:1 sales emails, they do not offer a native email scheduling tool for sales teams. HubSpot Sequences are a part of HubSpot’s Sales Hub and make sales outreach a breeze. Once target contacts are identified, easily enroll them into sales sequences in bulk either manually or via a HubSpot Workflow, and watch the meetings roll in.