What is an Outbound SDR?
Outbound SDRs help you get new customers.
Anyone with a business has asked themselves the following question at least once in their lives.
How can I get people I never met to be my potential customers?
Enter the outbound SDR.
In this article, we will go over all there is to know about outbound SDRs, outbound sales, the difference between inbound and outbound SDRs, and whether or not you should hire an outsourced SDR for your outbound strategy.
How can I get people I never met to be my potential customers?
Enter the outbound SDR.
In this article, we will go over all there is to know about outbound SDRs, outbound sales, the difference between inbound and outbound SDRs, and whether or not you should hire an outsourced SDR for your outbound strategy.
What is Outbound Sales?
Outbound sales is a method that companies use to reach out to potential customers.
This involves sales development representatives (SDRs) making cold calls, using social media to connect with prospects, and sending cold emails. Instead of waiting for potential customers to come to them, the sales team actively seeks out new leads.
As LaGrowthMachine outlines, outbound sales happen when SDRs contact prospects that fit their Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), but haven't expressed interest in the company's product or service.
It's not just about making more sales - it's about building relationships, understanding customer needs, and delivering high-quality products and services that make a real impact.
This involves sales development representatives (SDRs) making cold calls, using social media to connect with prospects, and sending cold emails. Instead of waiting for potential customers to come to them, the sales team actively seeks out new leads.
As LaGrowthMachine outlines, outbound sales happen when SDRs contact prospects that fit their Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), but haven't expressed interest in the company's product or service.
It's not just about making more sales - it's about building relationships, understanding customer needs, and delivering high-quality products and services that make a real impact.
Outbound SDR - Definition
Outbound SDRs are sales development representatives who proactively reach out to potential customers to generate leads. They are responsible for identifying and qualifying leads, scheduling product demos, and setting appointments for their account executives.
What's the difference between an SDR and an AE? Read on that blog post.
They play a critical role in the sales process, as they are responsible for generating the pipeline that leads to closed deals.
An outbound SDR always knows as much as possible about the prospects and leads they're reaching out to and organizes them through a customer profile. A customer profile describes the target customer the outbound SDR is contacting.
A good example of a customer profile comes from one we have for a client.
The customer is an innovation management platform and works with companies that have at least 500 people. They also have sales conversations with innovation professionals. The higher up they are on the totem pole, the better.
So this company's customer profile looks something like below.
Once the outbound SDR has a customer profile, they reach out to prospects through different sales channels by sending them content, emailing them, and/or calling them. Outbound SDRs also use LinkedIn to connect with prospects and send them direct voice messages looking to book a meeting.
An outbound SDR's job doesn't start and stops at reaching out to prospects one time. An outbound SDR's job stops when the prospect becomes a lead and books a meeting, no matter how many times they reach out to the prospect.
When a prospect becomes a lead by expressing interest and booking a meeting, sometimes the outbound SDR takes the meeting. It depends on the organization of the company making the outbound sales.
Most companies that work with SalesPipe like to take meetings with leads themselves, the outbound SDRs' main job is to make those meetings happen.
What's the difference between an SDR and an AE? Read on that blog post.
They play a critical role in the sales process, as they are responsible for generating the pipeline that leads to closed deals.
An outbound SDR always knows as much as possible about the prospects and leads they're reaching out to and organizes them through a customer profile. A customer profile describes the target customer the outbound SDR is contacting.
A good example of a customer profile comes from one we have for a client.
The customer is an innovation management platform and works with companies that have at least 500 people. They also have sales conversations with innovation professionals. The higher up they are on the totem pole, the better.
So this company's customer profile looks something like below.
- Job Title(s): Chief Innovation Officer; Head of Innovation
- Company Size: 500+ employees
- Location: United States
Once the outbound SDR has a customer profile, they reach out to prospects through different sales channels by sending them content, emailing them, and/or calling them. Outbound SDRs also use LinkedIn to connect with prospects and send them direct voice messages looking to book a meeting.
An outbound SDR's job doesn't start and stops at reaching out to prospects one time. An outbound SDR's job stops when the prospect becomes a lead and books a meeting, no matter how many times they reach out to the prospect.
When a prospect becomes a lead by expressing interest and booking a meeting, sometimes the outbound SDR takes the meeting. It depends on the organization of the company making the outbound sales.
Most companies that work with SalesPipe like to take meetings with leads themselves, the outbound SDRs' main job is to make those meetings happen.
Inbound vs Outbound SDR
What's the difference between inbound and outbound SDRs?
As we already know, outbound SDRs reach out to prospects who did not previously express interest. Yet these prospects make for good customers of whatever the outbound SDR sells them based on their job titles and parameters such as company size or industry.
An inbound SDR, on the other hand, deals with those leads that signed up on the website or otherwise expressed interest.
Anytime someone on your team reaches out to a lead generated by your website, they make inbound sales.
The efficacy of your inbound marketing is not the job of the inbound SDR; that's the job of whoever is running your content marketing. However, content marketing can only go so far if you don't have a good inbound SDR.
The inbound SDR is the one that builds a bridge between a lead coming to your business and making the actual sale. While the outbound SDR is more interested in converting prospects into leads, the inbound SDR is more interested in converting leads into paying customers.
A typical scenario of a successful inbound sale is when someone searches for what you're selling on Google. The prospect finds your website, is impressed by your offerings, and reaches out to you via your contact form.
Then, an inbound SDR will reach out to the prospect who filled out that form and book a conversation with them. Depending on your sales cycle, it can take as little as one month and as long as one year of many conversations for the inbound SDR to make that conversion from lead to paying customer.
As we already know, outbound SDRs reach out to prospects who did not previously express interest. Yet these prospects make for good customers of whatever the outbound SDR sells them based on their job titles and parameters such as company size or industry.
An inbound SDR, on the other hand, deals with those leads that signed up on the website or otherwise expressed interest.
Anytime someone on your team reaches out to a lead generated by your website, they make inbound sales.
The efficacy of your inbound marketing is not the job of the inbound SDR; that's the job of whoever is running your content marketing. However, content marketing can only go so far if you don't have a good inbound SDR.
The inbound SDR is the one that builds a bridge between a lead coming to your business and making the actual sale. While the outbound SDR is more interested in converting prospects into leads, the inbound SDR is more interested in converting leads into paying customers.
A typical scenario of a successful inbound sale is when someone searches for what you're selling on Google. The prospect finds your website, is impressed by your offerings, and reaches out to you via your contact form.
Then, an inbound SDR will reach out to the prospect who filled out that form and book a conversation with them. Depending on your sales cycle, it can take as little as one month and as long as one year of many conversations for the inbound SDR to make that conversion from lead to paying customer.
Should I Hire an Outsourced SDR for Outbound?
When it comes to hiring an outbound Sales Development Representative (SDR), companies have two options: hiring internally or outsourcing.
Hiring internally involves offering the SDR position to an existing team member or a new hire. The company will provide comprehensive training in outbound prospecting, giving the individual time to grow and develop in their role.
On the other hand, outsourcing means bringing in an SDR from another company who will be contracted to work on your account during specific hours per week or month.
While hiring internally offers the benefit of having an internal team member handle outbound sales, the drawbacks can outweigh this advantage.
Internal hires require training, even if they have prior experience as an outbound SDR. It can take months to get them fully onboarded and producing measurable results in terms of sales meetings.
In contrast, an outsourced SDR is already skilled in outbound sales. They work with multiple companies daily, mastering their trade and delivering faster results. Additionally, they do not require extensive onboarding as they have the tools, systems, and software needed to complete the job.
Make the right choice for your startup's success and consider the benefits of an outsourced SDR.
Hiring internally involves offering the SDR position to an existing team member or a new hire. The company will provide comprehensive training in outbound prospecting, giving the individual time to grow and develop in their role.
On the other hand, outsourcing means bringing in an SDR from another company who will be contracted to work on your account during specific hours per week or month.
While hiring internally offers the benefit of having an internal team member handle outbound sales, the drawbacks can outweigh this advantage.
Internal hires require training, even if they have prior experience as an outbound SDR. It can take months to get them fully onboarded and producing measurable results in terms of sales meetings.
In contrast, an outsourced SDR is already skilled in outbound sales. They work with multiple companies daily, mastering their trade and delivering faster results. Additionally, they do not require extensive onboarding as they have the tools, systems, and software needed to complete the job.
Make the right choice for your startup's success and consider the benefits of an outsourced SDR.
Conclusion
Having an outbound SDR is your next step to getting customers who haven't heard of your business before.
Want to work with the best outbound SDR imaginable? Fill out this form and we'll chat with you shortly.
Want to work with the best outbound SDR imaginable? Fill out this form and we'll chat with you shortly.
Post by Noah Levy.