10 Outbound SDR Tips From Your Fave Sales Influencers (+ Epic Bonus)

Outbound SDRs (or BDRs, or sales reps) are the unsung heroes of the sales world, tirelessly working to fill the pipeline and bring in new business. 

But let's face it, being an outbound SDR can be a lot like trying to catch fish in the middle of the ocean with nothing but a toothpick. 

It's tough, it's frustrating, and sometimes you just want to throw in the towel. 

We understand the struggle. We see you. And we’re here for you.

To give you a boost, we’ve rounded up some of the best tips and advice from popular sales leaders that will help you reel in those big fish and make your outbound efforts way more effective.

Which popular sales leaders, you ask?

We’re talkin’ influencers like Belal Betrawy, Jason Bay, Jen Allen, Will Allen, Nick Cegelski, Florin Tatulea, and Callum Beecroft.

Oh, and we kept this short and sweet, without any fluff, so you don’t have to scroll endlessly to unearth the tips like an archeologist on a mission.

10 Outbound SDR Tips From Your Fave Sales Influencers

Tip #1: Write CTAs that focus on starting a conversation

Most CTAs are focused on driving some kind of conversion. Instead, focus on starting a conversation. 

CTA examples:

• Are you already using a technology like ours?
• Is this something that's a priority right now?
• If I can make this easy, would this become a priority for you?

Those types of questions are much more engaging.

This tip is from our interview with Will Allred, Co-Founder of Lavender. Full interview 👇

Tip #2: Always use relevance to boost email engagement

Always use relevance in your outreach. 

Here’s a great way to learn more about the prospect & company:

• Type the company’s name you’re chasing on Google
• Then add a + sign
• Then write the CEO’s name
• Then add another + sign
• Then write either “podcast” or the word “interview”

Skim through the podcasts and interviews and grab relevant info. 

Then, when you’re about to draft your email, include the CEO’s name and a comment based on your research in the subject line, and then get right into it in the opening lines of the email.

This tip is from our interview with Jen Allen-Knuth, Community Growth at Lavender. Full interview 👇

Ps. If you want to take sales engagement one step further, try Mixmax’s unique email enhancements like in-email polls and surveys that boost reply rates. Free trial this way >>

Tip #3: Learn how to use AI for outbound prospecting ASAP

SDRs should learn how to prompt AI for prospecting because it will be a highly valuable skill in the coming years. It’s also a skill SDR leaders will probably start asking about during interviews. 

For example, learning how to use ChatGPT to summarize a relevant article that you can then use in your outreach will help SDRs save time and become more efficient.

(More on ChatGPT for prospecting down here).

This tip is from our interview with Belal Batrawy, Founder of Death to Fluff. Full interview 👇

Tip #4: Avoid trying to sell at all costs

Outbound is not about looking for people to sell your solution to and get sales calls with. 

So when you're prospecting, don't look for people to sell your stuff to; look for where there is alignment in priorities and problems that your solution can ultimately help with.

And if the shoe doesn’t fit, don’t force it.

This tip is from our interview with Jason Bay, Founder & CEO of Outbound Squad. Full interview 👇

Tip #5: Don’t waste your opening line

Don't waste your opening sentence on non-valuable content. 

Avoid saying things like, "Hi, my name is X and I work at Y company. I hope you are well." 

Just get right into it and be concise.

Reply rates are higher when emails are very short. Try keeping them to about 50 words if possible.

This tip is from our interview with Florin Tatulea, Director of Sales at Barley. Full interview 👇

Tip #6: Map out the different stages of your cold call

Map out the different stages of your cold call with the mic drop method (permission, problem, provoke, promise). 

Think about how the first 5 seconds buys you the next 15-20 seconds, then think about what you're going to say in those 15-20 seconds that will buy you the next 1-3 minutes, and then how you'll close the call if the prospect is actually interested. 

Breakdown of your cold call map:

• First 5 seconds
• Next 15-20 seconds
• Next 1-3 minutes
• Closing

Based on those chunks, you can create a sheet and mark exactly where/when you lose your prospects. 

When exactly do people object? When do they hang up? 

And once you figure that out, you can work on that specific segment to improve your next call.

This is another tip from our interview with Belal Batrawy. Full interview snippet above.

Tip #7: Use the cutoff method when leaving a voicemail

Use a voicemail cutoff whereby you hang up mid-sentence. 

For example, "Hey, this is [Name], the reason for the call is I was speaking to a colleague of mine the other day–." 

And that’s it. Hang up.

This will pique their curiosity, and once they call back, it's harder for them to hang up on you because they are the ones who initiated the call.

This has helped Callum Beecroft, Founder of The Phonejacker, get 20-30% callbacks. Full interview 👇

Tip #8: Collaborate with customer success

You should never win a deal alone, and you should never lose a deal alone. 

Loop in the CS team early on in the buying journey to show your prospect what implementation will look like. When CS is willing to help you, you're going to have a way better selling experience, and you'll actually win more business.

This tip is from our interview with Nick Cegelski, Founder of 30 Minutes to President’s Club. Full interview👇

Tip #9: Make valuable use of your prospect’s time

When your meeting with the prospect starts, go over your agenda and mention that you want to carve out 5 minutes at the end of the meeting to discuss the next steps. 

This helps prospects understand what to expect from the meeting, and what to expect in terms of follow-up afterward.

For example, you can say:

“I’ve got us covered for A, B, and C today. Is there anything else that you really want to make sure we cover or address in today’s meeting?”

And then.

“Great, and given that we have a stop at [time], are you cool if we end five minutes early to talk about where we might go from here?”

This tip is also from our interview with Nick Cegelski (mentioned in tip #8). Full interview snippet 👇

Tip #10: Don’t put yourself down

It's becoming a lot harder to sell in this market, and it's not necessarily you. 

But if you can sell through this type of economy and environment by focusing on value, you're going to be doing really well when things get back to a better state.

Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s not you… it’s the market.

Another tip from our interview with Florin Tatulea (see above 👆).

Bonus tip #11: Use ChatGPT for prospecting

This tip isn’t from one of our interviews, but it’s from the Founder and CEO of SalesLabs, Thibaut Souyris. 

And it’s EPIC.

Borrowed straight from his LinkedIn post:

If sales engagement’s your goal, Mixmax is your ultimate wing(wo)man

We hope these outbound SDR tips from top sales influencers have been helpful for you.

Prospecting can be tough, but with the right strategies, it doesn’t have to be. 

Whether it's personalizing your outreach, leveraging AI, or creating a strong value proposition, there are many ways to improve your outbound game. And if you're looking for a little extra help, consider using Mixmax's sales engagement solution to engage prospects and book more meetings. 

We've got email enhancements that are proven to increase reply rates. Things like in-email polls, surveys, one-click meetings, link previews, GIFs…

If you want to test these Gmail enhancements, sign up for a free trial.