Sales

How to Build an Outbound Prospecting Team

December 21, 2010

A properly executed outbound prospecting effort can add measurable value to an expansion stage company’s sales and marketing strategy.

It can help companies reduce the cost of acquiring customers, while better defining its target segments and the qualification criteria used to determine the time it should invest in certain prospects. If executed properly, outbound prospecting can also benefit both direct and indirect sales channels, allowing your sales team members better understand customer personae, pain points, and buying processes.

So why wouldn’t your company engage in outbound prospecting?

To do it right, you need a dedicated outbound prospecting team that will focus on the multitude of tasks that outbound prospecting involves. The practice may seem simple, but it can be exceptionally difficult to initiate — and that starts with finding and hiring the right people.

I’ve spent a lot of time with OpenView Venture Partners’ portfolio companies in the last year working on doing just that. Several of the expansion stage software companies that the firm invests in are building lead generation services teams. By helping those companies recruit for their outbound teams, I’ve developed a pretty strong sense for the type of candidate that will grow into a successful outbound prospector.

More importantly, I’ve learned the best way to source those types of candidates.

When we conduct a search for a Lead Qualification Specialist, we look for someone who is passionate about building a sales career and has somewhere between one and three years of work experience. That experience doesn’t have to be in a sales-specific role, but we typically look for a candidate that has excelled in a sales-related role. Thinking outside the realm of the typical sales jobs, that may sometimes include candidates with work history as a recruiter or public relations representative.

In a nutshell, a successful outbound prospector must have experience working the phones for a good portion of their day. So, it’s advantageous to find candidates that are comfortable and experienced with that call volume. It’s also important to look for people who understand the importance of lead generation as part of the sales process and are excited by the challenge of the position.

Here are a few of the other qualities I think the best lead qualifiers possess:

  • Previous sales experience. It will be important for the candidate to be comfortable cold calling potential customers and selling them on your company.
  • Solid academic performance as an undergraduate. As with almost any position, this trait displays discipline, intelligence, and overall competence.
  • Passion for building a sales career. Sales can be a tough profession, so you need to be sure you’re hiring people that possess the ability to ride the highs and lows, excelling in what can be a difficult work environment.
  • Displayed leadership in school, work, or extracurricular activities. Again, this goes back to the person’s ability to take charge and manage adverse situations.
  • Exceptional communication skills. With outbound prospecting, your teams will spend much of their time on the phone with new customers or prospects. They must be able to communicate the company’s advantages succinctly and successfully.
  • Positive attitude and persistence. For every lead the candidate will generate, they’ll be turned away by many more prospects. The right attitude, focus, and persistence can be the difference between success and failure.

So, now that you know who you should look for, where do you find them? Sourcing top sales talent can be challenging, but there are plenty of old and new school techniques you can use to successfully build an outbound prospecting team.

  • Post the job description: Make sure to use your own website — along with LinkedIn and Craigslist — to post the job openings. Provide a detailed job description so that you attract the appropriate candidates. Connect with university and college career centers to post the job, too.
  • Use your employees and network to get the word out that you’re hiring. Some of the best lead qualifiers we’ve hired have been referrals, either from OpenView’s own employees, our portfolio companies’ employees, or each of their networks.
  • Use LinkedIn to prospect candidates. Send messages or InMail to people whose profiles meet your qualifications. You have a virtual bank of resumes waiting for you on LinkedIn and it’s a great way to proactively search for top talent. I’ve found several successful outbound prospectors by headhunting.

Assembling an outbound prospecting team and getting it up and running isn’t easy. But if you get the right people, it’s well worth the time you’ll invest in the process. Having a qualified, well-trained team in place can create instant competitive advantage, allowing you to generate warmer leads that are far more likely to result in sales. What business doesn’t want that?

Photo by: Raul Hernandez Gonzalez

VP, Human Capital

<strong>Diana Martz</strong> is Vice President, Human Capital at<a href="http://www.ta.com/">TA Associates</a>. She was previously the Director of Talent at OpenView.