STOP doing cold outreach until you read this

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Today, we're diving deep into the core of successful cold outreach - researching prospects.

And instead of just giving you a list of steps, we're going to walk you through a real-world example.

By the end, you'll have a step-by-step guide that you can immediately apply to your own outreach strategy.

Step 1: Identify Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

The first step in researching your prospects is to define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).

This is the type of company that's most likely to need your service and be willing to pay for it.

Think about:

• Their industry (e.g., finance, tech)

• Size (e.g., number of employees, annual revenue)

• Location (e.g., headquartered in the US)

Here's an example:

Let's say our team at Cleverly (a B2B lead generation service) wants to target small to medium-sized businesses in the US-based IT technology sector with 20-50 employees...

Step 2: Use LinkedIn To Find Prospects

LinkedIn is a goldmine for B2B services.

With your ICP in hand, you can use LinkedIn's search feature to find companies or people that fit your profile.

We do some quick research and find the perfect customer on Linkedin Sale navigator:

John.

We found John by filtering for "Founders" in "IT Consultancy" companies in the US.

He's the founder of a mid-sized IT consultancy.

Let's dig deeper.

Step 3: Study Their Linkedin Profile

Once you've found a prospect, study their profile.

Look at their:

• Role

• Achievements.

• Responsibilities

The more you understand them, the better you can tailor your outreach message.

If you spot, for example, that their company just won an award, mention that when you reach out.

With John, you see that he started his business five years ago and it has grown steadily.

After clicking to his company page, we noticed he is currently hiring in the marketing department, indicating that they are looking to scale their client base.

Bingo.

Step 4: Understand Their Pain Points

To persuade someone you can help them, you need to show you understand their problems.

Look for clues in their company updates, posts, or articles.

Maybe they're struggling to manage remote workers, and you can pitch your remote team management software as a solution.

For instance…

John shared a post about the challenges of finding new clients in a saturated market, which is a significant clue to his main pain point - client acquisition.

His consultancy needs to find fresh ways to stand out and attract more clients.

Step 5: Explore Their Network

Your prospect's network can give you valuable insight into their business interests and needs.

• Who are they connected to?

• Who have they endorsed?

• What groups do they belong to?

John knows other people who work in IT and help clients or sell products.

He is also part of groups for IT and likes posts about getting more customers.

You could use a post that he commented on as a talking point at the start of the conversation.

Step 6: Research Their Company

Move on to researching the company.

Visit their website, read their blog, and familiarize yourself with their products or services.

Understand what they're about, their culture, and their values.

When you visit John's company website, you see a long history of great case studies.

They have collaborated with some major players in their industry.

This is undoubtedly an accomplishment that John can be proud of.

Mentioning a relevant achievement is always an effective way to increase the response rate, as it taps into their ego.

Step 7: Prepare Your Outreach Message

Now that you have all this information, you're ready to write your outreach message.

1. Make it personal

2. Show that you've done your research

3. Clearly articulate how your service can solve their problems

With all this information about John, you can write a personalized message:

With this approach, you've shown you understand his business and its challenges, and proposed a potential solution, increasing the likelihood of John engaging in conversation.

Final Thoughts

This 7-step process, combined with the real-world example, should give you a good foundation for researching your prospects before reaching out to them.

Remember, effective cold outreach begins with understanding your prospects and tailoring your message to their needs.

That's the key to booking more sales calls and driving revenue.

Happy prospecting!

See you next week!

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