How to Diagnose Your Agency’s Failed Outbound Campaigns. 

A tool you can use to figure out what went wrongand generate predictable business for your marketing agency. 

I’ll start by assuming that if you’re reading this, you’re sold on proactively reaching out to your ideal buyers to win their business (ie. “outbound”).  

source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bison_Roadblock_in_Yellowstone_Natonal_Park.JPG

With outbound, decades of salespeople built empires by knocking on doors, as strangers, and filling previously unknown needs.At Sales Schema, we’ve seen marketing agencies win major engagements with Fortune 500s, international clothing retailers, insurance industry giants, dominant startups, and other dream clients by simply contacting them.Still, the most common objection we hear from new clients is this: “We tried outbound and it didn’t work for us.”When we ask, “Why didn’t it work?”, they rarely know for sure.A lackluster campaign is a bummer, but a costly and murky failure is a tragedy.   From our experience running dozens of campaigns, we know that while trial and error is required, failure is usually tied to specific and avoidable roadblocks.By the end of this diagnostic, you’ll know how to avoid these roadblocks so you can generate predictable business.

The Outbound Diagnostic

REMEMBER: This is a flowchart. Do not go to a subsequent step until you’re sure you’re squared away on the previous one.

Part 1 of 4 

Are your emails being seen?

​

Most agency salespeople think their problems are with their offer, and then I ask them one simple question: Are you sure your emails are even being seen?   As it turns out, the most common non-starter is when perfectly good offers are sent to ideal prospects only to bounce back, or worse, end up in the void of the spam box. If you want to avoid wasting a ton of time an energy on creating offer that goes unseen, then keep reading… 

​

Did you set up an alternate or ‘vanity’ email address?

If you’re ACME.com you would send emails from ACME.co. This avoids any possibility for negative deliverability impact on your main domain should you screw up and get flagged by mail providers like Google or Outlook.

“Oh no… am I a SPAMMER? Will I have to move to a mafia hideout on the outskirts of Odessa?”

While we don’t know the exact algorithms or internal policies of email providers like Google our Outlook, it’s clear that most anti-spam measures are built with mass spammers in mind (ie. the Nigerian princes of the world), and that’s probably not you.While your emails won’t be fully customized love letters, they will be ultra-targeted and sent in relatively small batches of 150-400 per week. After all, you’re selling a high-end B2B service that’s not for everyone.  Essentially you’ll be walking the tightrope between customization and scale, and that’s not SPAM to the powers that be, assuming you comply with the regulations and best practices covered here.

Have you already been flagged?

Use Mail Tester to find out.  You can start with a quick and dirty test by simply sending your offer to yourself or a colleague’s address and seeing where it goes. 

Did you let your new email address “warm up”?

Sending a ton of messages from the jump looks sketchy to mail providers. If you create a new domain and address, let it warm up by sending no more than 50 emails per day for the first few days of your campaign.

Are you sending to non-existent addresses?

You or your list builders might be pulling bad addresses, and you’ll find out after you see a high instance of bounce backs ie. 10%+. Avoid this problem by testing deliverability before you launch a campaign, and by double checking your list builder’s work.

Are you using the right software?

There are many ideal options for outbound, like Quickmail, MailShake, or Growbots, just make sure you’re NOT using a platform intended for newsletters, like Mailchimp or Constant Contact. Newsletter platforms are not intended for outbound, and they will penalize or suspend you if they think you’re sending emails to cold prospects.

Did you set up deliverability protocols?

In a nutshell, protocols tell mail providers that you’re legit. DKIM and SPF are the most important.  

Are you complying with CAN-SPAM laws (USA) or your local regulations?

Thankfully the rules are straightforward and easy to comply with.  In a nutshell, be clear with your offer, don’t be deceptive, tell recipients how to opt out and honor request promptly, and include a valid business address in your signature. 

Are there spammy words in your offer?

The most common offenders are those involving “money”.  Full list here.

Are there too many links in your offer?

Links are like pitstops in your Nascar race – they’re sometimes necessary, but use them sparingly.  At scale, links add a lot of weight to your message. When you use links, put them after the first message of your cadence because if you get a ton of bounce backs to a bad batch of new addresses, mail providers may associate that link as sketchy in the future.  For your opt-out method, I recommend a short line at the end of your message asking prospects to reply, instead of an opt-out link.

More importantly, your goal and call to action will be getting agreement to a sales conversation.  Your link is a means to an end.  You might send your prospects to case study, an ROI calculator, or some other material that reduces the risk of speaking to you, but you don’t want them drifting off to your site for no reason (more on that later). 

Is your email copy stagnant?

Using the same copy for too long looks weird to email providers, so be sure to use synonyms and switch things up every few months. Don’t worry, this will happen organically as you test your offer (more on that later). 

Are your emails scheduled correctly?

Sales gurus devote way too much attention to email scheduling. Yes, sending time matters, but what’s more important is that you’re available to quickly follow up with warm leads when they come in. Make the leads fit your sales schedule instead of the other way around. Assuming you’re sending emails during conventional office hours, schedule them one hour or less before before you’re free to get on the phone.  As long as responsiveness is your first consideration, ideal delivery times vary by vertical and position, but most hover between 8 AM and 2 PM. Try this tool from GrowBots to optimize sending times.

For subsequent messages in your cadence, mix the times up, that way you’ll enjoy a greater likelihood of reaching your prospects at their varied email checking schedules, given that each previous message failed to get a response.  For example, you might send email #1 at 8 AM, email #2 at 11 AM, and email #3 at 3 PM.  

Part 2 of 4 

Are you contacting the right people?

Once you’ve ironed out the technical details, and you know your emails are being seen, it’s time to finetune your microscope to zoom in on the right buyers.It will be tempting to agonize over your offer, but not so fast: even the most persuasive, Frank Kern copy will air ball into the gutter if you’re going after the wrong people. Mis-targeting typically manifests as low open rates (though not as low as when you’re facing deliverability issues), low response rates, or overwhelmingly negative responses.  This part of the diagnostic will ensure you contact the right people so that your offer will stick.

Are you pursuing an unfamiliar group?

If so, you’ll be hazy on relevant titles, verticals, needs, decision making processes, and everything else. Unless you’re starting completely fresh, focus on a buyer group you know like the back of your hand.

Are you going after the right seniorities?

I’m often asked about which seniorities to target, and it depends on your situation. Sometimes it’s better to go after decision makers, other times influencers or recommenders, or a combination of both.  All things being equal, it’s better to aim for the boss and get deferred down the line because you’ll enter with validation.  Not sure who to pursue? Try different seniority levels and see what works. Better yet, let multiple parties know you’ve contacted their peers, and ask to be connected with the right person.

Are you pursuing white whales when you could start by picking low-hanging fruit?

Your low hanging fruit will depend on your company – a hot vertical for a branding agency might be a uphill slog for an out-of-home agency. That said, old school, traditional, and hierarchical verticals are usually difficult to reach, so avoid hospitals, government, and public universities whenever possible.  The sweet spot for responsiveness and budget lies with companies at 50-500 employees.  While Fortune 1000s are eminently reachable as well, the scale of responses and leads will be lower.  As usual, there’s a direct correlation between work and potential reward. 

Are your prospects’ job titles inconsistent?

Title inconsistency is especially common in large organizations. The person who manages the company Facebook page might be “social media strategist” in one organization, and “senior brand manager” in another. To avoid this problem, you might ask your list builders to cast a wider net.  For the Facebook page manager example, you might look for anyone who matches a boolean phrase like this one: (senior OR chief AND (branding” OR marketing OR social)). 

Are you pursuing too many verticals at once?

In addition to metrics like open and reply rates, you must also understand the qualitative thrust your prospects responses, especially when your campaign is in infancy. If you’re going after to too many groups at once, this undertaking will be like juggling hammers while rubbing your stomach.   Don’t muddy the waters: start with just two verticals so you can develop a deep understanding of your campaign’s impact.

Are you facing negative seasonality?

Are your prospects on vacation, have they already spent their budget for the year, or do you sell a highly-seasonal product or service? If so, re-schedule your campaign or consider new verticals.  Word of caution: avoid seasonality-related excuses unless you’re sure seasonality is a non-starter. While summer vacations and holidays might bring a dip, you can still generate plenty of leads. 

Part 3 of 4 

Is your offer compelling enough to get a ‘first date’?

    When your offer is lacking, you’ll see the usual drops in opens, response, and leads, but in addition, you may see some combination of confusion, negativity, and dismissiveness.  Here are common responses that indicate offer-related roadblocks: “Thanks, but we have this covered with another provider.”   “We take care of this in-house.” “Sorry, we just re-built our website, but we’ll keep you in mind in the future.” “We don’t need public relations help right now.” (when you’re selling a content creation service, say). At this stage it’s tempting to unleash your inner neurotic writer by obsessing over your offer. Be cool: if you’re contacting the right people, and you include the vital ingredients in your copy, your campaign will go at least moderately well.If you’re confident that the earlier boxes are checked, it’s time to bulk up your offer so you tip more prospects over the edge and start closing deals.  

​

Are you changing your offer before you have enough data?

Assuming your deliverability and targeting is ok, you should have at least 200 prospects loaded into your email cadences before making major changes to your copy.  

Does your opener make your prospect keep reading?

There are infinite ways to open your message, but there are four principles to adhere to if you want your prospect to keep reading.  1. ClarityKeep in mind that the inbox is a noisy and competitive space, and tolerance for confusion is very low.  Tell your prospect why you’re reaching out and how you found them in an efficient way. 2. Casualness Your tone should be more casual than what you would use in your newsletter or elsewhere in Marketingland.  As a rule of thumb, if you wouldn’t say it to an acquaintance you’re reconnecting with after a networking event, don’t say it here.3. Honesty Given the volume of received email, most of us have ironclad inbox bullshit detectors.  If you don’t know your recipient in any way, don’t imply otherwise.  That said, there’s no reason to be apologetic or supplicatory.  4. Authority How can you imply, without being pompous, that you are someone worth listening to?  This often means referring to the attributes that lead the prospect to your shortlist: maybe work they’ve done in the past, software they’re using, or a common problem you observe.  

Are your intentions muddled or unclear?

Make a simple and clear request at the end, and avoid asking your prospect to do a variety of things. Muddled offers ask readers to click here, go there, watch a webinar, give feedback, or do nothing (like the below example).  

Here is a typical muddled email (if you’re skimming, don’t do this). 

Although there are some exceptions where you might ask old unresponsive prospects to click through to helpful content, for our purposes, just ask for a conversation.

Is your call to action a pain to complete?

Digging deeper, it matters how you ask.  A call request can resonate like a walk in the park, or a chemistry exam, depending on your wording. Examples… High commitment: Please let me know a couple of times that work for a meeting.“Meeting” = long and strenuous sale pitch.“Please let me know a couple times…” = too much work.Better: What does your calendar look like for a quick call next week?

Is your offer legible?

“No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public” – HL MenckenThis quote from the Sage of Baltimore is an exaggeration, but it’s true in spirit. Unless you’re confident your buyers will understand your jargon, cut it out.  If you run Facebook ads and help hospitality organizations win more customers and increase revenues by 30% each year, don’t say you have a “Strategic programatic agency that leverages social, mobile, local, and unique customer experiences, using a proprietary technology platform invented in a creative mind meld between Madison Avenue and Silicon Valley, grounded in a collective 100 years of experience.”  You’re burying the lead in crap.  

Is your offer solving the right problem?

Your offer must strike a significant pain point or need for your prospect. Often I see agencies trying to solve problems no one asked them to solve, so their words fall on deaf ears.Solving problems no one asked you to solve…AGENCY: “We help you create a cleaner, more impactful brand message. We have a collective 30 years of experience, and provide exceptional client service.”PROSPECT: “I want more customers and revenue, not branding, so no thanks. Also, everyone has experience and claims to provide great service.”VS.Solving problems your buyers want solved…AGENCY: “We have a system for measuring social media impact over time so you can understand what effect each channel is having on your bottom line, double down on what’s working, and reduce underperforming channels. We specialize in hotels, so we know what what actually fills beds, and we’ve helped clients increase revenues by up to 30% in one year. Our clients include A, B, and C.”PROSPECT: “Interesting… let’s chat.”

Is your offer perceived as commoditized or undifferentiated?

Does your service read as something that’s in abundance and easily obtainable? Does your buyer think she can acquire what you offer from competitors fighting tooth and nail for her business?  If this is  you, rework your value proposition so it’s not perceived as commoditized. Here’s the commodity trap to avoid…AGENCY: “We provide restaurant groups with superb social media management services, informed by more than 10 years of experience with high-end clients.PROSPECT: “Great, get in line.” VS.A differentiated offer that gets tons of first dates…AGENCY: “We’re the only Facebook management agency that works exclusively with NYC restaurants.”PROSPECT: “Interesting… let’s chat.”

​

Are you speaking their language?

Are you using words your buyer would never use, which demonstrate your ignorance? Example: My buddy Nate runs AdmitScout, which helps rehab clinics get more admits by way of paid search advertising. If he said “patients” they’d know he was an outsider, since the the usual parlance is “admit”.  What industry-specific words can you pepper into your offer?

Are you being overly-sensitive about unsubscribes and rejection?

Even in the most wildly successful campaigns, unsubscribes are the most common responses. Lengthy negative responses are quite rare, and seldom constitute meaningful data, yet as humans, we’re easily swayed by such outliers. Until you’re confident you’re observing a trend, don’t overcorrect in the face of unsubscribes and occasional annoyance.

Are you being attentive to cultural sensitivities?

What works for prospects in midtown Manhattan might not work as well for prospects in New Orleans, Sweden, or Australia. You might not necessarily run dozens of geographic campaigns, but if localities are part of your overall strategy, take a ‘when in Rome’ approach, and make sure your message is congruent with local customs and formalities.

After a number of conversations, are your leads consistently a bad fit for your services?

If so, revisit the earlier steps in the Targeting and Offer sections. If price is a consistent non-starter, consider pursuing larger companies, but keep in mind that their problems may differ from what you know. Same goes for industry and positional changes. Like most new strategies, outbound campaigns start with experimentation, but the good news is that this channel will let you gather data faster and cheaper than most others.

Are you working with a ‘plug and play’ lead generation company?

By ‘plug and play’ I refer to lower-end lead generation companies that ask you to fill out a form about your clients and service.  From there, they might use a canned template, or ask you to create one yourself, and then they blast it out to a list.  They often promise a ‘performance guarantee’ of a certain number of leads per month, but these ‘leads’ can be of dubious quality, and often waste your time.  As a result, agencies spin their wheels reworking lists and email cadences without a real understanding of how their market is responding. The plug and play company gladly defers the hard work to the agency, acting as a glorified email broadcasting service.The alternative to a plug and play company is a hands-on partner that will peel back your agency’s onion layers, figure out where your value lives and to whom it is most compelling. From there, this partner will create a feedback loop that A) optimizes campaigns to increase lead quality so you can actually close business, and B) keeps you accountable for moving your sales process forward. Here’s one we recommend 😉

Part 4 of 4 

How effectively are you moving your sales process forward?

One of the biggest problems we face is when we generate ideal leads for our clients and then they can’t close them.Closing outbound leads requires getting your process ironed out.  Although sales teaching encompasses at least a century worth of books  and resources, within you’ll find questions to ask yourself to ensure you’re ready to make this strategy pay off. If you don’t want to put time, money and energy into generating leads from your email campaigns and have it all go to waste because you can’t close, then read on…

Are you setting aside time and being consistent with sales?

Sales is like working out: you can’t just do it in sporadic bursts or you will backslide into flabbiness and fatigue. You and your team should be setting aside time everyday to carry out revenue-generating activities.

Do you know your numbers? 

Use a “back of the napkin” approach here, as it’s tempting to go down a metrics rabbit hole, and over-speculate.  Answer these questions with your best guesses based on your experience. 

1. How many new clients do you need in the next 6 months?

2. How many proposals must you create to win a client?

3. How many sales conversations (leads) must you have to create a proposal?

4. How many emails must you send to get a lead? (aim for 1-5% lead rates, conservatively)

Are you being persistent enough to get the first conversation?

Marketing leaders at successful companies are busy, just like you are. They don’t converse with strangers who trickle into their inboxes for no reason. If they show interest, it’s coming from a place of genuine pain or neediness. But they’re busy, and they will flake and sandbag.  Ultimately, they will welcome a conversation with you, but it may requiring phoning them and sending follow up emails until you break through the noise.

Do you have a living sales process?

In The Challenger Sale, a commanding amount of research demonstrates that the most successful salespeople teach, tailor, and take control. Teaching builds authority, tailoring demonstrates that your service will work for your prospect, and taking control acquires the commitments you need to move your process forward.Most agency salespeople, on the other hand, conduct a pleasant conversation, get enough information to create and submit a proposal, and then they waive goodbye to their prospects. Agencies spin their wheels on prospects who are neither understood nor persuaded.To start constructing your sales process, answer these questions: What will you teach? How will you tailor the information? How will you take control?

Are you emotionally disciplined?

It’s relatively easy to keep emotional distance when you’re tracking open and click rates on a digital dashboard.   Sales involves real humans having one-on-one conversations with each other, which makes emotional distance an act of continuous discipline.  It will be challenging to remain unswayed when prospects tell you that your service is too expensive, or on the other hand, when you receive gushing compliments and closed business.  If you want to apply the right lessons from enough sales calls, you must become a calm, Terminator-esque robot.  Remember that outcomes are largely out of your control, but you have dominion over two major factors: 1) To whom you speak. 2) How you conduct yourself.  To make the Terminator metamorphosis easier, keep your KPIs in front of you at all times, and keep them simple (ie. “I need X discovery calls, to generate Y proposals, to win Z closed deals).”  That way, whether a call goes well, mediocre, or badly, you’re reminded that each is fueling closed business.  

Are you re-engaging old leads?

Marketing buying cycles are long. They’re measured in weeks, months, and even years. While it’s tempting to view any new strategy as a fast cash, Hail Mary play, it’s more valuable to see your sales pipeline as a long term portfolio of assets. Every outbound lead you generate is a new addition to your portfolio. The assets may take time to pay off, and many never will, but the ones that do pay out big.There are many re-engagement tactics in the sales and marketing blogosphere, more than we can cover in detail here, but most involve reconnecting with previous leads after 90 days or so (but this can vary depending on your sales cycle). You might send prospects helpful content, or update them on the exciting results other clients are experiencing. You might make changes (even minor) to your service that warrant calling them up and letting them know.Use the journalist heuristic: what’s newsworthy to your prospects? A move to a new office building or a new addition, common newsletter tropes: not so much. An important change to your offer: possibly.

Is your campaign still facing roadblocks?

Let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to help out!