A Small Business Guide to Outbound Sales

What Is Outbound Sales?

Outbound sales is when you proactively reach out to potential customers to generate leads and drive sales. This could be as direct as making a cold call or sending an email or as broad as placing an ad in a local newspaper. The key here is that *you initiate the contact*—you’re reaching out first rather than waiting for customers to find you.

On the flip side, *inbound sales* involves customers coming to you. For example, they might discover your blog on Google or hear about your business from a friend. 

Common Outbound Sales Strategies

Outbound sales can feel overwhelming, especially when resources are tight. But here are a few effective methods you can start with, even on a budget:

1. Cold Calling - Making a phone call to someone who may not know about your business yet.

2. Cold Emails - Sending introductory emails to potential customers with a personalized message about your services.

3. Social Selling - Using social media to reach out and connect directly with prospects.

4. Paid Ads - Affordable ads on social media platforms or search engines can help you reach a specific audience quickly.

5. Traditional Mail - Flyers, postcards, or brochures sent to local customers can make a surprising impact.

Each of these strategies requires different investments in time and resources, but they all share a common goal: *getting your brand in front of potential customers who may not have found you otherwise.*

Balancing Outbound and Inbound Sales

Both outbound and inbound sales have their place in a growth strategy. Outbound sales can quickly deliver measurable results, making it easier to see what’s working and adjust as needed. Inbound sales, meanwhile, typically require more time to establish but can yield steady, organic results.

Outbound Sales Roles

If your business grows enough to build a team, you might consider these common roles:

- BDRs (Business Development Representatives)– Find leads.

- SDRs (Sales Development Representatives) – Make initial contact.

- AEs (Account Executives) – Close the sale.

For now, as a small business owner, you might wear all these hats!

Key Differences Between Outbound and Inbound Sales

The main difference between outbound and inbound sales is *who makes the first move.* Outbound sales involve reaching out to people directly, while inbound sales are more about being discoverable through content like blogs, social media posts, or customer referrals.

5 Proven Outbound Sales Approaches to Reach Customers

1. Cold Calling

Cold calling is dialing potential clients with no prior relationship. This strategy can be effective if you’re targeting a specific local audience or niche, especially if you take the time to personalize your pitch. 

• Lead Collection: Phone numbers are gathered via lead databases or data scraping tools. For instance, Artisan’s lead database has over 300 million contacts with up-to-date phone numbers.

• Workflow:

• Build a lead list that includes phone numbers.

• Ensure the “hygiene” of contact numbers to avoid outdated or incorrect entries.

• Qualify leads to focus on the most promising prospects.

• Reach out using a tool like RingCentral, which supports international calling.

• Effectiveness: Though still viable, cold calling has declined in popularity. Two-thirds of salespeople list it as their least favorite task, largely due to increased resistance from B2B leads.

2. Sending Cold Emails

Cold emails are a low-cost way to reach new leads. To make them more effective, personalize each email by mentioning the recipient’s needs or challenges and following up with a second or third message if there’s no response.

Workflow:

• Build a list of prospects with valid email addresses.

• Verify each email address to ensure deliverability.

• Craft personalized emails, often using automation tools.

• Send initial outreach emails and follow-ups.

• Track open and reply rates, testing different message variations.

Automation with AI: An AI Agent like Flowbot Forge can streamline cold emailing by generating hundreds of unique subject lines and openings. For example, Sammy the Sales Bot

automates personalization and optimizes campaign settings to boost open and response rates.

3. Social Selling

With platforms like LinkedIn or even Facebook, you can reach out directly to potential clients. Start by sharing relevant content, joining groups, and messaging potential customers—just remember to keep it friendly and not overly salesy.

Workflow:

• Build a lead list and select contacts suitable for social outreach.

• Where appropriate, connect with these leads.

• Craft personalized messages to initiate contact via direct messaging.

• Follow up with additional messages as needed.

Omnichannel Strategy: Social selling is often combined with cold emails and calls, creating a well-rounded approach to reach prospects on multiple fronts.

4. Paid Digital Advertising

If you have a small budget, targeted ads on platforms like Facebook or Google can help. Focus on getting the most out of your dollars by starting with a small ad spend and increasing only if you see good results.

Google Search Ads: These are typically inbound-focused, capturing leads already searching for solutions.

Workflow:

• Choose an ad platform (e.g., Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Bing Ads, Taboola, Outbrain).

• Define your audience based on your Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs).

• Develop your ad assets: copy, creatives, and landing pages.

• Run split tests to optimize for higher conversion rates.

5. Traditional Print Media

Don’t underestimate print! Ads in local newspapers or even direct mail can help you stand out, especially in a digital world where physical ads are rare.

While digital dominates, traditional print media (e.g., newspaper ads, direct mail) still achieves high engagement. Print media’s response rate is about 9%, nearly double that of digital ads.

• Common Types of Print Ads:

• Magazine display ads

• Editorials and sponsored articles

• Direct mail (flyers)

• Catalogs and brochures

• Posters and billboards

Experimenting with traditional ads can strengthen your outbound strategy, providing a unique touch that resonates with certain audiences and can deliver strong ROI when executed thoughtfully.