Tips for Building a High-Performing Outbound Team

Month 1 of building our outbound system from scratch. Here's the game plan. I built a bunch of outbound systems (one took ARR from $1M→$14M in 2 years) But back then, the tech was clunky. No Clay, no AI, no smooth workflows. Now, the outbound game is the same. But we are playing with better gear. My goal - use it wisely. It’s easy to chase tools and never ship. Tool FOMO is a great procrastination hack. So instead, let's start with foundations: Rule #1: Lead list quality > everything Every lead must pass the 3Qs filter: Why now (evidence they’re buying), Why them (ICP + ACV match) and Why you (unique fit). I'm using multiple intent tools and Clay to score and prioritise accounts with real buying energy, not just a job title. Rule #2: Match ACV to effort High ACV → LinkedIn + calls + email + manual Mid/Low ACV → email-first at scale Outbound isn’t blasting; it’s matching effort to potential return. Now, volume vs quality? If you have huge TAM + lots of competitors + many low-ACV leads: Don’t ignore them while you romance your top 50; time passes, intent cools, a competitor wins. Tiny TAM: Do the deep work on every account - you don’t have the luxury to burn them. Rule #3: Structure lists for campaigns (not the other way around) Group by buying signal/source for relevance at scale, by ICP lane (Sales Teams vs Agencies) for tailored value props, by (warm vs cold) for easy personalization hooks, and by role (champion vs DM) for outcome-specific copy. Good list segmentation, easy campaign creation. Rule #4: Build the ladder: low-hanging → warm → cold Re-engage trials/churned with intent, then warm engagers (events, followers, visitors), then cold ICP with triggers. Sequence the work so you earn quick wins and learn fast. Rule #5: Triggers beat calendars Replace “Day 3 follow-up” with “Signal happened → Play A.” Rule #6: AI assists, humans approve Let AI do the research and draft the openers (1–2 factual lines). You tighten the hypothesis and CTA. Personalization/relevance is proof, not poetry - don't spend hours crafting it. Rule #7: Deliverability and automation Great copy is useless if it never lands. Use Smartlead or Instantly.ai for emails, and take deliverability seriously. Automate the followups on all channels - no, you will not remember to followup with that LinkedIn convo. Don't lie to yourself. (this should also be a rule) Use HeyReach.io to get that LinkedIn game under control and track it. Rule #8: Experiment like an adult One variable at a time. Weekly loops. Measure reply% → positive% → meetings → cost/meeting by segment/source. Scale winners, retire losers fast. Rule #9: Ops-first instrumentation Every LI + email touch writes to CRM. Dashboards by segment × source × channel × ACV. Keep tools in sync (no stale lists). Rule #10: Document EVERYTHING. And that’s a wrap. Next post: our first low-hanging fruit campaign setup. I’ll share the build in public, follow along. Now, execution mode. 😵💫

61% of outbound programs fail in the first 6 months. Not because outbound is dead. But because execution is broken. I’ve worked with 260+ B2B companies on outbound strategy and I see the same 5 mistakes every single time. Fix these, and you unlock a repeatable pipeline engine.👇 🔻 1. Scaling Before Testing 📉 According to Salesloft, teams that skip A/B testing see 47% lower reply rates. The mistake? → They go straight to 10,000 cold messages → With unvalidated copy, no ICP clarity, and zero feedback loop Fix: ✅ Start with micro-tests (20–50 messages per variation) ✅ Optimize subject lines, CTAs, and targeting before scaling ✅ Build 2–3 outbound “plays” and iterate 🔻 2. No Prospect Feedback Loop 💬 Gong’s research shows that teams who regularly review call data close 30% more deals. The mistake? → SDRs hear objections daily, but no one captures insights → Marketing builds messaging in a vacuum → Sales keeps guessing what works Fix: ✅ Weekly call reviews with sales + marketing ✅ Tag and track common objections, interests, and language ✅ Feed it into your outbound copy & offer strategy 🔻 3. No Segmentation 🎯 Outreach.io found that campaigns with segmented targeting generate 2.4x higher conversion rates. The mistake? → All leads get the same sequence → No difference between SMB vs. Enterprise, CTO vs. Ops Lead Fix: ✅ Define 2–3 primary personas ✅ Align messaging to pain points per segment ✅ Prioritize by deal size, intent signals, and buying committee role 🔻 4. Underestimating the Skill Stack 🧠 McKinsey reports that successful sales teams specialize across roles, increasing win rates by 20–30%. The mistake? → One junior BDR handles strategy, copy, tools, targeting, analytics, and closing → Burnout + poor results Fix: ✅ Separate strategy from execution ✅ Provide training + playbooks ✅ Use tools to augment—not overwhelm—your reps 🔻 5. No Real Ownership 💸 60% of companies treat outbound as an “experiment” with no budget, plan, or owner—according to Pavilion. The mistake? → It becomes a side project → No timeline, no accountability → Results stall, and leadership pulls the plug Fix: ✅ Give outbound its own budget and KPIs ✅ Assign ownership (RevOps, Sales Lead, or a dedicated SDR team) ✅ Review weekly, iterate monthly Takeaway: Outbound works. But only when built like a real channel. Most teams quit before they’ve even validated. 📌 Treat outbound like a product: — Test it — Measure it — Own it — Optimize it Make outbound your unfair advantage—not your forgotten experiment. Want the visual breakdown of this? DM me “Send” below and I’ll share the 5-step outbound execution map I use with every client. #OutboundSales #B2B #GTM #RevOps #SalesLeadership #Execution #DemandGen #SalesStrategy #StartupGrowth #ColdOutbound #PipelineGrowth

The journey of building an outbound Mid Market / Enterprise BDR team from scratch demands patience and strategic planning. At Envoy I've undertaken this challenge for the third time in my career; refining my approach along the way. Here are my key insights and recommendations: 1) Establish clear and achievable expectations for both your team and leadership regarding the timeline to reach consistent quota attainment. Typically, for a new Enterprise BDR team, this milestone occurs around the 6-month mark. 2) Develop a comprehensive onboarding program that encompasses product knowledge, Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) training, utilization of outreach tools, and honing role-specific skills like cold calling and objection handling. 3) On that note, the right tech stack and tools are indispensable for empowering your BDRs to excel. Ensuring these resources are in place is crucial for their success. 4) Implement scalable and repeatable processes to streamline operations and enhance efficiency - and make sure you coach the reps on these processes, over and over and over again. It takes on average hearing something 7 times for it to stick in a person's mind. 5) Prioritize training sessions that educate your representatives on effective time management, task prioritization, and maximizing tool utilization. Given the diverse demands BDRs face, equipping them with these skills is critical. 6) Recognize the significance of motivation and acknowledgment, especially during the ramp-up phase when not all team members may immediately meet quota expectations. Engaging in team-building activities such as dinners, social gatherings, and collaborative initiatives can significantly boost team morale and cohesion. 7) Feedback loop with AE Org: Schedule bi-weekly or monthly feedback sessions between BDRs and AEs to review lead quality and refine targeting or messaging as needed. 8) Data-Driven Adjustments: Regularly analyze performance data to see what’s working and where you can make improvements. Adjust playbooks, messaging, and ICPs based on what the data shows. #salesdevelopment #enterpriseoutbound #bdrorg #rebuilidingteams

It took me 3 years to learn these 10 LESSONS as a FOUNDER. 1// Pick one niche and go all in. When you try to serve everyone, your message gets lost. But when you focus on one industry, one type of client, and one offer, it becomes easier to stand out and get results. 2// Create one offer that solves a clear problem. Don’t just say you help with lead generation, show the outcome like “we help B2B agencies book qualified sales meetings.” The clearer the result, the faster people buy. 3// Build a simple outbound system that runs on autopilot. Identify your ideal clients, find them online, write personal messages that sound human, and let automation handle the rest. 4// Focus on sending fewer but higher-quality emails. One well-written, relevant message will always beat 1000 generic ones. Relevance is what gets replies, not volume. 5// Share what you’re learning. People trust real experiences more than polished pitches. Post about what’s working in your campaigns and what you’ve learned helping clients win more meetings. 6// Build a repeatable sales process. Every step from first message to closed deal should have a system. When you can repeat success, growth becomes predictable. 7// Use tools to save time but never lose the human touch. Automate lead sourcing and follow-ups, but always keep personalization in your messaging. That’s where the magic happens. 8// Track only the numbers that matter. Meetings booked, replies received, and deals closed. Don’t waste energy looking at how many emails you sent. Focus on what brings money in. 9// Hire smart, delegate fast, and train people to own the process. Your agency grows faster when your team knows how to run things without you micromanaging every move. 10// Stay patient and consistent. Outbound isn’t about instant wins. It’s about building a system that compounds over time and keeps your calendar full month after month.

Common outbound advice: "Start at the C-suite and work your way down." Is this approach not working for you? Try this instead: Find gatekeepers holding the keys to non-obvious entry points in the account Sure, we'd all love to start sales cycles at the very top. But most executives get hundreds of emails every day. They have assistants helping manage their inboxes. If you're trying to land a meeting with an exec through a cold email, good luck. I'm not saying it doesn't happen. It's just a very low-percentage play. You're better off targeting a prospect or team specializing in solving the problem your solution helps with. These prospects are great because: ✅ They care a lot about the problem your solution solves ✅ They're way easier to reach than senior execs ✅ They have tons of insights to share How do you find these prospects or teams? Your top AEs' deals. 1) Reverse-engineer the best deals closed in the last 12 months 2) Look closely at every stakeholder's job title involved 3) Look at who the first meeting was with 4) Look for and ask those AEs about non-typical job titles/roles involved in their deals One more pro tip: Ask prospects in your active deals if they have specialists or teams related to the problem at hand Here are a few examples of non-typical roles I've found with my clients ~~~ - Security Solutions - 👍 Typical personas: CIOs, CISOs, VP of Security/Risk, etc. 💡 Non-typical persona example: Plant Safety Manager in a manufacturing plant - Purchasing/Procurement Solutions - 👍 Typical personas: CFO, VP of Finance, Procurement leader, etc. 💡 Non-typical persona example: Facilities Manager in a government or higher-ed building - MedTech solutions - 👍 Typical personas: Clinical Operations, R&D, Compliance 💡 Non-typical persona example: Patient Safety, in charge of mitigating high-risk disasters with medical products - DevOps solutions - 👍 Typical personas: VP of IT, DevOps leader, CIO 💡 Non-typical persona example: Developer Productivity (think enablement but for engineers) ~~~ Use these non-typical personas as starting points in your outreach. If they're senior enough, they can be great champions. If nothing else, you can gain killer insights to bring to their execs or potentially get intros. Have you used this strategy before? Let me know in the comments. #sales #outbound

Most outbound leaders focus on optimizing their tech stack. Wrong lever. Your biggest ROI? Hiring A-players. I see this pattern constantly: Leaders spend weeks testing new sales engagement platforms, tweaking sequences, and analyzing email open rates. Meanwhile, they spend 2 hours on hiring decisions that will impact their team for the next 18 months. The data backs this up: Mark Roberge, former CRO at HubSpot: "World Class sales hiring is the biggest driver of sales success. If you could be world class at one discipline, it should be hiring." John McMahon, former CRO at BMC: "If you hire C-players and do everything else perfectly, you'll lose. If you hire A players and do everything else average, you'll win." Yet most leaders treat hiring as an HR function. They outsource it to talent acquisition and only show up for final interviews. That's the mistake. The strategic shift: Take extreme ownership of your hiring process. You should be defining the role, the behaviors you need, and participating in every stage. Not delegating it. Here's a framework I've started using with my teams: - What are their long-term goals? - Are they taking daily steps toward those goals? - Do they have a passion for learning? This helps you understand what actually motivates each person. Because not everyone is motivated by money alone. Your tech stack won't save a weak team. But A-players will save a weak process. If you want the full breakdown on building high-performing SDR teams, I wrote about it here: https://lnkd.in/eZwe8M8n

🚨🚨 This week, I shared my complete guide to high efficiency outbound on my Substack. 🚨🚨 This is 15 years of expertise and easily my most popular Substack article ever. I've spent a decade and a half building outbound teams and I look at a lot of growth models from revenue leaders and founders as an advisor. Almost every single one makes the same critical mistake. They assume linear BDR ramp and productivity without accounting for the devastating impact of early turnover, bad data, and poor enablement. The math is brutal. When you zoom out and look at a spreadsheet of all your BDR seats over an 18-month period, up to 50% of your theoretical capacity is lost to extended ramp time, low productivity, and turnover. Your growth model doesn't consider this. Instead, it shows a BDR getting hired, ramping linearly, and magically producing pipeline forever. Reality is messier. Most BDRs take 4 months to get productive, start delivering results for 7 months, then leave by month 11 because they get promoted to AE or take another role elsewhere. You've invested heavily in getting them productive just to watch them walk out the door right as they hit their stride. What I've discovered is that building a high-performance outbound function isn't about hiring better people or paying more (though those help). It's about understanding and optimizing a complex system of data, process, coaching, and retention. Here are 10 secrets to building a great system: 1️⃣ Start with the data 2️⃣ Keep the data clean 3️⃣ Enable personalization at scale 4️⃣ Build efficient process 5️⃣ Script as tightly as you can 6️⃣ Coach relentlessly 7️⃣ Performance manage consistently 8️⃣ Dissect your funnel granularly 9️⃣ Attack your show rates 🔟 Retain your best people 

Building an outbound motion from scratch? Don’t scale too fast you’ll regret it 1️⃣ Rushing to hire before nailing the basics 2️⃣ Skipping ICP research 3️⃣ Overloading on tools without a strategy Heres what I’ve learned building 4 outbound teams from scratch 𝟭) 𝗜𝗖𝗣 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 Most outbound fails because you don’t know your buyer or what actually gets them to care Skip the fluff. Interview customers. Ask about their real challenges and buying triggers Tighten your value prop until it cuts through the noise 🚫 Without this? You’re just another “Hi is this relevant?” email 𝟮) 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 Your tech stack can’t fix bad process but it can enable good ones Build a foundation: CRM, sequencing, data provider, email deliverability Don’t buy tools just because “everyone’s using them” buy what fits your motion 👉 𝗣𝗿𝗼 𝘁𝗶𝗽: Tools like Maildoso help keep your domains healthy so you can scale emails without worrying about deliverability 3) Test. Iterate. THEN Scale Your first 90 days shouldn’t be about looking perfect. It’s about learning fast Get on calls. Send emails. Test scripts Measure: connect rates, reply rates and early stage meetings Double down on whats working before you hire 10+ SDRs Scale the process. Not the chaos My TL;DR? Outbound success isn’t about “doing more” It’s about doing the right things at the right time Over to you: what’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced building an outbound team? Let me know in the comments I’d love to help