Artem Smirnov

    Outbound Strategy

    Before the copy, the lists and the tools, there is a simpler question: should you run outbound at all, and what will it give you? This section is for founders making that call, and for those who have started and want to know whether their numbers are normal.

    My view is that outbound suits a company whose offer already sells. It answers within a quarter, which content rarely does, but it multiplies what is already there, including a weak offer. I plan in contacts, not in headcount: the ceiling on meetings is how many people you can reach each month. In campaigns my team has published, the third month produced 1.5 to 2.9 times as many sales calls as the first, and between 11% and 19% of booked calls became signed deals. A reply proves interest. The call is where budget and authority get confirmed.

    What goes wrong most often is judgment on the wrong timeline. Founders judge a campaign in month one, the weakest month of the first quarter, compare channels on numbers that count different things, and quote statistics that turn out to come from a 2007 study or a vendor with no sample.

    The articles below are grouped by question. Is it worth it: inbound or outbound first, referrals drying up, demand gen against lead gen, and what buyers say about cold outreach. What it costs: cost per meeting by channel, cold calling, LinkedIn Ads and ROI when deals take months. What to expect: meetings per month, results over time, close rates and multichannel data. Running the process: buying committees, BANT, setting appointments that show up, speed to lead, trade shows, enterprise meetings and the CRM.

    Start with inbound or outbound first, then cost per meeting, then how results move month by month.

    Start here

    All articles in Outbound Strategy