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Outreach Content Best Practices

Kelly Hansen
Updated

Overview

Content is at the core of everything a salesperson does. It’s how prospects perceive us and is the deciding factor of whether they reply. At Outreach, we like to stress the importance of writing the correct messaging to represent your business. From content organization to great subject lines, this guide covers some of the fundamentals for managing great content within your Outreach instance.

Content Best Practices

Overall

  1. Consistent naming convention - For all content make sure it there is a repeatable naming process that is descriptive of content’s purpose, audience, and time last updated (e.g., Outbound VP Demo - HighTouch Q1/F20).
  2. Content visibility - Set the “Share Type” of all centralized content to “Others can see and use it.”
  3. Group your content - Use content collections to make content searchable and easy to find (i.e. Team, Persona, Vertical, Deal Stage, etc.).
  4. Use tests - Send yourself a test email from template and put test prospects through a sequence to ensure it works how you want before opening up to the team.
  5. Remove formatting - If copying content from another source, ensure that you are pasting in content as plain text to prevent any formatting errors.

Templates

  1. STRONG CTA - Utilize an either/or close “What works better for you, Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning?” Pro Tip - use our {{weekdays_from_now N}} variable for dynamic days.
  2. Keep emails short and sweet - Intro, pain-point solution/reference to relevant clients’ story, CTA, signature. Should shoot for 400-600 characters max to limit scrolling on mobile devices.
  3. Leverage your data with Variables - Have customization at scale by using variables. Basic ones to use include: {{first_name}}, {{sender.first_name}}, {{weekdays_from_now N}}, {{company}}. Pro Tip - Make sure your templates are sender generic.
  4. Test using variables in the subject line - Company name or a prospect’s name are helpful variables to use in the subject line and can improve open rates. Just pick the variable and the cut and paste it into the subject line.
  5. Use {{! Comment goes here}} - For your manual emails that require additional content (e.g., a relevant case study, reference to LinkedIn content, customer referral, etc.) use the comment variable “{{! Comment goes here}}” to make sure email does not go out until email has been updated by the user. Pro Tip - you can swap out the words “comment goes here” with any instructive text.
  6. Create objection handling templates - Most reps can rattle off the most common objections they hear, but the way they handle the objection will typically shift around. Help them be more consistent, efficient, and effectively creating an objection handling framework with templates.

Example Subject Lines

  • {{first_name}}, what are you doing about {{! industry update/shift}}?
  • {{company}} + {{org.name}}
  • [benefit you provide] for {{company}}
  • Should I stay or should I go? - use this at end of a sequence
  • {{first_name}} - can you help me? - the email body should be about how they might not be the right person, who would they recommend we talk to instead
  • {{! referral’s name}} said I should get in touch with you

Sequences

  1. Touchpoint Mix - Make sure you use a mix of auto AND manual tasks. Remember that a prospect will not move to the next touchpoint until the manual task is COMPLETED. Higher value personas should be in higher touch (more manual touchpoint) sequences.
  2. Link vs. Clone - Link will allow you to track metrics (i.e., opens/replies) across all sequences where a template is active. Any changes made to the original template by its owner will push to linked templates. Clone copies the template and is separate from the original template, any changes must be made to each individual clone and the metrics are no longer aggregated.
  3. 12+Steps - Whenever you end a sequence,you leave prospects on the table. By increasing the amount of touches,you reduce the number of missed chances.As a sequence tail lengthens, switch to automated touchpoints to be efficient with your reps most valuable resource – time!
  4. Use Reply Emails - For emails, make sure you leverage the reply feature to make it look like a genuine follow up. Also keep these messages short - Reference to previous email, repeat call to action (CTA), sign off. Try a ratio of 1 new thread email to 2 reply emails.
  5. Use Templates - allows you to use content over and over instead of just in singular sequences.
  6. Use Social/Offline - Linkedin profile views/requests/comments and handwritten notes breakup standard email & phone approaches.
  7. A/B Test - Add a template to a sequence step and change either the subject line or the body but not both at the same time.
  8. Use “Steps by day interval” - Unless you are creating a sequence for a specific event, you’ll likely always want to use “Steps by day interval” for Sequence Type to allow for sequences to be reused.

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