9 Best Outbound Lead Generation Strategies

Looking to grow your business with paying and on-brand clients? It all starts with an outbound lead generation strategy that works.

Don’t waste time and money on a poor lead outbound lead gen strategy; the goal here is to reach clients ready to pay for a solution to a critical pain point you can remedy.

With 15+ years of experience in lead generation, I will unpack the best outbound lead generation strategies that both my clients and I use.

Let’s get you leads!

Quick Summary

In short, here are the top outbound lead generation strategies:

• Paid Social Media Ads (best for near-immediate results)
• Ad retargeting
• LinkedIn Outreach
• Email Marketing
• Content Marketing
• Social Proofing
• Networking
• Webinars

• Direct Mail

Or, more of a visual learner? Here is the same message in video form that you can quickly scan or return to.

What are the best outbound strategies?

1. Paid Social Media Ads

Best for fast results

Refine your target audience down to a pinpoint with social media advertising platforms like Meta and TikTok ads. Because of this, once you set up the right targeting, you can expect pretty instant results.

You can run social media ads for many reasons: to generate brand awareness, increase website traffic, promote products, or capture a potential customer’s contact information. We are concerned with the latter here.

This will cost some money, but you don’t have to spend much to start. And you should see this as an investment.

You can get started for as low as $1,000 a month, and once you get some results, scale up whenever you’re ready. The more you spend, the more results you can get.

For more on how you can target your dream clients with paid ads, watch my free masterclass, where I show exactly what to do.

2. Ad retargeting

Already in touch with your dream target market?

Maybe you’ve offered them your best content and directed them to your sales funnel with a solid call to action; they’re even clicking on it! However, you find they disappear without converting into a lead?

This doesn’t mean that they are not interested. It also doesn’t mean you are doing something wrong!

People do not buy on instinct; instead, they wait and ponder. They also forget!

Enter ad retargeting.

With retargeted ads, you can target people interested in your valuable content. You can even target people who read and engage with your content frequently but have not subscribed yet. 

Here are some platforms that offer ad retargeting:

• Google Ads
• Meta Ads
• AdRoll

Need help making sense of these platforms? We can help!

3. LinkedIn Outreach

As a business, especially if you’re a B2B business, you know the benefits of LinkedIn.

You also know the pain of LinkedIn in lead generation – countless hours pouring your heart into several messages and connection requests only to be left on seen, better yet, to receive the infamous line “Now is just not the right time for us, thank you.”

Sounds like you?

Here is a quick guide to change that:

• Use a video to attract leads.
• Avoid irrelevant searches
• Target active LinkedIn users
• Focus on specific company sizes.
• Automate your LinkedIn lead generation.
• Make your profile appeal to ideal clients.

Of course, there is more to it than just that. For a closer look, check out our article Best LinkedIn lead-generation strategies & services here.

4. Email Marketing

Email marketing, when done right, can be a powerful tool for AI lead generation, allowing businesses to nurture relationships with potential clients.

Here are a few do’s and don’ts:

1. Don’t bombard your audience with constant broad emails close together. You will deafen them.
2. Do use software such as Kartra to learn what motivates your audience. This way, you will know what content they like best and what stage of the ‘buyer’s journey’ they’re on.
3. Don’t fill your emails with irrelevant content.Do use your video sales letter (VSL) as the basis of your content.
4. Don’t ignore your email marketing metrics.Do regularly review your open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates.

Don’t move email marketing to your internal spam folder. It is powerful and shouldn’t be ignored if you are serious about inbound marketing and lead generation. Watch this video for a closer look.

5. Content Marketing

Without a solid understanding of content marketing, what we have discussed and will discuss is useless.

I get it – the phrase ‘content marketing’ is thrown around quite a lot these days. It features heavily in many articles on lead generation, but seldom is it explained.

Here’s you:

You have a product or service. You know that it solves a key problem for certain people.

Certain people being individuals or businesses that recognize the problem you can solve, value your solution, and will pay for it.

The challenge:

Getting that service in front of said people.

Then there’s content marketing:

Create blog posts, a VSL, social media posts, podcasts, YouTube videos, eBooks, and webinars.

Aim to provide value for certain people, showing them you understand their needs and how you can help.

With the help of SEO, ad platforms, and love from ‘the algorithms,’ your content will reach them.

By consistently delivering high-quality content, you become a trusted resource, and when the time comes for them to make a purchase, you’ll be the first one they think of.

I have put all this into an easy-to-digest video to simplify things. This masterclass provides you with ready-to-action strategies you can use immediately.

6. Social Proofing

Are you encouraging your existing clients to give you testimonials?

In short, when we human beings see people similar to us buying, using, and recommending products and services, we are more inclined to do the same. This is called social proof, an instinct we evolved.

Featuring quality testimonials on your website will social proof your website.

Yes, technically, this isn’t an outbound lead generation strategy. But it has its place as you begin to generate traffic from your outbound lead generation.

Here are three ways you can get testimonials from existing clients:

• Ask directly: After a successful project or sale, ask your client for a testimonial. Be specific about what you’d like them to discuss so they can provide a detailed and valuable testimonial.
• Use a survey or feedback form: Send a survey or feedback form to your clients, asking for their thoughts on your product or service. This can often lead to great testimonial material.
• Incentivize testimonials: Offer a small incentive, like a discount on their next purchase or an entry into a giveaway, to encourage clients to leave a testimonial.

Here is an example.

7. Networking

I do not mean on LinkedIn this time. I mean, in the real world. Face to face.

If you are a business looking to create real, meaningful connections with clients near you, networking should be taken very seriously.

Attend relevant events (even loosely related ones), present yourself, shake hands, converse passionately, let people know who you are and what you do, and watch the power of human connection unfold.

Naturally, as social beings, we want to help each other. Because of this, moving in the right sphere of influence will deliver your business an uplifting edge in an age where real-world lead generation takes the back seat.

Here is how you can start networking:

• Industry Events: Attend trade shows and conferences. Prepare your pitch and bring business cards.
• Business Networking Groups: Join online and offline groups. Participate and contribute.
• Social Media: Connect with professionals in LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook groups. Share your expertise.

8. Direct Mail

Counterintuitive right?

Here is why:

• High Engagement: People are likelier to open and read a physical mail than an email.
• Less Competition: As many businesses have shifted towards digital marketing, the mailbox has become less crowded. This gives your direct mail a better chance of standing out.
• Personal Touch: Direct mail can be personalized and targeted to specific demographics, giving your message a personal touch that can resonate with potential leads.

Direct mail marketing is often neglected with outbound lead generation, like networking.

Here are some direct mailing platforms that you can use:

• PostGrid
• PsPrint
• PostcardMania

In conclusion

The outbound lead generation process doesn’t need to drain your resources. It just requires a fresh perspective and an out-of-the-box touch on standard approaches.

It requires patience and tenacity, but not without review.

For those who wish not to wear multiple hats, consider outsourcing your lead generation. This way, you can focus on delivering your best service, all while generating high-quality leads in the background.

FAQs