<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=577820730604200&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">

Over the past few months, many of the social-only, inbound-only, the-only-school-is-new-school chattering class have revised their talk tracks. As it turns out, outbound is back in fashion (even though many of us refused to buy the hype, instead speaking what we knew to be true, namely that outbound is still necessary and faster). Much of what the social-chattering class has written lately has pertained to cold calling still being necessary.

Outbound prospecting efforts are back in fashion because inbound itself could never live up to the promise at scale. What an individual can do is different from what an enterprise can do. The promise was “never cold call again,” and “stop selling and just be helpful,” even though this brave new sales world made salespeople even more conflict averse, afraid to interrupt their dream client, and be “helpful” meaning providing more information (this, from the same people who suggested that the internet provides all the information necessary and that clients know as much as the salespeople who call on them). Empty and shallow pipelines moved things back towards outbound.

Speed to results matter. Inbound, like all the other ways one might prospect for new business, is a nice addition to the existing methods, if it isn’t nearly as fast. Because it is passive, it doesn’t produce meetings and the new opportunities that come from them nearly as quickly as more traditional methods. Opportunities now are better than opportunities a year from now. Helping client with the results they need now is better than helping them twenty-two months from now. Inbound provides tremendous support for outbound efforts by helping capture mind-share and nurturing relationships, both of which are critical. But the math on what it takes to produce results makes an inbound-only, social-only a poor choice.

Sales enablement, sales training, and sales improvement are fashion businesses. When something catches fire, regardless of the real value, people who work in the sales training space work to capitalize on the trend by creating an offering which, at the time of this writing, is Account Based Sales and Marketing. But a better view is to be aware of what is new, and the potential value but always with an eye towards what has endured. As the future arrives at an ever faster clip, the things that have been true for hundreds of thousands of years are going to produce outsized results. The longer something has been useful, the longer it is likely to be so.

Tags:
Sales 2018
Post by Anthony Iannarino on March 31, 2018

Written and edited by human brains and human hands.

Anthony Iannarino

Anthony Iannarino is an American writer. He has published daily at thesalesblog.com for more than 14 years, amassing over 5,300 articles and making this platform a destination for salespeople and sales leaders. Anthony is also the author of four best-selling books documenting modern sales methodologies and a fifth book for sales leaders seeking revenue growth. His latest book for an even wider audience is titled, The Negativity Fast: Proven Techniques to Increase Positivity, Reduce Fear, and Boost Success.

Anthony speaks to sales organizations worldwide, delivering cutting-edge sales strategies and tactics that work in this ever-evolving B2B landscape. He also provides workshops and seminars. You can reach Anthony at thesalesblog.com or email Beth@b2bsalescoach.com.

Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn, X or Youtube. You can email Anthony at iannarino@gmail.com

ai-cold-calling-video-sidebar-offer-1 Sales-Accelerator-Virtual-Event-Bundle-ad-square
salescall-planner-ebook-v3-1-cover (1)

Are You Ready To Solve Your Sales Challenges?

Anthony-Solve-Sales

Hi, I’m Anthony. I help sales teams make the changes needed to create more opportunities & crush their sales targets. What we’re doing right now is working, even in this challenging economy. Would you like some help?

Solve for Sales

Join my Weekly Newsletter for Sales Tips

Join 100,000+ sales professionals in my weekly newsletter and get my Guide to Becoming a Sales Hustler eBook for FREE!