Why your best funder isn't a funder at all

Whatever happened to good old fashioned sales? Here's our guide on launching effective LeadGen and Outbound marketing campaigns.

For SMEs scaling market-based solutions, a common (unfortunately) instinct is to chase and rely on investors and grant funding. Sure, an influx of capital couldn’t hurt right? But the best way to build a sustainable, impactful company isn’t through fundraising—it’s through sales.

The best way to build any business is through sales.

Generating revenue the good old fashion way, rather than relying on external funding, gives you control over your growth, helps you build relationships that can lead to external funding anyway, increases your valuation, and makes your business more resilient in the long run.

But you can’t rely on customers to magically come to you.

Unless you can’t handle existing demand from your current customers… if you aren’t actively running an outbound sales strategy… you’re not doing good business. Plain and simple. And the truth is, with the recent flood of AI, digital and SaaS solutions dedicated to helping companies in their search:

It’s never been easier than it is today.

Here’s how it looks visually (mind our design skills).

The following is a tailored guide for Grant & Co partners on launching effective outbound sales campaigns.

Steps to take, tools to use, how to use them, and other strategies on helping make new connections with potential customers at scale.

Quick Notes:

1. Each country has their own laws on emailing marketing. Make sure you review and adhere.

2. Our focus here is on the TOFU (top of the funnel) and going from 0 (zero) to a pipeline of “warm” and “hot” leads ready to explore doing business with you.

3. We’ll follow up with tips on closing “hot” leads later. But you have to start somewhere, right?

Ready to launch outbound sales campaigns?

Step 1: Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Before you start reaching out to potential customers, you need to be clear about who you’re targeting. Ask yourself:

• Who needs my product or service? What industry are they in? —> Sector

• What countries can I sell in? —> Geography

• What size of companies do I want to target? —> # of Employees | Annual Revenue

• Who are the decision-makers? —> Job Titles

• What are their biggest pain points? —> Your Future Sales Copy

For example, if you’re a fintech company offering affordable credit solutions, your ICP might be small retailers struggling with cash flow and the organizations in the ecosystem that support them. If you’re growing/aggregating potatoes, your ICP might be potato processors and/or larger retailers/distributors.

Defining this upfront ensures that your outreach efforts are focused on the right prospects.

Step 2: Build a High-Quality Lead List

Having a strong lead list is essential for successful outreach. You can source leads:

Naturally

• Research - Use Google and AI

  • Look for companies similar to your existing customers

  • Look for companies similar to your (preidentified) target customers

• Conferences - Leverage attendees / networking apps to target companies and set in-person meetings

• Ask your friends - Get referrals from people who know someone

• Industry Associations - Get lists from government or other publications

With a “Lead Mine” / Database