Better Leads, Bigger Wins: Master Prospecting in 3 Steps with Apollo.io

With today’s pressure to grow the pipeline and book more meetings, it’s easy to fall back on a “spray and pray” approach—sending mass emails and hoping for the best. But let’s be real: that just doesn’t cut it anymore.With a 150% increase in email volume, the noise is deafening, and buyers are more selective than ever.

You need a better strategy if you want to stand out, and that’s what the Apollo.io webinar "Better Leads, Bigger Wins: Master Prospecting in 3 Steps" was all about. Let’s dive into the key takeaways and how you can start prospecting smarter, not harder.

Step 1: Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

First things first: target the right people. I know, it sounds obvious, but defining your ICP is trickier than it seems. Many sales teams rush to create a list of potential prospects without first understanding who their best-fit customers really are. Here's a quick tip—dig into your CRM (think HubSpot, Salesforce, etc.) and analyze the last few months of closed-won deals. Look for patterns in things like industry, company size, decision-maker roles, and deal cycle length. You’re not just looking for who bought, but why they bought.

And don’t stop at the wins. Check out the closed-lost deals too, and figure out why they didn’t go your way. Did they raise specific objections? Were there consistent patterns in the reasons for passing on your solution? That kind of insight is gold because it helps you fine-tune your ICP and, ultimately, makes your prospecting efforts way more effective.

Step 2: Prioritize Like a Pro

Not all leads are created equal. So, who should you prioritize? The answer isn’t to just work every lead the same way—that’s a quick path to burnout. Instead, think of prospecting as a pyramid. At the top, you’ve got your hottest prospects—the ones ready to buy. Below them are the prospects who are open to a conversation but need a bit more convincing. And at the bottom, there are those who are pretty much unsellable right now.

You want to spend more time on the top of that pyramid—those who are closer to making a decision—and less on the bottom. This means more follow-ups, more personalization, and using multiple touchpoints like email, voice notes, LinkedIn messages, and even the occasional video message.

And if you’re wondering how to find that elusive 10% of buyers who are actually looking to make a purchase, tools like Apollo make it easy. You can enrich data, build lead-scoring models, and even set up website visitor tracking. Prioritizing leads isn’t just about working the most promising ones; it’s about working them smarter.

Step 3: Cut Through the Noise with Relevant Messaging

Even if you know who you’re targeting and when they’re ready to engage, the question remains: What in the world do you say? The key here is to be relevant, not just personal. Anyone can reference a prospect's alma mater, but if you can show that you understand their business challenges—like scaling an influencer program without increasing the budget—you’re in a different league. The trick is to do your homework at every level: company, industry, persona, and individual.

Remember, the average buyer has already done 70% of their research before you even speak to them. They’re comparing you with your competitors, reading reviews, and possibly even using a rival’s solution already. So, when you reach out, make sure you’re offering insights and solutions that resonate with the problems they're actively trying to solve.

A multichannel, multi-step sequence will help you reach prospects where they are. Think emails, cold calls, LinkedIn DMs, and voicemails. It takes an average of seven touches to get a reply, so don’t give up after the first email! You're not just selling your product—you’re inviting them to join a conversation about solving their problems.

Bringing It All Together

Mastering prospecting isn’t about sending more emails. It’s about sending the right emails, to the right people, at the right time. Here’s a recap of the formula:

1. Define your ICP: Use past data for quick wins but always refine your criteria based on closed-lost deals and objections.
2. Prioritize wisely: Focus on leads that are closer to making a decision and work them smarter, not harder.
3. Cut through the noise: Use relevant, researched messaging across multiple channels and touchpoints.

Why This Matters for You

Great outbound takes more than just strategy. It requires deep knowledge of your customer’s problems, a genuine desire to help them, and a whole lot of patience. Because let’s face it, you’re on their timeline, not yours. That’s a hard pill to swallow, especially when your board of directors is asking for ROI yesterday. But outbound programs need time to fine-tune, and even when you’ve got it down, things will change. That’s the nature of the game.

At Growth, we’re here to help you navigate that journey. Whether you’re looking for workshops to train your team or a "done-for-you" service to take prospecting off your plate, we’ve got you covered. We’ve been in the trenches, fine-tuning outbound strategies for companies across industries, and we're ready to share what we've learned.

By the way, I’m Jesse D’Agostino. I’m not just saying this because it sounds nice—I’ve been where you are. As the 2024 Community Member of the Year at Apollo and a Sales Advisory Board member for the last two years, I’ve seen firsthand what works and what doesn’t. And at Growth, we were a 2024 Partner of the Year nominee for a reason. We know prospecting, compliance, and email best practices like the back of our hand. Plus, our CEO, Christopher Nault, has been on the customer advisory board at Apollo since it started in 2023.

Bottom line: We’re in your corner, and we’re ready to help you turn those better leads into bigger wins. Want to chat? Let’s connect and figure out how we can help you master prospecting and close more deals.

Happy selling, and see you at the next event!