More Automated, Yet More Human: The State of Cold Outreach in 2022

The term "cold outreach" has become increasingly common in recent years. And we can anticipate significant modifications in 2022. But just what will they be?

Should you utilize cold outreach in 2022? What new platforms should you experiment with? What should you concentrate on, exactly?

We spoke with a number of our favorite cold outreach consultants to get their thoughts on the subject. Here's what we learned.

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Video Outreach - Personal & Interactive

A video is already an essential tool in cold outreach, but in 2022, it will be more personalized and interactive.

“I believe that in the future, we will see more video communications on LinkedIn, to begin with,” Camille Trent of Dooly added.

She also notes that if you want your cold outreach to be effective, it should be more personal, relevant, and enjoyable.

When done well, the video meets all of these criteria.

Leslie Venetz, Head of Sales for Procurement Leaders in the United States, agrees. “I believe we will see a rise in customized videos in 2022,” she adds.

However, it will go beyond personalization. You'll have an added advantage if you create films that prospects may interact with.

Even if you can't meet in person, video content that is interactive and customized allows for more dynamic conversations.

Tolstoy and Vidyard are two tools that help to build a more human connection digitally. (I even utilized Tolstoy to gather material for this article.)

You'll Be More Human When Robots Exist

Artificial Intelligence will be more widespread by 2022. However, sales associates, need not worry.

AI is not here to take your job. It's here to assist you with menial activities that detract from more important tasks.

The robots are here so you can focus on the human aspects of cold outreach while AI handles the monotonous duties that you shouldn't be wasting your time on.

“There are a slew of tools emerging to assist with email and social content rewrite,” says Tom Slocum, Co-Founder of RevLeague and Community Manager for RevGenius.

“I think you'll see a lot more reps lean into it. On the data side, AI is entering in to help reps reach out with the proper message to the right person at the right time.”

In 2022, Camille Trent believes that AI writing tools will be more popular. “AI copywriting software will get more usage,” she adds. Checking spelling, customization, length, and so on

Depending on where you want the most assistance, AI may be your writer or editor. It can also help you create more effective cold outreach.

Mailshake's Shakespeare AI email writer spins up your email for you, while tools like Lavender provide real-time feedback as you compose your emails.

Ryan Reisert, the founder of  Phone Ready Leads, emphasizes that using AI for emails may help you focus on human-to-human interactions like cold calling.

Reisert adds that you should automate text-based activities as much as possible. "AI is already writing decent copy," he claims.

Let the bots handle it and learn how to pick up the phone and have real conversations with people.

You Will Be Ahead When You Can Avoid Physical Interruptions

As a society, we are becoming increasingly digital (even more so now that Omicron is growing).

We tend to move from one screen to the next. As a result, most cold outreach attempts to grab attention digitally.

But with physical interruptions like direct mail, 2019 will see a resurgence of physical communications in the field.

Direct mail has a long track record of success.

According to Postal.io statistics, email outreach with gifts attached has an average 63 percent open rate, 83 percent click rate, and 92 percent gift acceptance rate.

When you integrate offline components into sales and marketing cadences, conversions increase by three times.

There’s Exists No “Best Channel”

The finest channel will be the one where your prospects are now spending their time.

Prospects congregate in various locations based on their
industry and even person, you'll need to confirm your top approaches before putting up sequences.

According to Reisert, many cross-channel sales sequences today assume that the prospect will be accessible across multiple channels: email, phone, LinkedIn, and so on.

The first step, according to Reisert, is to validate each channel. You should then identify the proper person on your team for each activity.

The finest cold callers do the calling. The greatest copywriters are in charge of email correspondence. And so on and so forth.

“We know that the likelihood of a response decreases with each additional email,” Venetz explains.

“Therefore, we need to start every sequence with a highly relevant and personalized double tap on email + phone call.”

In Conclusion

If you're still hesitant to try cold email marketing, start modest: send 100 contacts a cold email offering your content, reach out to 10 internet resources, and contact at least one relevant business to inquire about partnerships.

This won't take long, but it will show you what business possibilities you've been missing out on.