Formlabs Outbound Sales Methodology
John Schnelle
I. INITIAL SETUP: get organized and make a list
I use a Google sheet to track the companies I’m researching, and the contacts at that company. I
use this same document to keep track of who I’ve called, the type of call, and frequency of call, as
well as when I’ve sent emails. Although this is also tracked in Salesforce, having it laid out like this
in Googlesheets makes it easy for me to visualize the work I’ve done.
Note: throughout this document I’ve included samplings of charts to demonstrate how I build them
out. You’ll see that the last two columns are Personal Subject a nd Personal Opener. I populate these
columns when I intend to download the sheet and then upload to Yesware as part of an email
campaign. You can find an example of a fully-populated googlesheet HERE
COMPANY STATE SIZE FIRST LAST TITLE PHON EMAIL PERSONAL PERSONAL
E SUBJECT OPENER
IDENTIFY A GOOD FIT: 30,000 feet
Start with Google to get an idea of what companies are out there. For example, search for
“injection molding outsourcing California.” Investigate the company website to learn about their
product line, and consider how a Formlabs printer could be integrated into their workflow (specific
examples).
Once you have a list of companies, use LinkedIn (Navigator) or ZoomInfo to identify companies
that would potentially be a good fit for our printer. Things to consider are:
● Industry
● Number of employees
● Annual revenue
Typically, homepages will have links to social media. These media links are good places to see
recent events at a company, and will provide material to draw from when you send the first email or
make the first call. As general practice, it’s more fruitful (and less creepy!) to visit the COMPANY
social media and NOT the individuals who work there.
COMPANY STATE SIZE FIRST LAST TITLE PHONE EMAIL PERSONAL PERSONAL
SUBJECT OPENER
Vaupell Inc. WA 1-5K
II. IDENTIFY KEY PLAYERS
Once you’ve identified the target company and have an understanding of what they do, use
ZoomInfo to identify key players. Job titles for key players often vary depending on the industry,
but “engineer”, “CAD designer”, and “project/product manager” are pretty universal titles.
Use LinkedIn to Verify
Keep in mind that ZoomInfo is not always up to date, and it’s good practice to use LinkedIn
(Navigator) to verify that a particular person is still at a company. LinkedIn is also a good way to
identify additional people at the company worth contacting.
COMPANY STAT SIZE FIRST LAST TITLE PHONE EMAIL
E
Vaupell Inc. WA 1-5K Matt Jennings Director of (413) ?
Engineering 233-3704
Vaupell Inc. WA 1-5K Austin Wong Manager, (603) austin.wong@vaupell.com
Rapid Prototyping 546-6812
In the case above, there was no email address listed for Matt Jennings on ZoomInfo. In order to
find it, we need to do some digging.
TO FIND AN EMAIL ADDRESS:
1. Guess. Email addresses typically follow predictable conventions. In the example above,
based on Austin Wong’s email address it’s likely that Matt Jennings email address is
matt.jennings@vaupell.com
2. Use a Gmail extension called “Clearbit”.
First install the Clearbit plugin. Then, within Gmail, click “Compose” to open a new email window.
At the bottom of the compose window is the Clearbit icon, which when clicked opens the screen
pictured on the left. Search by company, and then by individual. Even if the specific person you’re
looking for isn’t listed, you can look at other email addresses for the company to see the syntax.
3. Do a Google search for “email checker” or “email verification”, and use an online tool to try
different email address options.
Email Checker
MailTester (this is my favorite because it’s the most straightforward
Hunter.io
III. REACHING OUT: campaigns and calls
Ask other people what works, stick to a campaign, and automate what you can by using templates
and campaigns. Use a system that works for you to keep track of your calls and emails. There are a
number of great Hubspot blogs that outline techniques for campaigns.
AUTOMATION
Using Yesware, you can send out hundreds of customized emails with the click of a button.
Yesware has multiple tools for different purposes and is definitely worth exploring. User beware
though, Yesware is ALMOST perfect...which can lead to some counterintuitive problems.
● Tracking - shows when someone opened/replied to your email
● Templates - pre-made templates that can draw information from Salesforce to send custom
emails
● Mail Merge - a tool that allows you to send scheduled, customized emails to large numbers of
people. This is my go-to when I want to do an email blast. You can either pull information
(email addresses, names, etc) from Salesforce, or upload a CSV from Google sheets (I
usually do this because it’s more customizable)
● Touchpoints - Like mail merge but has more customization. I tried this for a while but it got
too complicated.
CALLS
People have mixed opinions on whether or not to use a script on calls. I’m the most comfortable
when I start with a script, but then deviate from it. Either way, it’s important to constantly refine
the what you say based on what works for you. Here’s an example of my most recent script:
Hey [NAME] . I’m calling to see who the best person is to speak with at [COMPANY]
about product design and 3D printing. Is that you?
Great! I’m calling from Formlabs, the 3D printer company. Is now a bad time?
We’re a 3D printer company in Boston. We’ve been successful in the past helping companies like
[COMPANY]
a. trying to minimize the costs associated with part tooling and manufacturing
b. and/or cut down lead times associated with outsourcing
Are these challenges that you face in your company?
[IF NO]
That’s great. How do you go about this?
If you could wave a magic wand and fix one thing, what would it be?
[IF YES]
Can you tell me more?
