$4 million in pipeline
Challenge
Background Before Working Together The Client is a solar consulting company helping businesses with commercial real estate in the US apply for REAP grants that have the Government cover their solar investment. The Owner of the company reached out to us and these were the issues they were facing: They had a great business model and pitch but were struggling to get cold prospects interested in the offer. They were doing cold calling but weren’t getting good results from it, and it wasn’t worth it from a Return On Investment perspective. They didn’t have an outbound system in place to consistently book sales meetings, and they had no social presence (no website).
Solution
Landing page and sales funnel So, our client was flying under the radar - no social media buzz and not even a website to their name. Now, you might be wondering, "Is that really a problem for outbound campaigns?" Absolutely, it's a big deal. Here's the thing: even a basic online presence, like a landing page with a sales funnel, is crucial for nailing those outbound efforts. Imagine this: you shoot off a cold email to a potential lead. What's the first thing they're likely to do? Yep, they're gonna look you up online. And if they find nothing? To them, it's like you don't even exist. Our client was in this exact boat. Without a website, they were virtually invisible to prospects. So, we rolled up our sleeves and built a straightforward landing page, hitting all the right notes with a catchy title, a video sales letter giving a quick rundown of the offer, a detailed offer description, and a call-to-action that linked to Calendly. This last bit was a game-changer – suddenly, we saw a spike in prospects booking calls directly through the landing page instead of responding to our cold emails. Creating that landing page wasn't just helpful; it was essential. Without it, running effective outbound campaigns was a no-go. Now, let's dive into the cooler stuff - setting up the cold outbound system. Cold Email Infrastructure & Warm-Up We got our setup to send out up to 1,500 emails daily. Given the nature of our offer, which was all about generating demand, we wanted to go big on volume. Let me sidestep for a second to talk about demand capture vs. demand generation. Demand generation is when you're pitching something folks might not need right off the bat. Think lead generation or Facebook ads - they might not know they need it until you show them how awesome your offer is. That's creating demand. On the flip side, demand capture is about offering something people are already on the hunt for. Like search advertising or cybersecurity services - you don't really "create" demand here; you're meeting it. Since cold emailing is typically more about generating demand, we had to adjust our strategy to match our client's offer, which was educating on little known financing available in the commercial solar market. That meant sending out a hefty volume of emails. To manage this, we invested in separate outreach domains. This is a pro tip many miss: always use different domains for cold outreach than your main business domain. Why? Because no matter how great your emails are, some will get flagged as spam. And you don't want your main domain taking a hit and all your emails ending up in the spam folder. Instead of putting all our eggs in one basket, we spread out - several accounts each sending a manageable number of emails. This approach lets you scale more effectively without risking your deliverability. We dive deeper into this strategy in a video Leonardo on the Beanstalk team made, explaining the nuts and bolts of managing your email outreach. After securing the email accounts necessary for our outreach, we entered a mandatory two-week warming period. This phase involves a strategic exchange of emails among these accounts to establish their credibility with major email service providers like Google and Outlook. Essentially, this helps ensure our future outreach won't be dismissed as spam. During this waiting period, we didn't sit idle. Instead, we dove deep into understanding the market landscape. We meticulously researched to uncover the specific challenges and needs of our client's target audience, connecting these insights directly to what our client was offering. This preparatory work was crucial in tailoring our approach to resonate more effectively with potential customers. Laser-Targeted Prospect List Given the specific nature of our client’s service, we approached the creation of our lead lists with a meticulous eye for detail. Our goal was to connect exclusively with businesses that could genuinely benefit from solar solutions. This precision required us to move beyond conventional data collection tools. Instead, we tapped into specialized local business databases like Outscraper, which provided us with a starting point of company names and domains for local brick & mortars that were likely to have significant real estate with large roofs. Think: manufacturing, auto dealerships, self-storage, etc. From there, we employed a sophisticated "waterfall enrichment" strategy. This method systematically utilized a variety of data sources and enrichment tools to maximize the accuracy and volume of valid email addresses we could extract. Armed with a rich understanding of our target market’s needs and challenges, we began sculpting lists of prospects who not only needed our client’s offerings but were perfectly aligned with their Ideal Client Profile. Recognizing that the appeal of our offer could vary by geographic location, we segmented our lists by state. This allowed us to tailor our messaging to address state-specific considerations, ensuring our communications felt directly relevant and personal to each prospect. Some states had additional loan programs and giveaways that could actually help cover a commercial loan installation by more than 100% of its cost. Effectively, the client could end up having their state government cut them a check! Industry segmentation further refined our approach. By aligning our outreach with industry-specific case studies, we could demonstrate undeniable relevance and value, bolstering the effectiveness of our cold email campaigns. An important note on our process: Leading with list building in the planning of a new cold email campaign is a practice born of experience. Having a concrete understanding of whom we’re addressing from the outset sharpens our messaging, making our outreach efforts significantly more effective. Cold Email Strategy & Lead Magnet Before diving into drafting the cold email content, we took a step back to strategize. The conventional route in cold emailing often involves making a direct pitch right off the bat. However, we recognized that such a straightforward pitch might not only be less effective but could potentially alienate prospects right from the start. Understanding the nuances of reaching out to business owners, especially with a proposition like solar consulting—where interest in solar installation could vary widely—we opted for a more nuanced initial approach. The last thing we wanted was for our emails to be dismissed as irrelevant or, worse, marked as spam. To navigate this, we introduced a lead magnet early in our outreach sequence. A lead magnet, as defined by marketing expert Alex Hormozi, offers a "complete solution to a narrow problem." In our case, this was a complimentary assessment determining the potential funding a business owner could access for their solar installation. This approach was rooted in the insights garnered from our AI-driven market research, which highlighted a key concern among our prospects: understanding the funding available for their solar projects. We simply asked if they'd like to know how much funding they'd qualify for. This initial offer not only served to attract interest without immediate commitment but also set the stage for introducing our client's comprehensive solution. By leading with this value-first proposition, we significantly broadened the top of our sales funnel, engaging a wider audience from the outset. The impact of this strategy was clear in the numbers. From 111 positive responses, we successfully transitioned 67 into sales meetings. This conversion rate—nearly 60%—far surpasses what's typically seen with direct pitch tactics. This success underscores the effectiveness of our strategic decision to prioritize a lead magnet that directly addressed a prevalent need among our target audience, paving the way for more fruitful sales discussions. Cold Email Copywriting In developing the cold email content, we embraced the gold standards of B2B communication: brevity, clarity, and a straightforward call to action. Here's how we crafted our messages: Conciseness and Clarity: Our emails were succinct, avoiding any complex jargon or lengthy explanations. The goal was to convey our message as directly as possible. Plain Language: We opted for straightforward language over industry buzzwords or technical lingo, ensuring our message was easily understood at a glance. Simplicity in Format: We steered clear of any elements that might clutter the email or trigger spam filters, such as links, images, or HTML formatting. Our emails were sent in plain text to maintain focus on the message and deliver to the primary inbox. Gentle Call to Action: Our call to action was deliberately soft, inviting prospects to explore a valuable lead magnet rather than pushing for a hard sell. Our messaging strategy aimed to enlighten prospects about the significant opportunity available to them—securing government funding for solar panel installations—while positioning our client as the premier solution provider in this space. The structure of our cold email was designed to capture attention and inspire action, following this framework: Relevant First Line: We immediately grabbed the prospect's attention with a line that made the email's relevance clear, ensuring they had a reason to keep reading. Presentation of the Offer: Next, we succinctly described the offer, emphasizing how it addresses the prospect's needs or interests. Social Proof: To build credibility and trust, we incorporated social proof, demonstrating how others have benefited from our client's services. Call to Action (CTA): Finally, we included a clear, compelling call to action, encouraging the recipient to take the next step by engaging with our lead magnet. This approach not only adhered to best practices in cold email marketing but also leveraged psychological principles to maximize engagement and response rates, ultimately driving higher conversions from prospect to meeting. Inbox Management Following the two-week warm-up period, we kicked off our campaign. Our commitment to responsiveness was paramount; whenever we received a positive reply, we aimed to respond within 15 minutes. This swift reply strategy is rooted in the understanding that promptness in communication significantly boosts the likelihood of converting an interested prospect into a scheduled meeting.
Results
116 days in...$4M in pipeline.
Beanstalk Consulting
Beanstalk Consulting specializes in cutting edge B2B sales acceleration and lead generation services. Their AI-driven personalization and advanced data enrichment empower tech startups to private equity firms in scaling their Go-To-Market strategies. T...
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