What does your cold/outbound prospecting process look like and what tools are you leveraging? Do you feel it is effective?

We have been using cold-calling (outsourced leadgen firm) but we are an early-stage firm (online school) and we need to improve our product-market fit.  Cold-calling (at least that kind) hasn't worked for us.  About to launch a customer research effort (specific geography, warm intros, 15-minute Zoom interviews).  No cold emails, no cold linkedin outreach.  Investors and sales coaches I have spoken with endorse the customer research approach.  One coach said he had 75% conversions from those interviews. 

A similar approach like investing in stocks - diversification is key. 

We work with different lists from different sources, including the lead list from webinars, conferences, and white paper downloads.

We have defined a clear process that already starts with the activities in marketing, then the handover to the SDR team and up to the sales reps. 

Cold calling is tough but it does work. It is crucial to measure the conversion from step to step to understand what works best and then adjust accordingly.