Ever feel like your cold emails are disappearing into a black hole? You craft what you think is a killer subject line, personalise the message (as much as you can), and hit send… only to be met with silence. Or worse, a flurry of unsubscribes. Cold outreach is tough. But the where of your outreach is just as important as the what. Is HubSpot the right tool for the job, or are you better off exploring other options? Let’s unpack this.
The case for cold outreach in HubSpot (the pros)
Let’s be honest, HubSpot has a lot going for it. It’s a powerful platform, and when used strategically, it can be a real asset for your cold outreach efforts. Here’s why:
Seamless CRM integration
One of the biggest challenges in cold outreach is keeping all your data organised and accessible. HubSpot’s seamless CRM integration tackles this head-on. By having all your prospect data, email interactions, and sales activities in one central hub, you eliminate the need for manual data entry and reduce the risk of information silos. This unified view of your prospects empowers your team to personalise communication and build stronger relationships, ultimately leading to more conversions.
Automation capabilities
Time is precious, especially for sales teams. HubSpot’s workflows and sequences can automate those time-consuming, repetitive tasks that often bog down cold outreach efforts. Think automated follow-up emails, task creation, and internal notifications when a prospect engages with your content. This frees up your sales team to focus on what matters most: building rapport, nurturing leads, and closing deals.
Reporting and analytics
Without data, you’re just guessing. HubSpot’s built-in reporting and analytics tools provide valuable insights into your campaign performance. Track key metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates directly within the platform. This data-driven approach allows you to continuously refine your campaigns, identify what’s working, and ditch what’s not, ensuring you’re maximising your outreach ROI.
Leveraging HubSpot’s sales tools
HubSpot’s Sales Workspace, especially the customisable lead pipelines, can be a game-changer for managing cold outreach. Create a dedicated “Cold Leads” pipeline to manage your outreach efforts separately from warm leads and other contacts. This keeps your CRM organised and allows you to track the progress of cold prospects efficiently, from initial contact to qualified lead. (See screenshot below for an example).
Data enrichment with Breeze Intelligence
Effective cold outreach hinges on having accurate and relevant prospect data. HubSpot’s Breeze Intelligence can enrich your existing information, providing valuable insights that help you segment your audience and craft more targeted, personalised messages. This directly tackles the pain points of low engagement and generic communication, increasing the chances of your message resonating with your prospects.
The case against cold outreach in HubSpot (the cons)
Now, let’s flip the coin. While HubSpot has its strengths, it’s not always the perfect solution for cold outreach. Here’s where things can get tricky:
Data quality concerns
Cold outreach often means dealing with data from various sources, and let’s face it, not all data is created equal. Pumping large volumes of unverified data into your HubSpot CRM is like inviting a bull into a china shop. It can quickly become polluted with inaccurate or outdated information. Imagine your sales team spending hours chasing ghosts – trying to contact prospects with outdated email addresses or incorrect job titles. Not only is it a massive waste of time, but it also creates a less-than-professional impression of your company.
Deliverability issues
Sending a high volume of cold emails directly from HubSpot can raise some red flags and put your sender reputation at risk. High bounce rates and spam complaints can impact the deliverability of all your emails, including those crucial transactional emails and marketing newsletters. If your sender reputation takes a hit, even your legitimate marketing messages might end up in the dreaded spam folder, effectively crippling your marketing efforts.
Compliance and privacy
GDPR, CCPA, and other data privacy regulations aren’t just buzzwords – they’re the law. And ignoring them can have serious consequences. Non-compliance can lead to hefty fines and, even worse, a damaged brand reputation. Dedicated cold outreach platforms often offer built-in features like double opt-in and automated data deletion to help you stay on the right side of the law.
Scaling challenges
If you’re planning a massive cold outreach campaign, HubSpot’s sending limits might become a bottleneck. For businesses sending thousands of cold emails daily, specialised platforms are often better equipped to handle the volume.
Cost considerations
While HubSpot offers a wide range of features, it’s not always the most budget-friendly option, especially for high-volume cold outreach. Consider the pricing structure of HubSpot versus dedicated cold outreach tools. For some businesses, the combined cost of HubSpot and a separate platform might actually be less than upgrading to a higher tier of HubSpot to accommodate their outreach needs.
Exploring external cold outreach tools
The good news is, there’s a whole world of specialised cold outreach platforms out there designed to address some of these challenges. These platforms often come with features like email warm-up, advanced personalisation options, deliverability monitoring, and robust compliance tools. They can also integrate seamlessly with data enrichment and validation services, ensuring that the data you eventually bring into HubSpot is clean, accurate, and ready to convert. Here are a few worth exploring:
Salesloft: A popular sales engagement platform that offers robust features for cold outreach, including automated sequences, call tracking, and advanced analytics. Salesloft integrates directly with HubSpot, allowing you to easily sync contact data and activity, ensuring a seamless flow of information between the two platforms. While Salesloft doesn’t automatically qualify leads, it does help you identify engaged leads through its activity tracking. You can then easily import these engaged leads into HubSpot.
Outreach: Similar to Salesloft, Outreach is another leading sales engagement platform that streamlines cold outreach with features like personalised email templates, automated workflows, and real-time reporting. Outreach also integrates with HubSpot, enabling you to sync contact and engagement data. Again, while it doesn’t automatically qualify leads, it provides the data you need to identify engaged prospects and import them into HubSpot.
Lemlist: Lemlist is known for its personalisation features, including the ability to create personalised videos within cold emails. It also offers automated sequences and deliverability monitoring. Lemlist has a HubSpot integration that facilitates contact syncing. Like the others, it helps identify engaged leads for streamlined import into HubSpot.
It’s important to note that the “automatic” qualification of leads is rarely a feature in such tools. Lead qualification is a nuanced process that often requires human interaction. However, these platforms provide the data and insights necessary to identify engaged leads, making it much easier to import qualified prospects into HubSpot. They essentially automate the identification of qualified leads, even if they don’t automate the qualification itself.
To outreach or not? Making the right choice for your business
So, the million-dollar question: should you use HubSpot for cold outreach? The truth is, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. It all boils down to your specific needs and priorities. Consider these factors:
Size of your sales team: Smaller teams might find HubSpot’s built-in tools sufficient, while larger teams may benefit from the advanced features of dedicated outreach platforms.
Volume of cold outreach: For low-to-medium volume outreach, HubSpot can be effective. High-volume outreach might necessitate a specialised platform.
Budget: Evaluate the cost of HubSpot versus the combined cost of HubSpot and a dedicated outreach platform.
Data privacy requirements: Ensure your chosen tools comply with relevant regulations (GDPR, CCPA, etc.).
Existing CRM infrastructure: If you already use a CRM other than HubSpot, consider how well it integrates with potential outreach tools.
Desired level of automation: How much of your cold outreach process do you want to automate? Specialised platforms often offer more advanced automation capabilities.
Lead qualification process: How do you define a qualified lead? Consider how each platform can assist in identifying and prioritising engaged prospects.
Often, a hybrid approach is the sweet spot. Use external tools like Salesloft, Outreach, or Lemlist for the initial outreach and lead engagement, and then import only the engaged leads into HubSpot. This keeps your CRM clean and allows you to leverage HubSpot’s strengths for nurturing and closing deals. This approach allows you to benefit from the advanced features of specialised platforms while maintaining a clean and organised CRM in HubSpot.
Cold outreach can be a powerful tool, but it’s essential to choose the right tools and strategies. Whether you rely solely on HubSpot or integrate it with other platforms, carefully evaluate your needs and choose the approach that best aligns with your business goals.
Ready to discuss your cold outreach strategy and HubSpot setup? Let’s chat! Schedule a free consultation today!