
Here are 11 tips/reminders SDR's should keep in mind as they start their day.

### 1. First Impressions Are Made in Just 7 Seconds (and Take a Long Time to Change)
Research shows that prospects get an impression of you within the first seven seconds. This means that your initial outreach...whether it's an email, a call, or a LinkedIn message—needs to make a strong impact right away (or at least not a negative one). According to a study by Princeton University, these first impressions are difficult to change, so don't mess it up!

### 2. Personalized emails have a 29% higher open rate
Personalization isn't something we do to be cute.

It's an actual strategy backed by data. According to Experian, personalized emails have a 29% higher open rate and a 41% higher click-through rate than generic ones. Additionally, a study by the Aberdeen Group found that personalized email campaigns can boost response rates by over 50%. Tailoring your message to the individual shows that you’ve done your homework and can make a real difference in getting a response.

It should be noted that while most people might read this and then just add a persons name on a postcard. But imagine what could happen, if you take some extra time and read up on your prospect beforehand. Then mention those details as you're warming them up (in a non-creepy way).

### 3. Timing Matters: Reach Out Between 8-10 AM and 4-6 PM
When you reach out can be just as important as what you say. Data from the Lead Response Management Study shows that the best times to contact prospects are early in the morning and late in the afternoon. If we think about it it seems sort of obvious. Around lunch time and everyone's either thinking about lunch or full of it. But if it's when they've just gotten in, they're at least full of coffee and ready to go. In the afternoon, they are at their computer ready to go as well (home).

If you have the time, it might pay to research your prospects industry to find out if they have any irregular scheduling. This can have you calling at the right time, while other SDR's aren't getting through.

### 4. Persistence Pays Off: It Often Takes 5-8 Touchpoints to Get a Lead
Generating a qualified lead often requires more than just one or two touchpoints. According to research by RAIN Group, it typically takes between five and eight interactions to move a prospect to the next stage. Despite this, some reports say that nearly half of all salespeople give up after just one follow-up.

You're different though.

Because you're reading The Saletend Blog ;) But as we can see, sticking with it and following up more than everyone else, just makes sense.

### 5. Voicemail Can Still Be Effective
Haters will say leaving voicemails is a waste of time. A study by InsideSales.com says otherwise. The study found that leaving a voicemail can boost your callback rates by 22%. (Almost as high as inflation)

Keep things Clear. Concise. To the point.

And preferably interesting.

### 6. Social Media Can Amplify Your Outreach by 67%
LinkedIn’s State of Sales report shows that SDRs who use social media in their outreach efforts are 67% more effective than those who don’t. Having a presence in places that your prospects spend time, like LinkedIn, can help you build relationships and establish credibility before you even shoot them that DM.

### 7. Video in Emails Can Boost Your Response Rates by 26%
Remember that last video email you got in your inbox? No? That's because no one else is doing it.

Vidyard found that including a video in your outreach email can increase your response rates by 26%.

A quick, personalized video can capture a prospect’s attention and stand out in a way that text can’t.

### 8. Referrals = EZ Money
Nielsen reports that people are 4x more likely to buy when referred by someone they trust.

Try asking happy clients or even prospects who didn’t convert for referrals. You might be surprised by how it goes.

### 9. Tuesday is for Cold Emails
Research by Yesware shows that emails sent on Tuesday get the highest open and reply rates.

This indicates that prospects are more likely to engage early in the week. Try and milk that opportunity for all you can.

### 10. Automation Tools Save Time and Boost Productivity by 20%
McKinsey research indicates that using automation can increase productivity by 20% or more. Can you automate repetitive tasks like follow-up emails or CRM updates? That way you can spend more time on high-leverage activities like personalizing outreach or prospect research.

### 11. Knowing Your Buyer Personas Can Increase Conversions by 25%
Really knowing WHO your ideal customer is and what they care about is a gamechanger. A study by Cintell found that companies that use more detailed buyer personas see a 25% increase in conversions.

Buyers love it when the company they're working with actually understand their problems. If you go at them like they're just a dollar sign, they will get turned off. Take the extra time, it'll be worth it.

---

#### References:

1. **First Impressions Are Formed in 7 Seconds:** Willis, J., & Todorov, A. (2006). First impressions: Making up your mind after a 100-ms exposure to a face. *Psychological Science, 17*(7), 592-598.
2. **Personalization Increases Response Rates by Over 50%:** Experian Marketing Services (2018). 2018 Email Marketing Industry Report; Aberdeen Group (2016). *Why Personalization is Key to Effective Email Marketing*.
3. **The Best Time to Reach Out:** Lead Response Management Study (2020). *Best Practices for Lead Response Management*.
4. **Persistence Pays Off:** RAIN Group. (2021). *Inside Sales Benchmark Report*; HubSpot (2022). *Sales Statistics*.
5. **Voicemail Can Still Be Effective:** InsideSales.com (2018). *Sales Acceleration Report*.
6. **Social Media Amplifies Outreach:** LinkedIn (2023). *State of Sales Report*.
7. **Video in Emails Boosts Response Rates:** Vidyard (2021). *The Video in Business Benchmark Report*.
8. **Referrals Are Four Times More Likely to Convert:** Nielsen (2020). *Global Trust in Advertising*.
9. **Tuesday Is the Best Day for Outreach:** Yesware (2020). *Best Practices for Sales Outreach*.
10. **Automation Tools Save Time:** McKinsey & Company (2018). *The Productivity Puzzle*.
11. **Buyer Personas Increase Conversions:** Cintell (2016). *Understanding Buyer Personas*.

These references provide the data and facts that support the points made in this article, giving outbound SDRs a solid foundation to build their strategies upon.


11 Key Insights Every Outbound SDR Should Know


Gmail has become the backbone of communication for many businesses, serving as a hub for customer interactions, inquiries, and follow-ups. While Gmail is an effective tool, managing customer relationships solely through an email inbox can become chaotic as your business grows. That’s where Saletend steps in, offering the best CRM integration for Gmail to help businesses organize, track, and optimize email-based interactions.

### Why Gmail Needs a CRM

While Gmail is excellent for handling day-to-day communication, it wasn’t designed to be a full-fledged CRM. As customer inquiries pile up and sales processes become more complex, manually tracking emails, leads, and customer conversations becomes overwhelming. A CRM integrated with Gmail helps to manage these communications more efficiently by centralizing data, automating follow-ups, and providing the tools needed to turn conversations into sales.

### Why Saletend is the Best CRM for Gmail Users

1. **Complete Gmail Integration for Organized Conversations**

   Saletend syncs directly with Gmail, ensuring that every customer email is logged within the CRM. This means all email conversations are automatically added to the customer’s profile, giving your team full visibility into the history of interactions. Whether it’s a sales inquiry, support request, or follow-up email, every conversation is organized and tracked.

2. **Team Collaboration with Shared Inboxes**

   If your business operates with a customer service or sales team, shared Gmail inboxes are crucial for ensuring everyone is on the same page. Saletend allows teams to collaborate through shared inboxes, making it easier to assign emails, track responses, and ensure timely follow-ups. This ensures that no email slips through the cracks and responses are well-coordinated.

3. **Link Gmail Emails to Customer Profiles**

   Every email sent or received in Gmail is automatically linked to customer profiles in Saletend. This gives your team a complete history of interactions, providing context for every communication. Whether you're responding to a new inquiry or following up on a past conversation, all the information you need is at your fingertips, making communication more efficient and personalized.

4. **Simplified Email Workflow**

   Saletend allows you to handle emails directly within the CRM, eliminating the need to switch between multiple tabs or apps. You can reply to emails directly from the CRM, track lead progress, and move sales forward without leaving the Saletend interface. This streamlined workflow saves time and reduces the risk of missing important emails.

### Why Saletend Stands Out as the Best CRM for Gmail

- **Centralized Communication:** With Saletend, all customer communication is organized in one place. You can track, respond to, and manage customer inquiries without ever leaving the CRM.
- **Enhanced Team Collaboration:** Shared inboxes and team management features make it easy to distribute responsibilities and ensure timely, coordinated responses.
- **Simplified Sales Workflow:** From lead progress tracking to the unified inbox, Saletend’s features help businesses maintain engagement with customers without manual effort.

### Conclusion

Managing customer interactions through Gmail alone can quickly become overwhelming as your business scales. Saletend offers the best CRM solution for Gmail users, providing the tools needed to organize conversations, track customer interactions, and automate follow-ups. By integrating Gmail with Saletend, businesses can transform their email communication into a powerful tool for driving sales and building stronger customer relationships.

**Ready to enhance your Gmail experience with Saletend?** [Get started with Saletend today!](https://app.saletend.com/signup)


The Best CRM for Gmail


For businesses that rely on Google Workspace, particularly Gmail, effective email management is critical for keeping customer relationships organized. Whether you’re managing leads or handling support inquiries, having a CRM that fully integrates with Gmail can significantly boost productivity and communication. Saletend is the best CRM for businesses that depend on Gmail, offering seamless integration to streamline email-based customer interactions.

### Why Gmail Integration Matters for Your Business

Gmail is at the core of communication for many businesses that use Google Workspace. It handles everything from internal communications to customer inquiries and sales leads. However, managing these interactions solely within Gmail can quickly become overwhelming as your business grows. By integrating Gmail with a powerful CRM like Saletend, you can manage all customer communications more effectively and never miss a message again.

### What Makes Saletend the Best CRM for Gmail Users?

1. **Seamless Gmail Integration for Effortless Communication**

   Saletend’s direct integration with Gmail allows you to sync every email you receive from customers into your CRM. This means that all conversations are automatically logged and linked to the customer’s profile, providing a complete history of interactions without needing to leave the CRM. Whether it’s a support request, a sales inquiry, or a follow-up, Saletend keeps your Gmail messages organized and accessible.

2. **Shared Inboxes for Team Collaboration**

   For businesses that use Gmail for customer service or sales teams, Saletend’s shared inbox feature ensures that every team member can view and respond to customer emails. This helps eliminate duplication of efforts and ensures that responses are timely and well-coordinated across the team.

3. **Organized Customer Profiles Linked to Gmail**

   Every email conversation in Gmail is linked directly to customer profiles in Saletend. This allows you to see the full history of interactions with each customer, ensuring you have all the information you need before sending a new email or making a follow-up call. By having emails and customer data in one place, Saletend helps businesses maintain a more personalized and effective approach to customer service.

4. **Streamlined Workflow Without Switching Tabs**

   With Saletend’s Gmail integration, there’s no need to switch between tabs or apps. You can reply to emails directly from the CRM, track lead progress, and move sales forward without leaving the Saletend interface. This integration minimizes disruptions in your workflow and makes managing customer relationships so much easier.

### Conclusion

For businesses that rely heavily on Gmail for customer communication, choosing a CRM that integrates seamlessly with Google Workspace is essential. Saletend offers unparalleled Gmail integration, making it easy to manage emails, track interactions, and ensure timely follow-ups, all while keeping your customer relationships organized and efficient.

With Saletend’s Gmail integration, you can centralize your email management and improve team collaboration, ultimately enhancing your customer service and sales processes.

**Ready to take your Gmail communication to the next level with Saletend?** [Get started with Saletend today!](https://app.saletend.com/signup)


The Best CRM for Google Workspace


In today’s social media-driven world, businesses can't afford to miss out on conversations happening in their Instagram DMs. Instagram has evolved into a crucial channel for brands to interact with customers, handle inquiries, and even close sales. To capitalize on this, having a CRM that can seamlessly manage Instagram DMs is essential. That’s where Saletend comes in as one of the best CRMs for handling Instagram DMs efficiently.

### Why Instagram DMs Matter for Businesses

- **Direct Customer Interaction:** With over 1 billion monthly users, Instagram is not just a social platform; it’s a business tool.
- **Inquiries and Sales:** Customers prefer to message businesses directly via Instagram DMs for product inquiries, customer support, and even purchases.
- **Efficient Management:** Manually managing DMs can be overwhelming, especially for business accounts receiving hundreds of messages daily.

### What Makes Saletend the Best CRM for Instagram DMs?

1. **Seamless Instagram DM Integration**

   Saletend allows businesses to connect their Instagram DMs directly to the CRM. This means all customer inquiries sent via Instagram are automatically synced with the CRM’s unified inbox. Businesses can view, respond to, and track all Instagram DMs alongside messages from other channels like Facebook Messenger and Gmail, ensuring no message goes unanswered.

2. **Centralized Communication Hub**

   One of Saletend’s strongest features is its centralized communication hub. Instagram DMs are just one of the many platforms it integrates, allowing you to handle multiple customer communication channels in one place. Whether customers reach out via email or Instagram, Saletend ensures that every message is tracked and accessible to your team, reducing the risk of missed opportunities.

3. **Customizable Pipelines for Instagram Leads**

   Instagram DMs often mark the start of a sales journey. Saletend makes it easy to convert these conversations into sales by allowing businesses to create customizable pipelines. You can track the progress of each lead that comes in through Instagram, from the initial inquiry to the final purchase, ensuring no lead is forgotten.

4. **Analytics and Insights**

   Saletend provides detailed analytics on Instagram DM interactions. You can track the number of DMs received, response times, and how many of these interactions result in sales or support tickets. These insights help businesses refine their strategy and improve Instagram DM management.

### Conclusion

In today’s digital age, managing Instagram DMs effectively is crucial for businesses. Saletend offers the perfect solution for companies looking to streamline their Instagram interactions through an integrated, user-friendly CRM. Its seamless Instagram DM integration, centralized communication, and powerful customization features make it the best CRM for businesses wanting to leverage Instagram for customer engagement and sales.

With Saletend, businesses no longer need to worry about missing Instagram messages or losing potential sales leads. By turning DMs into an efficient, trackable part of your CRM, Saletend ensures Instagram becomes a powerful tool in your customer relationship strategy.

**Ready to streamline your Instagram DMs and boost your business?** [Get started with Saletend today!](https://app.saletend.com/signup)


Best CRM for Instagram DMs


## Welcome to the Saletend family! 🥳

We're pumped to have you on board. Ready to get started and see what a truly user-friendly CRM feels like?

You won't believe how easy it is to get up and running.

### Getting Started

1. **Login:** Hop into your account [here](https://app.saletend.com/).
2. **Profile Setup:** Open the menu in the top right corner and click 'Organization'.
3. **Team Inbox:** Navigate to 'Team Inbox' and click the 'New Inbox' button.
4. **Link Inboxes:** Connect as many inboxes as you want to your unified inbox – Facebook, Instagram, and Gmail inboxes are all supported.

That's it! Just follow the prompts, and you're done.

🎉 You’ll find your unified inbox in your user dashboard.

Say goodbye to clutter and hello to seamless communication with Saletend.

If you have any issues, you can reach our support team at support@saletend.com, we're always happy to help!


Welcome to Saletend: Getting Started with Your New CRM


Hope you're loving the simplicity of Saletend so far! Now that you're set up, let's talk about how you can assign conversations to your team to ensure every lead is pursued and every customer service issue is addressed.

### How to Assign Conversations

When you receive a message, you'll see a button at the top of the conversation view.

Click on this button to select which team member to assign the message to.

Assigning conversations helps streamline your workflow, making sure that each message gets the attention it needs and no opportunity slips through the cracks.

Try it out and see how it can help your team stay organized and efficient!

Best,

The Saletend Team


How to assign conversations in Saletend


Hope you're enjoying your journey with Saletend! Today, we're going to make your workflow even smoother by showing you how to assign deals and tickets to your team automatically.

### How to Get Started

1. **Connect Your Inboxes:** If you haven't already, make sure your inboxes are connected to Saletend.
2. **Navigate:** Go to Profile > Team Inbox and click on the inbox you want to automate.
3. **Set Automation Rules:** Use the Assign Rule to manage incoming conversations.

### Assign Rule Options

Every linked inbox can be set with one of the following rules:

- Do not automatically assign new conversations.
- Automatically assign conversations based on who is available.
- Automatically assign with round robin to rotate assignments throughout the team.

### When to Use Assign Rules

- For a high volume of messages like a customer service inbox, assign based on availability to minimize customer wait times.
- For a sales inbox, assign with a round robin rotation to feed deals to your sales team evenly.

### When You Shouldn’t Use Assign Rules

Sales managers may want to assign deals manually, matching the right prospect with the right sales agent or routing deals for different product lines to different teams. Generally speaking, though, most sales teams would benefit from using Assign Rules for their shared inboxes.

By setting up these assignment rules, you ensure that your team can handle customer inquiries and deals efficiently, improving response times and balancing workloads.

Try out these settings and see how they can optimize your team's performance!


How to automatically assign deals & tickets in Saletend


Hope you're settling in well with Saletend! We're excited to show you how you can take your efficiency to the next level by using the Move Rule to automate ticket and deal creation.

### How to Get Started:

1. **Connect Your Inboxes:** If you haven't already, make sure your inboxes are connected to Saletend.
2. **Navigate:** Go to Profile > Team Inbox and click on the inbox you want to automate.
3. **Set Automation Rules:** Here, you can set new messages to automatically create deals or tickets.

### Why Automate?

- **Customer Service Efficiency:** For existing customer service channels, automatically creating tickets with the Move Rule is a game-changer. Your team can effortlessly manage incoming requests, ensuring no customer is left waiting.

- **Sales Channel Optimization:** For sales channels, automatically creating deals is a no-brainer. People contacting you via Facebook, Instagram, or email are potential leads. By automatically turning these messages into deals, your sales team can track and close more efficiently.

By setting up these automations, you're freeing up valuable time to focus on what really matters – growing your business and keeping your customers happy.

### When You Shouldn’t Automate

Not every shared inbox should be automated. For example, a general “info@yourdomain.com” email address is going to get a ton of email you don’t want to create tickets or deals for automatically. Setting up a move rule will often create more work than it saves for channels like this.

Give the Move Rule function a try and see how much smoother your workflow can be with Saletend!


How to automatically create deals & tickets in Saletend


We’re excited to share how you can take full control of your sales and customer service processes with custom pipelines in Saletend. Pipelines are a powerful way to track the progress of leads and customer requests, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.

### Creating Your Pipeline

1. **Go to Your Profile**
2. **Click on Pipelines**

### Customize Your Pipeline

When creating a new pipeline, you can designate all the different phases a customer or lead will go through before a resolution is reached. You have the flexibility to:

- **Set as Many Stages as You Want:** Customize the stages to fit your unique workflow.
- **Order Stages to Match Your Process:** Arrange the stages in a sequence that makes sense for your business, whether it’s for sales or customer service.

### Why Use Pipelines?

With pipelines, you can easily track the status of a customer service request or a lead's journey toward a closed sale. Here’s how they help:

- **Visualize Your Workflow:** See at a glance where each lead or customer request stands in the process.
- **Manage Complex Deals:** For more complex and larger deals, create a pipeline with more stages to capture every critical step.
- **Simplify Low-Ticket Sales:** Use fewer stages for straightforward, low-ticket sales to streamline the process.

### Default Pipelines

To get you started, your account comes with two default pipelines:

- **Customer Service Pipeline:** Track and manage customer service requests efficiently.
- **Sales Pipeline:** Follow leads through each phase of your sales process.

You can customize these default pipelines to better suit your needs or build entirely new ones from scratch.

Creating and managing pipelines in Saletend ensures that you stay organized and focused, helping you close more deals and resolve customer issues faster.

Give it a try and see how customized pipelines can transform your workflow!


How to customize deal & ticket pipelines in Saletend


Following up with leads is crucial to turning prospects into customers. An effective follow-up strategy can significantly improve your conversion rates and drive business success. Today, we want to share how you can leverage Saletend’s pipelines feature to enhance your follow-up strategy and move leads deeper into the sales funnel.

### Why Follow-Up Matters

- **Keeps Your Brand Top of Mind:** Regular follow-ups remind leads of your offerings, keeping your brand at the forefront of their decision-making process.
- **Builds Relationships:** Consistent communication helps build trust and rapport with your leads, increasing the likelihood of conversion.
- **Provides Additional Value:** Follow-ups allow you to address any questions or concerns your leads might have, providing them with the necessary information to make an informed decision.

### Using Saletend Pipelines for Effective Follow-Up

1. **Create and Customize Your Pipelines**

   - Navigate to your user profile and click on Pipelines.
   - Create a new pipeline and designate the different phases a customer or lead will go through before a resolution is reached.
   - Customize the stages to suit your sales process, from initial contact to closing the sale.

2. **Track Lead Progress**

   - As leads move through the sales funnel, update their status in the pipeline.
   - This visual representation helps you quickly see where each lead is in the process and identify any bottlenecks.

3. **Segment Your Leads**

   - Use the pipelines to segment your leads based on their stage in the sales process.
   - Tailor your follow-up messages to address the specific needs and concerns of each segment.

4. **Monitor and Adjust Your Strategy**

   - Regularly review your pipeline to monitor the progress of your leads.
   - Adjust your follow-up strategy based on the insights you gain from tracking your pipeline.

### Best Practices for Follow-Up

- **Be Prompt:** Aim to follow up within 24-48 hours after the initial contact.
- **Personalize Your Messages:** Tailor your communication to the lead’s specific needs and interests.
- **Provide Value:** Offer valuable information, such as case studies, product demos, or industry insights.
- **Be Persistent but Respectful:** Follow up regularly, but don’t overwhelm your leads with too many messages.

By utilizing Saletend’s pipelines feature, you can streamline your follow-up process, ensuring that no lead falls through the cracks and each prospect receives the attention they need to move closer to making a purchase.

Ready to enhance your follow-up strategy and close more deals? Start optimizing your pipelines in Saletend today!

Best,

The Saletend Team


Improve Your Follow-Up Strategy with Saletend Pipelines


Today, we're diving into a game-changing concept for your customer service team: Inbox Zero. If you haven't heard of it, Inbox Zero is the practice of keeping your email inbox empty, or nearly empty, at all times. This means promptly addressing and resolving every message that comes in, leading to improved efficiency and customer satisfaction.

### Why is Inbox Zero Important?

Achieving Inbox Zero ensures that no customer inquiry is left unattended. It helps your team stay organized, reduces stress, and ultimately leads to faster response times and happier customers. When you aim for Inbox Zero, you're committing to exceptional customer service.

### How to Achieve Inbox Zero with Saletend

1. **New Conversations:** When new conversations pop into the inbox, assign them to the proper team member. This can be done manually or automatically using Saletend’s assignment rules.

2. **Resolve and Close:** Once the issue is resolved, the team member will close the conversation using the close conversation button at the top of the conversation window.

By following these steps, you ensure that every customer query is handled efficiently and promptly, leading to nothing but satisfied customers. The goal with Saletend for customer service inboxes is to consistently reach Inbox Zero.

### Benefits of Inbox Zero

- **Enhanced Efficiency:** Your team can focus on resolving issues without getting overwhelmed by a cluttered inbox.
- **Improved Response Times:** Quicker responses lead to happier customers and better customer retention.
- **Organized Workflow:** Clear out resolved conversations to keep your workflow smooth and manageable.

Make Inbox Zero your team’s daily target with Saletend, and watch your customer satisfaction soar. Remember, every time you reach Inbox Zero, you’re ensuring that your customers are getting the attention and service they deserve.

Start today and see the difference it makes!

Best,

The Saletend Team


The Saletend Blog

Start Making Your Customers Happier with Saletend.