RevOps Playbook Masterclass

In essence, it's about automatically sending email series. The messages are usually sent in the name of a person who would continue the conversation after the messages, for example, in a meeting. In larger organizations, messages are often also sent in the name of, for example, a sales director or regional manager, and follow-up actions are calendared with salespeople in the form of meetings.

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Direct messages are particularly well suited for the beginning of the B2B buying journey to capture the attention of various buyer personas by contacting them directly.

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Direct messages, especially when conveyed via email, have two key advantages, which is why they are so popular at the moment:

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Effectiveness

A relevant, personalized, and value-producing email delivered to a work email address reaches the recipient at the right time, i.e., when they decide to read their email, and by examining the message itself—compared to, for example, a cold call where recipients are typically reached less effectively, interrupted, and presented with a message they may not be receptive to consuming. Direct messages or cold emails perform best when talking about targeted communication.

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Scalability

In principle, emails can be sent to thousands of recipients in a single day without significantly increasing the costs of direct messaging. Once a working MMF (Message-Market-Fit) is found, email direct messaging is the fastest and easiest way to scale across markets and languages.
 

We also discussed that direct messages are a great tactic for the beginning of purchase paths to reach the target audience and bring them onto the purchase path. But what specific early-stage needs are direct messages best suited for?
 

Market Research

With direct messages, we can reach hundreds or even thousands of audience members per month and either ask them relevant questions directly via email, direct them to surveys, or conduct interviews.
 

Increasing Problem/Brand Awareness

Direct messages also allow us to easily convey information about the problem we solve or our brand to the target audience. Do we want to invite different buyer personas to our webinar, event, or just to read a blog or watch a video? With direct messages, you can increase awareness in a targeted manner.
 

Appointment Setting

Perhaps the most classic use is setting up meetings when it comes to cold emails. The factors affecting the effectiveness of direct messages mentioned earlier also make the tactic excellent for setting up meetings.
 

Targeted Advertising

As part of the direct messaging project, an up-to-date list of decision-makers is generated, which can be used for targeted advertising on LinkedIn and for retargeting ads on Google and Meta to decision-makers listed on the website. This makes communication multi-channel and advertising extremely targeted.
 

Opening Future Sales Opportunities

Direct message automations are a great tactic for quickly increasing sales, but they also provide a great opportunity to open up future sales opportunities, often surpassing the competition. For example, with direct messages, we can gain valuable information about when the target audience's current contracts are expiring, when the next tendering processes are starting, or what other changes may be on the horizon for the recipient's company, which is valuable information for winning customers later when the timing is right.
 

What's interesting about direct messages is that you almost always get all three of the above-mentioned use cases, regardless of your specific goal.
 

So even though we often use cold emails specifically for setting up meetings, we get real-time feedback daily, i.e., market research, when we hear why buyer personas do or do not agree to meetings - and even before that, when we learn what types of messages resonate with them and what types do not. At the same time, we automatically increase awareness of our brand and value proposition with our target audience.
 

Okay, how should direct messages be distributed to get the most out of them?
 

We typically divide direct messages into three different sending phases and tailored messages for them. The playbook contains links to the exact copy of each message as well as headlines and messages. We always test at least three headlines and two messages simultaneously in the messages. The results of the messages are typically evaluated twice a week, and based on the results of A/B testing, the best-performing messages continue, and new ones are created based on the results of the poorer messages.
 

It should be noted that the sequence, i.e., the message series, ends as soon as the recipients have either responded to the message or otherwise completed the desired action, such as registering for a webinar or scheduling a meeting. After that, depending on the strategy, the recipient usually moves to the CRM and either to manual sales management or to new automated nurturing via the CRM.

Let's go through the different sending phases, their messages, and CTAs.
 

Cold Sequence

This message series is the first targeted communication that buyer personas receive from the brand—before calls or meetings.
 

Message 1

The first contact. Keep it concise and very simple. Who we are and how we can help. Typically delivered by email.
 

CTA

A strong CTA is often a direct request to consume specific content or ask a direct question (e.g., Do you want to hear more about the topic?)
 

Soft CTAs often include other links relevant to the value proposition and brand, such as the website or a relevant case for the target audience.
 

Message 2

Usually sent by email about 3-5 days after the first message if there has been no desired response to the previous message. The purpose of the second message is usually just to remind briefly of the first message. The second email message often performs best because when the email thread initiated by the first message is continued via email, the "Re:" notation appears at the beginning of the subject line, leading the recipient to assume that it is a message thread in which they are already involved.
 

CTA

Usually the same CTAs as in the first message.
 

Message 3

If there has been no response to the first two messages, it may be a good time, depending on the buyer personas, to switch communication channels from email to LinkedIn, and the message may be sent even a couple of weeks after the second message. However, the content of the third message is still often a brief reminder of the first message and its CTA, regardless of the channel.

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CTA

In the third message, we often leave out the strong CTA and only inform with soft CTAs that we are ready to serve if needed.

Reminder sequence

Reminder sequence is for target groups that haven't responded as desired to the cold sequence. Depending on the size of the target group, the reminder sequence can be continued, for example, only for those who have opened the cold sequence messages but haven't responded to them. Reminder sequences, depending on the industry and service, are usually sent 3-6 months after the cold sequence.
 

Message 1

Now let's change the angle and often continue via email. The assumption in the first message of the reminder sequence is that the recipient doesn't remember the sender or the company. But since contact hasn't been made - for three messages, we can assume that the subject, or at least the exact title and message, weren't relevant. A new angle could be a new case, insight from the market, a new webinar, or some other content that delivers value to the buyer persona defined in the strategy and purchase paths of the recipient.
 

CTA

A strong call-to-action also changes, for example, to following the company in a relevant channel for the message.

Soft CTAs often remain the same, enabling the recipient to progress along the brand's path on their own terms.
 

Message 2

Same angle, timing, and CTA policy as in the cold sequence. At this stage, we would also continue email as a channel for ensuring "Re:" follow-up subject line and its excellent performance.
 

Message 3

If we still haven't received a response, we can continue communication on LinkedIn in a cold sequence manner but again with slightly modified word and content choices.
 

Network sequence

Network sequence is the final series of direct messages if there haven't been responses to previous messages. The goal of the network sequence is to leave a positive message about the sender and the brand, as the name suggests, in a networking spirit. The network sequence is usually sent 3-6 months after the previous message series, similar to the reminder sequence, and it is the shortest of the transmissions, usually only two messages long.
 

Message 1

If by this point we still haven't received responses, we'll try to bring something new to the table typically through email outreach: a new case, a new insight, a new article, etc. However, the tone of the message softens, and the angle is reinforced that we've tried to get in touch, but here's a reminder that we're ready to offer services when it becomes relevant.
 

CTA

Both a strong and soft CTA shift to purely content-based ones.
 

Message 2

The latest direct message at this stage can still go through LinkedIn, with a very soft reminder that if the subject is of interest, following channel X can keep one up to date with the latest developments.
 

CTA

Following the channel, networking, or any other very soft call-to-action.

So, those are the direct messaging stages broken down into parts.
 

I mentioned at the beginning of this playbook section the multi-channel use of automated direct messaging, especially with email and LinkedIn messages, both of which were present in the recent examples from our own Norders. However, personally, we at Norders haven't found success in automating cold texts or WhatsApp messages, and partly based on speculation, we still find them too personal as channels, so we don't use or recommend them ourselves.
 

Automated LinkedIn messaging, on the other hand, performs extremely well for us and a few of our clients as support for cold emails, and they are part of all transmission phases in the playbook. However, it's particularly important to note a couple of things with LinkedIn messaging.
 

The sender's chosen person's own LinkedIn profile should be in good shape, as that's the first thing the message recipient will look at.

LinkedIn itself tries to prevent the use of automation in messaging, so there are its own risks with LinkedIn automation to consider when thinking about incorporating it into direct messaging.
 

Now, with the strategy, purchase paths, and activation of the target group towards the beginning of the purchase path activated through direct messages. Next, we'll tackle the sales pipeline.