Read Time = 3 minutes

Meet Alex.

Alex sent 513 emails and made 468 calls last week.

He followed the typical playbook: subject line testing, A/B testing, the works.

Results: 11 conversations, 2 meetings.

Now meet Jamie.

Jamie sent 360 emails and made 395 calls.

She followed a different playbook: hyper targeted, low volume, heavy research.

Results: 32 conversations, 6 meetings.

Both reps sell the same product. Same training. Same territory.

The difference?

Let’s dive in.

The Volume Trap

Not hitting quota? Work more accounts.

Emails not converting? Send more emails.

Calls not connecting? Make more calls.

It's the default playbook, but it's a losing strategy:

• First, it creates vanity metrics. Your activity numbers look great in Salesforce dashboards, but pipeline doesn't move. Not what you want.

• Second, it dilutes quality. When you're managing 300+ accounts, your research becomes shallow and your messaging generic. Then, you get ignored.

• Third, it expedites burnout. I've watched top reps leave because they’re tired of being measured on ‘sends’ or ‘dials’. The goal is to be effective, not busy.

Instead of Instead of playing the volume game, what if you flipped the entire approach upside down?

The 10 Account Challenge

If I was to teach someone outbound all over again - I'd give them 10 accounts and not let them work any more until they generate 1 conversation.

Here’s a framework for how I’d guide them:

1. Choose the right 10 accounts
   Start with companies showing recent change signals. Look for new announcements, leadership shifts, or growth indicators - these create natural buying windows. When a company is hiring they're also likely changing process and fixing problems fast.

2. Research at three levels that matter
   Look beyond basic firmographics into what's actually happening now. Identify company triggers (funding, leadership changes), then connect these to business challenges (problems you solve) and finally to stakeholder motivations (desired state). This makes cold outreach…warm.
   

3. Craft messages that resonate
   Reference specific triggers in your call intros and email previews to grab attention immediately. Your first paragraph should address their actual business challenges - not your product features. Keep it under 100 words with a clear next step.

Try It Yourself

The 10 Account Rule works. The problem? Research time kills ROI.

When I started teaching reps this approach they’d spend 15-20 minutes per account on research, data enrichment and personalization.

Zoominfo’s GTM Intelligence cuts this process down to 5 minutes or less.

Everything you need in one place - signals, data, AI support etc.

• AI-powered insights reveal what messaging will actually resonate

• Real-time buying signals tell you who's actively shopping

• Intent data shows exactly what topics they're researching

Remember: It's not about working more accounts - it's about knowing which ones are actually worth your time.

Until next Thursday,

TSG

P.S. I reply to all emails.