136 posts
Most outbound metrics are either vanity (email volume, open rate) or lagging (pipeline created, revenue). Here are the five metrics I actually track weekly to know if Ektie's outbound is on track — and which ones signal a problem before it shows up in pipeline.
Getting cold emails into the primary inbox requires four things: a separate sending domain, correctly configured DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), a 3–4 week warmup period, and daily send volume below spam-trigger thresholds. Skipping any of these will tank deliverability within weeks.
A B2B demo converts when it shows the prospect's specific problem being solved — not a feature tour of what the product can do. The structure that works: confirm the problem in the first 5 minutes, show only what's relevant to that problem, get a commitment before leaving the call.
A proof of concept (POC) is a time-limited, scoped evaluation of a product in the buyer's environment. It reduces purchase risk for enterprise buyers and shortens the distance from demo to close for complex products — when run correctly. Here's how to structure one.
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) is the total cost to acquire one paying customer, including all sales and marketing expenses divided by the number of new customers in the period. In B2B SaaS, a CAC payback period of 12–18 months is healthy; above 24 months signals a unit economics problem.
LTV (Customer Lifetime Value) is the total revenue a customer generates over their relationship with your company. The LTV:CAC ratio — lifetime value divided by acquisition cost — is the primary unit economics health check in B2B SaaS. A ratio above 3:1 is the standard benchmark.
Sales enablement is the function that equips sales reps with the content, tools, training, and information they need to have effective buyer conversations. It sits at the intersection of sales and marketing — translating product and market knowledge into assets reps can actually use.
Win rate is the percentage of sales opportunities that result in a closed-won deal. In B2B SaaS, average win rates from opportunity to close range from 20–30%. Below 15% signals either a qualification problem or a positioning issue worth diagnosing.
A sales quota is the revenue or activity target assigned to a salesperson for a defined period. A well-set quota is achievable by 70–80% of the team — high enough to drive performance, low enough to not destroy motivation. Here's the formula and the common mistakes.
A champion is the internal advocate at a prospect account who actively pushes the deal forward inside their organisation. Deals with an identified champion close at 2–3x the rate of deals without one. Here's how to find a champion, what makes one, and how to lose one.
Cold call connect rates have dropped more than 50% in five years. Gatekeeping, caller ID screening, and the shift to remote work killed high-volume cold calling as a reliable primary outbound channel. Here's what the data shows and what's actually replacing it.
Ektie's own outbound runs on Ektie's agents. Morgan prospects and sequences daily, Orion reviews and coaches every cycle, Astra handles warm replies. Here's exactly what that looks like, what the numbers show, and what I've learned using the product on myself.