Did you know that tracking career transitions could help you sell more?
Knowing where your point of contact (POC) moves next can be game changing for your sales. You’ve already built a rapport with them. As software buyers and influencers, they can help you sell to the new company they join. Just keep that communication line going.
This signals-based approach tracks buyer intent signals such as role changes, new hires, and job postings. It can boost your sales twice as much as traditional outbound methods.
Companies don’t need to cast a wide net for sales. In fact, less is more, believes Alexandre Depres, founder of LoneScale. He asserts that tracking job movements can help you achieve this early success.
After grappling with years of inefficient cold calling, he set up LoneScale to help companies personalize their sales pitches based on buyer intent signals. I chatted with him about effective lead-sourcing strategies and the missing link between sales and marketing teams over attribution of leads.
An investor and a founder — how does Alexandre juggle both responsibilities? Let’s find out.
This interview is part of G2’s Professional Spotlight series. For more content like this, subscribe to G2 Tea, a newsletter with SaaS-y news and entertainment.
Warm-up questions
Sidharth Yadav: What’s your favorite beverage?
Alexandre Depres: It’s Select Spritz, a popular Venetian cocktail. It’s similar to Aperol Spritz, though somewhat more bitter.
What was your first job?
Although I studied to be an engineer, I started in sales. I was a full-cycle account executive, doing eight hours a day of cold calling to open new accounts.
What’s your favorite software in your current tech stack?
Today, there are two main paths to consider for your GTM (go-to-market) backbone: HubSpot and Salesforce.
It’s HubSpot because it’s user-friendly and ready to use. They have made considerable improvements in the last 12 months. The software integrates well with other tools and releases new features weekly, making it a continually evolving tool that keeps pace with market demands.
Another one is Salesforce. It’s robust and highly customizable. However, implementation requires substantial resources, which can be a considerable investment.
What problems at work make you want to throw your laptop out the window?
IT issues. I faced repeated problems with my laptop few months ago. They had to replace it three times in just two weeks. Setting everything up again was a hassle each time, costing me hours of lost productivity.
Deep dives with Alexandre Depres
How would you define your professional journey, and what inspired you to start LoneScale?
In my first sales job, I cold-called leads from a list generated based on job titles and company size. This approach led to poor results in terms of meetings. I spent 20 hours a week to secure 20 meetings, but the conversion rate for these meetings into opportunities was quite low, around 20 to 1.
I wanted to help companies make their sales processes more efficient.
That’s where Lonescale came in. It helps companies prioritize the best leads at the right time with sales signals.
Revenue teams can now focus on accounts with a higher conversion probability using buyer intent signals. We’re dedicated to making outbound selling more human with personalized, signal-based outbound approaches that benefit both buyers and sellers.
Why do you believe signal-based outbound is the need of the hour? How is it different from traditional outbound strategies?
Signals-based outbound is based on advanced strategies. It’s a simpler and quicker way to prioritize the best accounts at the right moment.
Say a lead is looking at a competitor’s page on G2. You will be notified about this signal and can engage them accordingly. So, you open an opportunity to engage a lead when your competitor is also looking to bank on it.
If your total addressable market is around 30,000 accounts worldwide, it’s impractical to engage with each of them. So you probably focus on 20-30 of them, based on signals showing intent. This triggers an outbound motion.
With this data, you work smarter and get quicker results.
“A signals-based outbound strategy can boost your conversion rates, including meetings booked and revenue generated, by almost two times over using a traditional approach.”
Alexandre Depres
founder, LoneScale
How can rapidly growing companies design effective lead-sourcing strategies?
First, refine your ideal customer profile (ICP) criteria and identify your total addressable market.
Next, analyze patterns to prioritize your outbound efforts on these accounts. Tracking your POCs’ job movements in companies is often the quickest and most effective strategy to boost ROI and achieve early success.
Before you automate any process on a large scale, it’s crucial to manually test it. Once you are confident of its efficacy, automate the process using a dedicated tool or by relying on internal automation.
What’s the key to bringing sales, marketing, and revenue ops teams on board for successful lead sourcing and conversion?
Hire a great chief revenue officer who’s able to unify sales and marketing.
First, clarify data storage and activation for your GTM strategy. Be clear about where and how you store and activate your GTM data. Inconsistencies in data processing and synchronization often lead to delays in activation.
For instance, if your marketing team uses HubSpot and your sales team uses Salesforce, a lack of integration can hinder collaboration. However, syncing these systems can also be resource-intensive.
Then, simplify the attribution of results. Aim for a straightforward attribution system rather than striving for perfect tracking, which can lead to internal conflicts.
“Generating and closing pipelines is a collaborative effort. It enhances team synergy if everyone knows where data is stored and how it’s activated.”
Alexandre Depres
founder, LoneScale
For example, a sales development representative (SDR) can cold call a prospect the marketing team has also targeted. This can ensure that both functions are aligned on securing leads.
How is modern technology, especially AI, transforming sales processes?
AI is revolutionizing sales by enhancing decision-making capabilities and freeing up valuable time for high-impact activities.
For instance, if you need to quickly categorize 10,000 companies as B2B or B2C and then create a brief summary for each, AI can accomplish this in minutes at a low cost. This efficiency allows sales teams to focus on strategic tasks and relationship building.
You’re an investor in several companies and the founder-CEO of a company. How do you manage two responsibilities effectively and prioritize tasks?
I always prioritize Lonescale. Being an investor has taught me a lot and introduced me to incredible entrepreneurs. I’m available to assist them with my core skills when needed, but I don’t proactively seek opportunities to step in as that’s inefficient for me and the startups.
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What’s been the most challenging part of your career?
It’s been building a product.
You build something that doesn’t exist, find people who can use it, and be sure it satisfies their needs. One lesson from Lonescale is that there are no shortcuts to building a product. You can’t fast track it.
According to a recent G2 survey, marketers are using technology more. But there are obstacles like integration to boost further adoption. How can companies resolve this?
As a marketer, you must focus on the activation strategy.
Instead of focusing on which new tool to buy, you must explore how to connect the existing ones.
A technical pipeline won’t bring you success. Instead, well-connected tools, along with data analyses from them and acting on insights, are the keys.
Can you recall a major setback in your career? How did you deal with it, and what did you learn?
Setbacks are common in the early stages of building a company. Despite months of progress, you can feel that everything can fall apart.
My approach to handling these challenges was to cultivate resilience within myself and the team. I learned the importance of not being overwhelmed by problems but focusing on finding solutions quickly. Adaptability and using a solution-oriented mindset can help you tide over such situations.
Software buyers today expect a faster ROI than sellers are able to deliver, according to G2 data. Learn more B2B technology trends in our latest State of Software report.
Follow Alexandre Depres on LinkedIn to learn more about signals-based sales strategies.
