HEARER/R – The Scientific Method applied to Sales Development Pipeline Production

We are all familiar with the Scientific Method we’re all taught in our first science class. A thousand-year-old methodology. 

But how does this relate to running a successful Sales pipeline generation program? 
Especially now, with all the changes happening in the economy, what can we learn from this ancient methodology?

We introduce the HEARER/R Methodology.  

Use this to track your campaigns and align your revenue engine against the scientific method. Apply this method to your outbound efforts, running continuous HEARER/R programs over a set time period, usually, a 90-day period is enough time to start getting useful feedback. This will create an upward spiral of learning and productivity. Here’s the breakdown:

The HEARER/R Methodology

• Hypothesize 
• Experiment 
• Analyze results
• Report on the results
• Examine and question the results
• Research further
• /Repeat – Create a new hypothesis and start over

Hypothesize: Based on past results, or if you’re just starting out, based on your best judgment, what outbound message will you use to impact your market? What channel will you use primarily to interact with your market- cold calling, emailing, social media, events, and others? What size company and which verticals will you target? Who are the personas you will target and what are they most concerned with? What data provider and list prioritization strategy will you use? Start a the beginning. Create an initial hypothesis that you will commit to testing for 90 days, or a long enough time period to get meaningful results. 
 
Experiment: Start testing. Use the messaging, lists, and channels you have determined you are going to run, and execute your sales plays. Start reaching out to prospects, making contact, and opening conversations. Set up activity metrics to ensure enough activity is happening every day, and hold your team accountable for hitting those numbers. If the initiative requires more or less activity, you can adjust during the repeat phase. If nothing is happening, that’s a data point. Your initial hypothesis could be off track. 

Analyze the results At the end of each week, and each month, review the campaign results. Were there any responses? Who replied? How did they reply? Which persona is most likely to respond to your current messaging? Is there an emerging channel that is working better than others, i.e. is cold calling working better than email? At a high level, are you starting to see trends? Compile the results into a format you can review. 
 
Report on the results At a set time period, at least monthly, report on the results of your campaigns, with a cross-functional Go-to-market team. Put more eyes on it to get feedback and ideas. Does the messaging resonate with you, is our talk track accurate based on real-world examples? Are we missing a key point or objection-handling technique we need to add to the campaign? Essentially, how can we get better results? 

Examine and question results Now, we’ve seen the initial results, and gotten feedback and input from a cross-functional team, it’s time to be brutally honest, are there people, processes, or technology constraints we need to address in order to improve performance? Are there bottlenecks that need to be removed? Are we tracking the right metrics and looking at the right problems? Vigorously question the results. 

Research further If you’re a student of the craft you know there are many resources, ideas, and studies on best practices in prospecting. Every day new ideas and methodologies are produced. Capture new ideas and organize them into your own playbook. Now, look at the results of your campaign and cross-reference the ideas and research you have done. Are there any new ideas or techniques you can use to improve your results? 

/Repeat Take all that you have learned from running the campaign, the results, the teardown, the further research, and create a new hypothesis. You are now back at the beginning of the HEARER/R process. Create a new hypothesis and start over at the beginning, running the process again. Forever. A continuous process to better results, processes, and return on investment. 

Next time you see a debate online about whether cold calling works, or emailing, or events, now you can reply with one word: HEARER/R! 

​Have you tried this? Leave a comment below.