#56: This is the ONE piece of prospecting advice you should follow in 2024

+Update to Above vs. Below the line framework

Jan 14, 2024

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Hi Friends 👋,

Happy Sunday and welcome to all new subscribers :)

I appreciate each and every one of you. Feeling really energized on the content front and going to make sure that 2024 has the best insights I’ve had yet.

Now, let’s get into it:

A professional salesperson is conducting a product demonstration on a tropical beach, using a laptop computer. The salesperson, dressed in smart casual attire, is sitting at a small portable table on the soft, white sand, with the ocean in the background. Palm trees sway gently in the breeze. The sun is setting, casting a warm, golden glow over the scene. The salesperson is intently focused on the laptop screen, demonstrating a software or online service to a small group of interested onlookers, who are standing around the table in casual summer clothes. The scene combines business and leisure in a tropical setting. — ChatGPT: Draw me a salesperson giving a demo on a tropical beach

If you’ve taken my course or have been following my newsletter for long enough, you know that I talk about the importance of having different messaging for “Above vs. Below the line” personas.

This continues to be a key to success in outbound. The main idea here is that people above and below the line care about vastly different things.

However, I recently came across one of Kevin Dorsey’s (KD) LinkedIn posts and it was one of the best posts I’ve ever seen (if you aren’t already you should follow him).

KD takes the above vs. below the line messaging to another level and it made me realize that something was missing from my explanation.

At the end of the day, you need executive buy-in to close deals.

But the challenge with executives is that they are the hardest people to outbound and book meetings with.

The only chance you have is to provide them with executive level insights and in most cases executive level insights that are relevant can only be found internally.

This is especially true the larger the account gets.

In order to engage these executives it’s important that you are hitting 3 levels of personas at an account. He calls it the 3 I’s:

1. Information

2. Insights

3. Influence

Translated to the Above vs. Below the line framework:

1. Low (Individual Contributors & Managers) - Gather Information

2. Middle (Sr. Managers / Directors) - Gather Insights

3. Above (Execs) - Influence

1. Low (Individual Contributors & Managers) - Gather Information

There are a lot of people in this category at most companies so getting a response from somebody here is usually easier.

KD uses this email template:

“Hey X, I was thinking of reaching out to Y but didn’t want to waste their time… do y’all even have/do/work with _____?”

I love it because it’s so simple and short. It breaks the pattern of the standard email from people.

Here’s a real example I use for this low level at Barley:

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