Romain Rougier, consultant specializing in prospecting B2B, helps companies develop their multi-channel prospecting strategy since 2016. Expert in Sales AutomationHe shares his approach to modern B2B prospecting, between automation and customization.
By a curious coincidence, we both started our freelance consultant activity in Toulouse in 2016, particularly accompanying the startups of the incubator Nubbo as providers. Since our meeting, we have collaborated on several projects where I have been able to see how it actually helps companies to build sustainable prospecting systems.
Can you tell us about your journey and what led you to specialize in B2B prospecting?
« I started my career in alternation in a company specializing in B2B telephone prospecting for tech players. It was an excellent school: we mainly called DSIs and business departments to sell software and hardware. The phoning is really a trainer because you can talk to many more prospects than in the face, which allows you to progress very quickly on your pitch and argument.
Over time, I have evolved to positions with more responsibility within the same company: team management, sales training, customer mission management. This experience allowed us to have a 360° vision of B2B prospecting.
After almost two years of travel to Australia and Asia, which allowed me to take a step back, I started freelance in Toulouse. In the beginning, I was primarily offering operational prospecting services. Then I gradually evolved towards the advice and support Seeing that my clients needed to be structured before they even started prospecting. »
Who are your clients today and what problem do you solve for them?
« Two types of clients are mainly accompanied by: B2B service agencies (marketing consultancy, SEO, recruitment...) and of tech enterprises, including SaaS startups. It is usually teams from 1 to 10 salesmen who need to implement a multi-channel prospecting strategy from scratch.
The goal is to accompany them step by step so that they become on their exploration. I do not ‘in their place' but I help them build their in-house prospecting system, starting from the fundamentals until the tools and automations are in place. »
What are the most common errors you see in B2B prospecting?
« The first major error is often at the fundamental level: segmentation and fine understanding of targets. Many companies want to move directly to tools and automation without having done this essential prior work.
A typical example is to target ‘all boxes in this sector' without distinction, sending the same message to DG, HRD and Technical Director. It's not because all these companies can buy your product that they buy it for the same reasons.. Each interlocutor has their own context, issues and issues.
As I often say: wanting to talk to everyone at the same time is not talking to anyone. You have to have segments that are precise enough to adapt your speech, use the right vocabulary, and refer to the right issues. That's what makes your prospects feel like your message is really meant for them. »
What is your approach to prospecting tools?
« The tools must be adapted to the context of each enterprise. For CRM, for example, I mainly recommend two solutions as needed: Pipedrive or HubSpot. Pipedrive is perfect when you need a lightweight but flexible CRM, which integrates easily with other tools. HubSpot is more relevant if you want to set up something very strong at the marketing level, even if the price is higher.
With regard to emailing, a crucial point is delivability. There is often confusion between email marketing and cold emailing – these are two very different disciplines that require different approaches and tools. For cold emailing, it is essential to use specialized tools like Lemlist and understand the stakes of delivability to prevent your emails from arriving in spam.
My advice is not to multiply the tools but to master those you use. It is better to have a simple but efficient system than a gas plant that nobody knows how to use. »
How do you structure your accompaniments?
« I break down my accompaniments into 6 main stages:
- Fundamentals : segment analysis, understanding of problems and definition of the value proposition
- Definition of the prospecting process : how we will align on the sales cycle of the prospect
- Operational implementation : configuration of tools, CRM and automation
- Sourcing : creation of lists of prospects with the right methods
- Copywriting : learn how to write messages that work
- Launch and follow-up of the first campaign
In terms of investment, my clients usually pass between 20 and 50 hours over a period of 2-3 months to implement this system. It is an important investment at the beginning, but it then makes it much more effective in the long term.
Once the system is in place, a commercial will typically spend 2-4 hours a week manage its campaigns (excluding telephone prospecting): create its prospecting files, work its copywriting, launch its campaigns and follow up. The rest of the time, it can focus on its other business tasks, but in a more optimized way thanks to the tools and processes put in place.
What is important is that the system is simple enough to be maintained over time, while being robust enough to produce results. This is not about setting up something complex that will be abandoned after a few weeks. »
How do you see the impact of AI on prospecting?
« I mean, I'm changing a lot, but I think today we still need a human back to check and refine. It can help us on several aspects: sourcing leads, customizing messages, scoring... But we must use it intelligently.
For example, for customizing messages (called ‘icebreakers'), rather than letting AI generate generic phrases like ‘Congratulations for your impressive career', I prefer to give it a very precise context based on my segments. The idea is to generate relevant phrases that refer to real prospect issues. »
How do you manage the balance between automation and qualitative approach?
« It's a central question. I advocate a very qualitative approach to prospecting, even when it comes to automation. This means investing human time upstream: build its prospect lists, think about its target segments, write adapted sequences, and track results over time.
When a client tells me he wants to automate everything without putting human resources, I know it won't work.. Automation must save you time on repetitive tasks to allow you to focus on quality and customization. »
If you were to give advice to someone starting B2B prospecting, what would it be?
« Don't neglect fundamentals on the pretext of wanting to go fast. Take the time to define your segments, understand your targets and their problems. It is a work that may seem theoretical and not very exciting, but is absolutely essential for the future.
Once you have these solid foundations, you can start putting in place tools and automations that will save you time while maintaining a high level of quality in your approaches. »
To contact Romain: find him on LinkedIn (Romain Rougier) or visit its website outboundshake.com to learn more about his accompaniments.
This interview was conducted as part of a series of discussions with digital experts who share their vision and experience.
