Charles Holloway
Outbound Marketing B2B

From 0 to 25 MQLs/month: Building an outbound engine during COVID

Increased sales demos by 313% per month with hyper-targeted outbound call and email campaigns.

Key metrics: +313% Sales Demos, 25 MQLs/Month, +1,333% Inbound Leads
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The problem

B2B SaaS startup connecting low-income rental applicants with affordable housing providers. Needed to scale sales during challenging market conditions.

  • Product-focused founder needed sales enablement help — no dedicated sales team, only had time to deal with the most qualified leads
  • Limited outbound infrastructure — missing tools, sequences, and prospecting processes
  • COVID crushed demand (and budget) — eviction moratoriums, budget freezes, and market uncertainty hit the affordable housing sector hard. The company also had no budget for national conferences, which was the most successful channel pre-COVID.

The strategy

Strategy framework: ICP Research, Outreach Engine, Message Testing
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The approach: build systematic outbound infrastructure from scratch. Identify the ideal customer profile using industry databases, web scraping, and manual research. Execute simultaneous multi-touch sequences across email, phone, and LinkedIn. Test messaging by property type, region, and COVID-specific angles.

  • 1
    ICP Research

    Used HUD databases, web scraping, and LinkedIn Sales Nav to build qualified prospect lists with custom scoring criteria.

  • 2
    Outreach Engine

    Simultaneous multi-channel sequences combining email, phone, and LinkedIn touches. Implemented email deliverability best practices (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, message structure, etc.) and significantly improved deliverability, opens, CTRs, and replies.

  • 3
    Message Testing

    Personalized copy by property type, regional customization, and COVID-relevant angles addressing pandemic-specific concerns.

  • Bonus Strategy

    I should also mention that we significantly improved technical SEO (e.g. 98% on Semrush) -- something that continues to result in closed deals. I also helped position the CEO as a thought leader in the space by developing partnerships with large government associations, interactive webinars, and other educational content. Through our participation we got access to large lists of qualified leads we could follow up with to continue building mutually beneficial relationships.

Execution

The key innovation was multi-touch coordination—timing warm follow-up calls to land shortly after email engagement signals, dramatically increasing connection rates.

Process flow: Research → Qualify → Outreach → Demo
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List Building Methodology

Custom scoring system to pre-qualify affordable housing providers. Combined industry database mining with web scraping and manual research. Ditched Zoom Info and Apollo for home-grown lists and saw email bounce drop from 5%-10% to under 2%, which had a significant impact on deliverability.

Email Sequence Structure

Aggressive 3-4 touch sequences. Short, personalized copy addressing COVID-era challenges specific to their property type.

Call Script Framework

Warm follow-up calls triggered by email engagement signals. Focus on timing calls when prospects were most receptive.

CRM & Pipeline Tracking

Systematic lead management and conversion tracking to optimize the funnel and measure channel performance.

Results

Achieved in 6 months despite pandemic headwinds. Built a repeatable outbound engine that transformed pipeline from zero to consistent flow.

Growth chart showing steady linear growth over 6 months
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+313%
Sales Demos
25
MQLs/Month
+1,333%
Inbound Leads

Why it worked

Growth drivers mapping inputs to outputs
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The key insight: domain expertise builds trust in underserved niches. Deep understanding of affordable housing providers' challenges enabled credible, relevant messaging that cut through the noise. Thought leadership in the space increased credibility and recognition, and helped pave the way for relationship building. Targeted outbound campaigns helped find the right people at the right time.

When this works

  • Clear ICP definition possible (can identify exactly who to target)
  • Low-competition channels (prospects aren't inundated with outreach)
  • Founder has domain expertise (credible messaging possible)
  • Patience to test and iterate on messaging

Key preconditions

  • Product-market fit exists (product solves real problem)
  • Willingness to iterate (patience to test and refine)
  • Basic sales infrastructure (CRM, email tools, phone setup)
  • Multi-channel outreach capability

Scale your demo pipeline

If you're looking to build systematic outbound and increase demo volume, let's talk.

Get in touch