Dear Reader,
As the world entered a global lock-down, the digital workforce needed to learn how to operate remotely. We witnessed an unprecedented technological transformation out of necessity. As companies became comfortable with remote teams and focused on cash flow, we saw an increased demand for high-quality digital teams like Odetta who could help companies with tactical work at scale. Our platform top-line revenue grew 500%, and with that, we doubled our workforce in 2020, providing hundreds of jobs to many in the hardest of times.
The most popular service requested in 2020, especially post COVID, has been B2B lead generation, also known as sales development rep work. Our Odettians build lists of prospects, run outreach campaigns on behalf of our clients, and push for meetings. Linkedin conversion rates have nearly doubled, and prospects are more reachable than ever.
But sales can be so embarrassing. I remember sitting in a large payment company’s lobby pre-COVID waiting to meet with some classmates who had graciously offered to meet with me about Odetta. I remember how one of the “targets” who had not returned my email, darted around the office coffee machine avoiding me as if I was a snake peddler. I recoiled in my chair, wondering if I was significantly damaging my social capital and whether it was worth it. Had I become a low-brow spammer?
But if that were the only story, we wouldn't be doubling down on our own lead generation, nor rapidly expanding lead generation as a service. The truth is for every embarrassing sales story, there is that amazing call that makes everything worth it. Like the time, the CEO of Bill.com jumped onto a call with me and gave me his brain for 45 minutes, one week before his IPO. Or the 327 other Stanford founders who have jumped onto the phone with me over the past two years to share ideas, commented on our model or given us a project to trial (🙏 20+ GSB founders who are Odetta clients).
The thing is...I won’t remember the embarrassing story in a year, but I will remember the amazing story forever. Because rejection stings only for a few minutes, while success stories stay with you, building resiliency, so you have the capacity in the future to do more. I send 300 outbound emails every week to tech founders, and my calendar has 15 demo calls every day (except Wednesdays), booked out for the next two weeks. I also send personalized emails to my wishlist: these are my dream meetings, people like Sara Blakely and Katrina Lake, who one day I will have coffee with.
In truth, the turning point for me was when my classmate helped me see my sales hustle in a much brighter light. I thought I was stealing my prospects' time, but actually, she helped me see that I was offering them a 30-minute window into an interesting business, and an opportunity to become more productive while making the world a better place.
So, as we head into 2021, I’d encourage you to email that founder, send the follow-ups, and track everything. And while you are at, consider pre-booking a virtual sales assistant from Odetta who can help you get to where you want to go (even if it's with a mask!).
Here is to an audacious and changing new year,
Katharine
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Monthly Spotlight: Virtual Assistance for Sales
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Odetta has launched a virtual assistant sales service designed for Tech Founders and Account Executives. Don't you wish you could be leveraging Linkedin consistently every day, making use of the 70 free outbound in your account? Or that you could be sending out hundreds of emails to prospects, and better yet actually following up consistently to see which language or title converts. This is a labor-intensive and strategic function that you should not be doing yourself. We have recruited and vetted top MBA researchers who can serve as your virtual sales assistant for 2 hours per day at $560 per month.
To see an in-depth introduction to demand generation, check out this article about Lead Generation, or reach out to learn more about how Odetta can set you up for success.
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Founder Lesson Learned: Identify Your Anti-Role Model
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Sometimes a good way to shape the culture is to decide what you don't want, and then figure out how to get the opposite. My experience at a venture-backed company was excellent and worthwhile, but I did not like being in so many executive meetings, nor did I appreciate the heavy-handed board nor the distracting open floor space.
As I started Odetta, I wanted to build a place with no meetings, where everyone, not just the CEO can work whenever it is most productive for them, where it is easy to advance based on meritocracy, in a company that values kindness. When you start a company, you get to be the mayor of a small town, and you can design the environment as you wish. I always wanted a place that felt like a sisterhood, so that's what we built at Odetta, and that is what people describe when they are asked about what it's like to work here.
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Customer Spotlight: Software Company Testimonial
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“We were very happy with the engagement, with the positive results from sessions where we trained the annotators and with the accuracy of the annotations! Everything we needed was taken care of well. Keep doing what you're doing! Super impressed!”
— Cliff M.
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“So often in life, things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great good fortune.”
— Ruth Bader Ginsburg
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