Ask HN: Resources to get better at outbound sales?

Posted by sieep 12/21/2025

Hi!

I run a small custom software company in Michigan.

I want to get better at outbound sales beyond just cold emailing or messaging people through LinkedIn.

We’re about to start publishing case studies and doing some outreach, so I want to take some time to study outbound sales and improve my skills.

Any recommended courses, books, or frameworks for B2B outbound sales, consultative selling, or building effective outreach pipelines?

Thanks!

240 points | 68 commentspage 3

wheelerwj 12/27/2025|

Hey man, im in a similar game in a different part of the country.email me if you want to connect, i can share how ive failed and a couple things that worked. A high level, i agree with outbound not being the correct strategy if you’re not in eastern europe or south america.

gervwyk 12/27/2025|

Same here, would love to share experiences. From South Africa.

KellyCriterion 12/27/2025||

Not sure if they support US etc., but this is a very cool tool:

www.salesviewer.com

They are analyzing your website data and telling you very much about the visitor. (I guess they are also doing some fancy AI stuff in the background, like connecing/syncing with linkedIn for known static-IPs etc.)

Give it a try!

wussboy 12/28/2025||

The only sales book I've ever read that presented a sales process I thought I could do and not throw up was "Let's Get Real or Let's Not Play". I strongly recommend it for someone doing exactly what you're doing.

iainctduncan 12/28/2025|

This book is EXCELLENT. I was told by a colleague at one of the big consultancies that it was mandatory reading there.

rkpandey 12/27/2025||

We have hit channel exhaustion in B2B the way we hit it few years ago for B2C. The key is to build unified data assets and go multi-channel (email, linked, call). Nurturing prospects go a long way. Familiarity helps a lot in driving sales decisions.

jdhornby 12/28/2025||

I’m working on an app to help outbound sales reps get better at cold out reach, love for you to try it out and for any feedback.

https://coldcall.coach/

SoftTalker 12/27/2025||

Your existing customers probably know of others who have similar needs. They might not want to refer you to a competitor but they might be happy to refer you to a complementary organization.

pryelluw 12/27/2025||

Friendly suggestion to read (and study) The Ultimate Sales Letter by Dan Kennedy. In addition to anything else you do. Guy is a prick. But, he’s a prick who has made me $$$.

stranded22 12/27/2025||

When I first started new business sales, I used the sales bible by Jeffrey gitomer. He’s written quite a few books and I found them useful.

hogu 12/28/2025|

My personal opinion is that outbound is dead, especially if developers are your audience. We are focused on social media -> inbound

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