Let’s be real—walking up to a stranger and trying to sell them something is awkward. I’ve been there. Sweaty palms, racing thoughts, overthinking my pitch. But here’s what I’ve learned: the best effective sales strategies don’t feel like selling. They feel like connecting. Whether you’re a sales rep making cold calls, a CEO leading a sales team, or just trying to hit your monthly sales goal, this blog is for you. I’ll walk you through the exact sales approach I use to turn total strangers into loyal customers—and no, it doesn’t involve any slick sales pitch or gimmicky sales tactics. Just honest conversations, real tools, and a solid sales strategy plan. Sound good? Let’s dive in.

Table of contents:

• Best Strategy to Build Trust from Scratch
• Fear of Rejection Is Real and Beatable
• Effective Tools That Do the Heavy Lifting
• Your Sales Plan Matters More Than You Think
• Inbound vs. Outbound Sales
• Training and Coaching Your Sales Team
• Final Thoughts and Free Trial

Best Strategy to Build Trust from Scratch

Here’s a little paradox I’ve come to love: people don’t trust you at first and that’s your greatest opportunity. When you start from zero, every word, every gesture, every video, every follow-up builds that trust.

• Show your face. Sales reps, turn on your webcam.
• Let them into your world—your workspace, your process, even your flubs.
• Use reviews and testimonials. Let someone else talk about your product or service.

If you want a successful sales funnel, it starts with making strangers feel safe. That’s foundational in any sales cycle.

Fear of Rejection Is Real and Beatable

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: rejection. I used to take it personally. I’d send an email, get no response, and spiral. But here’s how I reframed it:

• A “no” isn’t about me—it’s about timing or fit.
• Every no gets me closer to a yes.
• Sometimes a “no” becomes a referral. That’s still a win.

If you want to increase sales, you’ve got to stop fearing the word “no” and start chasing the next conversation.

Effective Tools That Do the Heavy Lifting

I’m not a magician—I just use the right tools. If your sales team isn’t leveraging AI and video, you’re leaving money on the table.

AI Writing Assistants

Whether it’s an email, sales pitch, or message to book a call, AI helps you write clear, on-brand, personalized content fast. And when you’re juggling 10 deals at once, that’s a lifesaver.

Video Messaging

This one changed the game for me. Video is the fastest way to warm up a cold lead. It shortens the sales cycle and makes your sales conversations feel human. You can use it in your CRM, email, SMS, or LinkedIn messages. It builds rapport before a sales rep ever hops on a call.

Your Sales Plan Matters More Than You Think

If you’re winging it every day, that’s not a sales strategy—it’s a gamble. A real sales strategy plan maps out your activities, goals, follow-ups, and metrics. It answers:

• What’s my sales pipeline?
• Where are leads falling off?
• What’s my conversion rate per sales rep?
• What are our most effective sales strategies for this quarter?

The best sales managers I know don’t just create a sales plan—they tweak it weekly based on performance data.

Inbound vs. Outbound Sales

There’s a long-standing debate around inbound vs. outbound sales, but the reality is that the most successful sales strategies integrate both. These are the two types of sales that, when aligned properly, form a powerful sales engine. An inbound sales strategy focuses on attracting prospects through valuable content and tailored messaging, while an outbound sales strategy takes a more proactive approach to sales by reaching out directly to potential customers. To achieve your sales goals, it’s crucial to build a sales strategy that incorporates effective selling techniques from both types.

A winning blends the best sales methodologies, sales tools, and sales analytics to guide your sales team to sell efficiently and confidently. Whether you’re using sales automation or manual outreach, combining both inbound and outbound sales strategies helps you align your sales and marketing teams, drive prospects through the sales funnel, and ultimately increase your sales success.

To create a sales strategy that works, start with a comprehensive sales strategy plan, supported by a solid sales plan template. Analyze past sales, understand sales trends, and define the sales activities and sales targets that matter most. Equip your sales team with the right training and sales enablement resources to take control of sales conversations and close more deals.

Remember, every strategic sales plan should include sales metrics to measure the effectiveness of your sales efforts. Whether you’re focused on direct sales or nurturing leads through content, a sales strategy is a detailed plan that helps you develop a sales strategy your sales team can follow consistently.

By incorporating both inbound and outbound strategies, you can set your sales team up for long-term success, align marketing and sales, and ultimately help your sales team deliver a sales strategy that works.

Inbound Sales

Is a strategic sales approach focused on attracting and converting leads who have already shown interest in your business—through a blog post, video, ad, or other sales and marketing efforts. This is one of the most effective types of sales because it begins with prospects who are already engaged. A successful inbound strategy relies on helpful, relevant information, not aggressive pitches, to guide prospects through the sales funnel.

To achieve your sales goals, it’s essential to develop a strategy that includes sales enablement tools, effective selling techniques, and sales activities designed to educate and build trust. Using sales analytics, sales metrics, and a solid sales plan template, your team can identify buyer intent, personalize outreach, and nurture relationships with the right content at the right time.

Outbound Sales

One of the most powerful sales approaches within a strategic sales plan—where persistence, personalization, and process come together. It involves direct sales efforts like cold emails, LinkedIn outreach, and follow-up calls to prospects who haven’t yet engaged with your brand. These are proactive sales activities designed to generate leads and move prospects through the sales funnel.

A successful sales in outbound selling requires more than just volume—it calls for a well-structured sales process, guided by proven sales methodologies and powered by sales enablement tools. To create a strategy that works, you must blend relevance, timing, and value into your outreach so it doesn’t feel cold—it feels helpful.

A winning sales includes the right sales techniques, supported by sales automation, sales training, and sales analytics to consistently improve performance. This is one of the types of strategies where having a comprehensive plan is essential to help your sales team hit their sales targets and close deals efficiently.

When you develop a strategy that combines effective selling with personalization, your outbound efforts become more than just outreach—they become part of a strategy that works. Equip your sales team with the right messaging, and you’ll empower them to confidently engage prospects and achieve your sales goals.

Training and Coaching Your Sales Team

Your top sales reps aren’t born—they’re coached. If you want high sales performance, invest in ongoing learning.

Coaching Topics That Move the Needle:

• How to lead a sales conversation (not dominate it)
• When to listen and when to pitch
• How to qualify leads and move them through the sales pipeline
• How to tailor the sales approach based on buyer intent

Use real call recordings. Role-play. Set sales goals. Create space to learn from every win and loss. That’s how you build a top sales culture—not by micromanaging, but by mentoring.

Final Thoughts and Free Trial

Look, the sales and marketing landscape is changing. Buyers are smarter. The sales process is faster. The competition is louder. But connection? Connection still wins. If you want to boost your team’s confidence, speed up your sales cycle, and finally connect with leads like a human—not a robot—you need tools built for the modern sales leader. That’s why I use Dubb.

With Dubb, I can:

• Send personalized video messages at scale
• Track video views and engagement
• Use AI to craft outreach messages that convert
• Get insights into my sales funnel with built-in CRM tools
• Manage my sales team’s performance

But don’t take my word for it. Join the 100K+ users already growing their business with smarter sales communication.

Get 7 Days Free Trial on Dubb Make your first video today. Send it to that lead you’ve been afraid to follow up with. And see what happens.