Mastering Your Self-Sourced Pipeline. A Guide for Account Executives

How to get over 90% Pipeline AccuracyAccount Executives (AEs) face increasing pressure to generate their own leads. In fact, according to a keynote speech at the recent HubSpot INBOUND 24 event, top-performing AEs should aim to self-source at least 30% of their sales pipeline.

With inbound leads becoming more expensive and less predictable and SDR teams stretched thin, self-sourcing is no longer just a nice-to-have skill - it’s essential.

But what does it really take to master the art of self-sourcing your pipeline? In this guide, we’ll break down proven strategies to help you take control of your sales process and consistently generate new opportunities. With the right approach, self-sourcing can boost your results and set you apart from the competition. Let’s dive right in.

What Does It Mean to Self-Source Your Pipeline?

Before we get too far, let's make sure we're on the same page. Self-sourcing your pipeline means generating your own leads and prospects through outbound efforts, rather than relying solely on inbound leads or sales development reps (SDRs). It’s about owning your success, creating more control over your sales process, and ultimately driving more revenue.

Why Is Self-Sourcing So Important in Today’s Sales Environment?

With the cost of money rising through higher interest rates it's not just inflation that's declining, so are inbound leads. B2B sales is tougher because of a combination of cost pressures and the need for continued growth, and top-performing AEs are adapting and self-sourcing at least 30% of their pipeline.

Why? Because it's all about ownership and consistency. When you self-source, you’re not dependent on marketing or SDRs to hit your targets. Plus, it allows you to:

• Control your own destiny in sales
• Shorten your sales cycle by building stronger relationships from the start
• Increase your earning potential by driving more opportunities
  
  
  

Begin with your Ideal Client Profile

Dive into all the nitty gritty details of defining and refining your ICP with help from our ICP blog articles 

Get your prospecting balance right

Relying on inbound leads alone is no longer the best strategy. Increasing your outbound activities is now a must in order to regularly meet your sales goals.

Aim to fill your pipeline with at least 30% outbound sourced leads, 30% inbound  and  the balance coming from upsell, cross-sell and partner leads.

LinkedIn can be a good source for generating leads using Sales Navigator to identify good fit ICP prospects. Tools like Expandi can help with increasing your productivity and reach.

 

Perfect your Outbound methods

As well as your everyday prospecting activities, consider how you can capture more sales from your existing client base.

Using your HubSpot data, you have the ability to set "upsell triggers" based on the customer's profile and their potential for increased usage, their usage pattern and their suitability for new products.

Simply create a task in HubSpot to notify a sales person of the potential for upsell in that account.

HubSpot Sales Hub is a key tool to drive sales engagement with the ability to 

- Effectively lead score and feed back to marketing
- Create a deal straight from qualification
- Easily manage the disqualification process
- Test messaging and sequences with A/B testing features

Step 1: Dial in Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

The first step in self-sourcing is to make sure you're targeting the right people. You can't just go after everyone and anyone. You need to know exactly who your ideal customer is. Consider the following;

• Who are your best customers?
• Which industries have you had the most success in?
• What common pain points do they have?

If you haven’t revisited your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) recently, now’s the time to do it. Fine-tuning this will save you time and energy by ensuring you're focused on prospects that are more likely to convert.

What Makes a Good ICP?

A great ICP isn’t just a guess—it’s backed by data. Look at the accounts you’ve closed in the last year. What do they have in common? Things like company size, industry, job titles and challenges can help you paint a picture of your ideal prospects.

You now have the option to use AI to identify new ICPs that are a good fit for your products and services. HubSpot offers several specific AI tools to help identify new Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs).

Key features include:

1. Discover Companies: This tool allows you to search for companies that match specific criteria, helping you find potential ICPs based on attributes like industry or size.

2. Company Lookup: Use this feature to gather detailed information about specific companies, enabling you to assess their fit as potential ICPs.

3. AI-driven Analytics: These insights can analyse existing customer data to identify patterns and characteristics that define your ideal customers.

4. Segmenting Tools: HubSpot's segmentation features help refine your audience based on various metrics, allowing you to target marketing efforts effectively.

example ICP

Step 2: Segment and Prioritise Accounts

Once you have your ICP locked in, it’s time to segment and prioritise your accounts. This step is all about focus. You can’t chase every lead. Instead, focus on the highest-potential accounts that fit your ICP.

Scoring Your Accounts

You can use account scoring models to rank your prospects based on factors like fit, timing and potential. This gives you a clear roadmap of where to spend your time.

• Fit: How well does this account match your ICP?
• Timing: Are there triggers like new leadership, funding rounds, or expansions that make them ready to buy now?
• Potential: How big is this deal and how much value can you bring to this account?

Step 3: Ensure AEs have Manageable Account Lists

When it comes to self-sourcing your pipeline, size matters - specifically, the size of your account list. You can’t effectively manage 100+ accounts and give them the attention they need. Instead, you should work with a smaller, more focused list of high-priority accounts.

Dynamic Account List: How They Help

A dynamic list allows you to adjust your focus as new accounts become high-priority or old ones fall out of the picture. Keeping your list manageable ensures that you can engage deeply with each prospect, building stronger relationships and increasing the likelihood of closing deals.

Step 4: Hold Yourself Accountable

Let’s face it: prospecting is tough. It takes persistence and discipline. That’s why you need a plan to hold yourself accountable for the number of outreach activities you perform.

Setting Daily Activity Goals

It’s not enough to just hope for the best. Set daily and weekly activity targets for yourself based on what it will take to reach your pipeline goals. How many calls, emails, and LinkedIn messages do you need to send every day?

Track your activities and make sure you're hitting your targets.

Multi-Threading and Engagement

For B2B sales, it’s critical to multi-thread your outreach. This means reaching out to multiple people at a target account, not just one. The more contacts you can engage, the better your chances of getting in the door.

Step 5: Review and Optimise Regularly

Nobody nails it on the first try. That’s why it’s important to review your progress regularly. Are your outreach activities converting? Where are you seeing success, and where are you struggling?

Data-Driven Coaching

Use data to refine your approach. Look at open rates, response rates and meeting conversion rates. Are certain industries or personas responding better to your outreach? Use that data to tweak your strategy.

How to Execute Effective Outreach

Outreach is the bread and butter of self-sourcing, but it’s not about spamming your prospects. It's about being targeted, persistent, and creative.

-Multi-Channel Outreach

Effective outbound prospecting requires a mix of email, phone, and LinkedIn messages. Don’t rely on just one method. Studies show that using multiple channels increases your chances of getting a response.

-Timing Is Everything

When you reach out matters as much as how you do it. Use your golden hours (8am-3pm) for outbound efforts. These are the prime hours when decision-makers are most likely to respond. Save the admin work for later in the day.

-Leveraging Momentum

Momentum is your best friend in sales. When things are going well, keep the ball rolling.

• Just closed a deal? Call into similar accounts.
• Had a great first meeting? Use that energy to set more meetings.

Riding that wave of success can help you stay motivated and boost your chances of converting more prospects.

-Teaming Up With SDRs

If you’re lucky enough to have an SDR team, make sure you’re working closely with them. You can tag-team accounts, with SDRs focusing on lower-level contacts while you go after decision-makers. This division of labor maximises your coverage and efficiency.

-The Power of Consistency

Self-sourcing is like going to the gym—you need to stay consistent to see results. The more you build the habit of prospecting, the better you’ll get at it. Block off at least an hour a day for prospecting and stick to it. Over time, that discipline will pay off in the form of more meetings and more closed deals.

Take Control of Your Pipeline

Self-sourcing your pipeline can feel like a daunting task, but with the right strategy, it becomes manageable—and even exciting. By nailing down your ICP, segmenting and prioritising accounts, staying accountable, and consistently refining your outreach, you'll take control of your pipeline and your success. It’s all about putting in the effort now to build a steady stream of opportunities in the future.

Another strategy that could be worth considering is incorporating Cross-Selling and Upselling into your sales motion. For more information this, visit this link to our recent blog on the best Cross-Selling and Upselling approach.

If you need more information on self sourcing your pipeline, get in touch for a free no obligation chat. Use this meeting link to set up a chat with one of our team.