Zach Landres-Schnur on the Future of Outbound Sales

Zach Landres-Schnur is the Head of Sales Development at LiveRamp. Over the past decade, he's seen the company grow from 150 employees to nearly 1,500 globally.

He sat down to discuss the seismic shifts happening in outbound sales, playbooks that work for him, and more.

On the death of automated sequences

The playbook from the early 2020s—those static sequences and cadences—that's a thing of the past.

I want my team thinking heavily researched, heavily personalized outreach. That's what's winning for us and for other SDR leaders I talk to.

We'll have cadences that are basically just blank. It's like, "This is just a placeholder for you to do your research and then write something." Just because someone fits a persona doesn't mean you can send them an email—you might as well toss it in the trash.

The actual email structure is still simple:

• Observation
• Relevant piece of information through our research
• Value prop tied to that first sentence
• Soft call to action

Usually three sentences, maybe four.

But the quality is WAY up.

On building real points of view

This is usually the hardest part for new SDRs—connecting account insights to our value proposition.

We have an order of operations:

Account Level Research

• What do we know from their financials?
• Recent earnings call?
• Big company bets?

Person Level Research

• What's their function?
• What do they care about?
• What's in it for them?

The struggle isn't understanding that a company is focused on acquiring new loyalty members—that's easy. Where they struggle is connecting that to our value prop. How do those two things tie together?

Email structure: observation, relevant piece of information through research, value prop tied to that first sentence, then a soft call to action. One, two, three sentences, maybe four.

On AI's role in sales

AI is going to eliminate that stale, automated cadence SDR approach. But AI helping a person be more strategic about breaking into accounts? That's my bet for where the top sales orgs win.

AI agents writing emails for you was helpful maybe six months ago. Now it's table stakes.

Where I'm looking to go with AI is getting even deeper. How can we find those little nuggets of gold that you can't find with a Google search?

Like if the CEO of Nike was on stage at CES and said something specific—how can we get that intelligence into my team's hands instantly?

It could become table stakes in three months, but right now, that's the missing piece.

On interviewing for great SDRs

Here's the first barrier: can you effectively outbound me or one of my managers? If they can get our attention, they can likely get a prospect's attention.

We'll also put them through a presentation. Can you walk me through that order of operations for developing a point of view and breaking into an account? That's becoming absolutely critical.

The Soft Skills Assessment

Then there's the soft skills—the hunger, the grit, the hustle. Are they going to roll up their sleeves and work their tails off for what can be a thankless job at times?

We'll ask about times they've:

• Really struggled
• Had their back up against the wall
• Were way behind on quota but still got to goal

Former athletes often work well. They've been coached, they know the effort it takes, and they understand what it means to be part of a team working toward something bigger.

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This interview was conducted as part of the Modern GTM series, exploring how sales leaders are adapting to the evolving landscape of go-to-market strategies.