Pipeline teams are working in a market where the usual topline numbers do not tell the whole story. A meeting booked is not always a meeting held. A high activity month does not always mean a stronger pipeline. And a broad benchmark report rarely tells you what is actually happening across real campaigns, with real buyers, in the markets your team is trying to reach.
In memoryBlue’s recent webinar session, “Clients Only: The Benchmarks, the Bets, and What They Mean for Your Pipeline,” viewers were exposed to the kind of information clients do not usually get from a public report: KPIs, campaign data, conversion trends, regional differences, and behind-the-scenes work the team is using to improve customer outcomes.
Led by Aurelien “Ray” Mottier, President of memoryBlue, the broadcast covered what memoryBlue is seeing across outreach, response, conversion, hold rates, dial efficiency, lead quality, and pipeline velocity heading into the rest of 2026.
The point was not only to share where the numbers are today. It was also to give customers a view into where memoryBlue is going as a business, what is being tested behind the scenes, and how those investments could shape the next phase of outbound performance.
The numbers behind the pipeline
In 2025, memoryBlue secured 65,000 meetings for clients. Around 52,000 of those meetings took place, with an 80% meeting show rate and more than 27,000 qualified opportunities created. That puts the conversion rate from meetings to qualified pipeline at 52.7%.
Those numbers say a lot about where outbound performance needs to be measured. Meeting volume still matters, but it is only one part of the picture. The stronger view is what happens after the meeting is booked: whether it holds, whether the prospect is qualified, and whether the opportunity moves forward.
Ray also shared how performance varies by region. In North America, meetings tend to happen faster after they are booked. Across international markets, including EMEA and APAC, attendance rates are slightly higher, with prospects around 10% more likely to show up compared with their U.S. counterparts.
Lead scores stayed fairly consistent across regions, with some international programs trending slightly higher. Part of that comes down to ramp. New campaigns usually need four to six weeks before activity reaches a more stable rhythm, and North America had a higher volume of new program launches.
The phone is still doing the heavy lifting
memoryBlue remains a phone-first organization, supported by email, LinkedIn, voicemail, and other touches across the sequence.
In Q1 2026, slightly over 80% of meetings that took place were booked over the phone. In 2025, the mix was similar: 85% by phone, 8% by email, and 7% through LinkedIn.
Email and LinkedIn still matter. Ray noted that email appears to perform slightly better in North America than in Europe, while LinkedIn remains consistent across markets, contributing around 9% to 10% of successful outreach.
But the phone remains where the strongest qualification happens. It gives SDRs and BDRs space to understand context, handle objections, test urgency, and create a real reason for the prospect to take the next step.
Ray also called out one metric he cares about more than raw call volume: conversations with prospects. Activity means very little if reps are not connecting with the right people. That is why memoryBlue is investing in better data and tools that help reps focus on the prospects most likely to engage.
The strongest programs are built before they launch
Some of the best client results shared during the broadcast came from programs that did the right work upfront.
Ray highlighted standout wins from IDC, StrongDM, and Avery Dennison where the common thread was preparation. The strongest programs were not rushed into activity. They had clear ICPs, stronger messaging, aligned processes, clean data, and a shared view of what success should look like.
That does not mean waiting months to launch. Ray pointed to a two-to-four-week setup period as the difference between “just start dialing” and giving a campaign the foundation it needs to scale. When both sides take the time to align on targeting, messaging, measurement, and accountability, the output changes.
Where the market is showing appetite
Public sector and government have seen a noticeable surge, especially in North America, driven by interest in automation, AI, cybersecurity, and big data. Finance and professional services remain strong. Industrial and engineering, healthcare and life sciences, and technology and security are also showing strong engagement.
Other sectors are moving more slowly. Media, legal, energy and infrastructure, and supply chain and logistics are still producing opportunities, but buyer appetite around innovation is not showing up with the same urgency. That context matters because outbound does not perform in a vacuum. The same motion can behave very differently depending on the vertical, the maturity of the market, and how urgent the problem feels to the buyer.
AI should amplify what is already working
Ray’s view on AI was direct: it is useful when the go-to-market motion is already validated.
If the ICP is unclear or the message is still unproven, AI can simply scale the wrong thing faster. But once the market, message, and motion are working, AI can help with research, prioritization, coaching, quality control, inbound qualification, and productivity.
The goal is not to replace the SDR. It is to remove the repetitive work that gets in the way of better conversations.
A client-only community built around what works
The broadcast also introduced The Herd, memoryBlue’s client-only collective. The Herd is designed to give customers access to exclusive content, events, partner perks, and a more direct line to memoryBlue leadership.
It is also meant to connect clients with each other more intentionally. The idea is simple: memoryBlue customers are solving similar pipeline, expansion, and go-to-market challenges. Bringing them together creates more space to share what is working, compare ideas, and learn from teams facing the same market shifts.
Where outbound goes from here
Outbound is not getting easier. Buyers are harder to reach, inboxes are crowded, and sales teams are being asked to create pipeline more efficiently. But the fundamentals have not disappeared. The strongest programs still need clear ICPs, sharp messaging, accurate data, strong rep execution, and tight feedback loops. The difference now is that those fundamentals need to be supported by better intelligence and a more honest view of what is actually happening in the funnel.
To hear the full breakdown from Ray, watch the on-demand broadcast of “Clients Only: The Benchmarks, the Bets, and What They Mean for Your Pipeline.”
