It happens to all of us. A hot new lead shows up, does all the right things, scores through the roof, we call and maybe even do a formal sales presentation then nothing. Just crickets….
So what should you do to reignite the relationship?
Well, first of all, we’d recommend having a basic email lead nurturing program in place that will automatically re-engage with the prospect based on where they are in the sales cycle and, in this case, being classified as “stale.” Read more about how to map your lead nurturing to your sales pipeline stages here.
Assuming you are indeed doing that or maybe it hasn’t quite done the trick, what should you do now?
Here are 5 easy suggestions (this also assumes you have done the list building to know who these people are in the first place):
1. Personally invite them to an online event
Odds are you are having some type of on-line or off-line event for your company and maybe even have invited them via a bulk email marketing campaign. Grab the invite details and forward it to them as a real and genuine email forward…not gamed to look like a forward in a bulk email marketing campaign that has become popular albeit irritating (you know “FW: Subject”). This is about taking the time to extend a personal invitation so make it short, sweet, and actionable.
2. Create a limited time promotion based on their needs
If you have done your job well in the first discussions, you know their needs and have qualified them against some criteria (you do have sales qualification criteria, don’t you?). Reference the notes in your CRM system or even an old thread of emails. If resources were an issue on their end, offer a few hours of consulting services to get them up and running. If it was an approval from a higher up, offer a discount to get it done this week/month/quarter. This is sort of standard sales playbook stuff but works, again, in context to the specific prospect.
3. Send them a hand written note
What? You mean actually put pen to paper? Yes, in some cases this will be your best approach because it communicates that you took the time and thought to personally follow up. Please no bulk direct mail or postcards. Pick your prospects wisely and figure out who needs the personal touch. If you have personal note cards, even better as it is less formal + more personal.
4. Connect socially
Yes, this is about social media. IF they have an online presence like a Twitter handle then tune in (follow) and engage when the time is right. DO NOT hard sell. Imagine you’ve run into this person in a coffee shop, have said hello, and are making conversation with a group of people already gathered so if you don’t have something relevant to say then stay quiet. Social media updates especially via public streams like Twitter give you ample opportunity to share information, answer a question, or provide a worthy comment.
5. Use a longer term email lead flow
So sort of back to where we started with an automated lead flow but this one is a bit different. In this case, take a longer view and think about how you’d like to touch base with a prospect over a 90 or 120 day time horizon (or longer if your sales cycles are very long). Take a few pieces of valuable content like case studies, industry recognition, or even just a simple “is now a better time” personal messages and put them to work in your marketing automation system. You’ll be surprised at the engagement that comes from simply following up over a longer time horizon than this month or this quarter.
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Tags: best practices, prospecting, sales leads
