Nurturing a lead until they become stuck somewhere in the buyer’s journey sounds like a nightmare for any sales or marketing executive. But if you feel like you were making real progress – don’t worry.
More often than not, when a lead goes cold, it’s generally due to something internal at the company. They got busy with a new project, someone went on vacation, or a variety of other things could be the actual reason – which means, you can re-engage with them successfully. Here are our tips to increase your lead engagement, and get your prospects unstuck for good.
1. Re-Visit Your Buyer’s Journey and Personas
While we mentioned that leads frequently go dark due to something within their own company, there is the off chance something may be amiss within your organization. If leads are getting stuck consistently, revisit your buyer’s journey to see if some of your content is no longer serving the needs of the awareness, consideration, and decision stages. Or, perhaps, your audience has slightly shifted throughout the years, and the person you’re trying to engage with is no longer your true target.
Also read: How Buyer Personas Can Lead to Successful Prospecting and Sales
2. Let Them Know You’re Available
If someone hasn’t responded to you in some time, try emailing them again to let them know you’re there for them. Acknowledge the fact you know people get busy with other projects and offer a flexible schedule for them to get back to you. Be friendly and open, and they’ll recognize that. Also, remember to personalize your email by including their name – another tactic that shows you’re there to help them.
However, when initially re-engaging with them, don’t bring up the past. Your friendliness will seem artificial when you remind them that they didn’t respond to you three weeks ago. Stick to language that shows you’re eager to work with them.
3. Invite Them to Your Marketing Newsletter
Sometimes leads become stuck because the decision maker at the company is not on board – yet. If your marketing team sends a regular newsletter and they’re not on the list, ask if they want to subscribe. Your leads will stay on top of your company’s communication and your brand will keep resurfacing. Then, hopefully, when the time is right, they’ll be excited to begin working with you again.
Also read: Email Newsletters Your Leads Will Actually Read
4. Send Them Relevant Content
If you’re looking for a way to reconnect with a lead, sending them a piece of content that addresses their exact pain points is a good idea. Send something they haven’t seen before with a note explaining why you’re doing so. This demonstrates that you haven’t forgotten about them or their situation and hopefully opens the door for conversations.
Also read: Inbound Content Strategy: Overcoming the Saturation Problem
5. Try a Personal, Non-Business Approach
For many people, they deal with salespeople a lot. They hear plenty of account executives sell them products in similar fashions. When relinking with someone, ask them a question about their lives. If something exciting is happening, people enjoy talking about it.
If you know they’re headed on vacation soon, ask them what their plans are. Or, begin a conversation about a shared interest that you continue through many emails or phone calls. These types of discussions likely are a breath of fresh air for your prospects.
6. Connect on LinkedIn
Did you know 80% of leads come from LinkedIn? That alone proves LinkedIn is an excellent source for generating leads, but it’s also a good place to nurture and reengaged with them, too. Before engaging with any prospects, make sure your LinkedIn summary outlines your experience, willingness to help, and other value you bring to prospects.
After that, using LinkedIn on a regular basis – like sharing your company’s content -- can help with all leads. But for moving stuck leads along, it serves as a non-aggressive outlet to start a new conversation. You can congratulate them on milestones, promotions, or even wish them a happy birthday. Include a unique call-to-action that references your openness to start talking about your company’s solutions again.
7. Personally Invite Them To A Company Event
If your company is hosting a webinar, Twitter chat, or in-person event, send a personalized invite to your prospect. The invite will resurface your company to them, and if they accept, they’ll have another opportunity to learn about your offerings and why they should work with you. An in-person event grants you a one-on-one conversation where you can address any concerns that lead them to become stuck in the first place.
There are several ways to engage with a cold prospect. It may be a personal invitation to a webinar, or a more personal approach to the questions you ask your leads. Determine what’s best for you and your team and begin reconnecting with stuck leads. However, if you’ve tried several options to no available, you can look for something more in-depth by contacting us today.
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