NOW is the time to reach back to prior year prospects and turn them into qualified leads for 2022. It’s early in the year and salespeople/business owners are moving forward with their updated/refined sales pipeline which I spoke about earlier in the month. Reaching back to those who expressed interest previously and didn’t act is typically a matter of timing. I suggest doing these three things so as not to forget those who “raised their hand,” and for several reasons did not move forward with your product or service. It’s important to remember they likely still have a need.
1. Develop a “Touch Base” eMail: Craft a short and focused eMail to your prior year prospect designed to simply “touch base”. Ask about them, their business, the busy month of January, etc. Weave in anything meaningful and helpful to the conversation such as an article you may have read specific to their industry, interesting news about ongoing supply chain challenges, or a service sector update you’ve come across. In your eMail state clearly that you’re simply touching base to say hello and that you’ll be calling them to set up time to talk via phone.
2. Call Your Prospect Via Phone: That’s right….call them! So many salespeople today rely on eMail, texting, or other forms of messaging and forget there is a human on the other end of the relationship! Pick up the phone and call your prospect leaving a message if you don’t get them the first time. Continue to call with the goal of re-opening the conversation you had previously. Remember…your prospect originally reached out to you when they had a need, and that need is likely still there. I always suggest 3-calls following your eMail spaced about 3 days apart. Your goal here is to let your prospect know they can count on you…because they can!
3. Track Your Activity & Continue to Follow Up: Track all of your eMail and Call activity in your CRM so you have good records of your various touch points. In most cases the touch base eMail with 3 follow-up calls has you connecting with your prior year prospect, however not always the case. If you’ve not connected it just proves out that the timing may still not be right. Move this contact to a cycle of every other month to follow-up and repeat the process down the road. Eventually you will connect with your prospect.
The key here is that you remain available, responsive, and communicative. It’s so key to let your prospect know you’re still interested in them, their business, and ready to serve when the need again arises.