You’ve built an intelligent paid acquisition campaign to drive inbound leads on the channels your audiences hang out in most. Your ad creatives and calls to action are click-worthy. You’ve tested and retested your landing pages and contact forms to ensure they look great on mobile and desktop alike.  You’ve put a singular focus on simplifying the contact form to reduce roadblocks and lead data is integrated seamlessly with your CRM and you’ve made sure your landing pages and forms are GDPR compliant. Woohoo. The leads start pouring in.

You reach 5, 10, 15 even 30% of your leads, but the others – just don’t return your calls.

Unfortunately for any business running lead generation campaigns, this is a common theme.  However, there are strategies that if put in place correctly and consistently implemented, will help to reduce unresponsiveness and increase closings.

Re-Engaging Unresponsive Form Leads Requires Process, Persistence, and Personalization

Speed to Lead

Speed to lead describes the amount of time it takes to respond to an inbound lead once it’s been generated. Check out these stats from Vendasta:

• You are 100 times more likely to connect with a prospect when you make initial contact within five minutes
• 78% of customers buy from the first responder
• Longer than 5 minutes = an 80% decrease in lead qualification

Communication Platforms

There are multiple communication methods that may be effective in reaching your prospect based on your customer demographics.  Email, phone, Social messaging (LinkedIn, FB, etc.) conversational AI bots, SMS, and WhatsApp are just some of the communication methods to test in order to effectively engage your potential customers.   There are also a number of AI-powered “all-in-one” hubs that can be implemented to help with this process as well.

Test Phone First

For most first engagements it’s worth testing a phone call first. A call adds credibility by showcasing an investment in building a relationship with the prospect.  As well, it’s far easier to close a lead by phone than any other communication method. You are able to alleviate concerns on the spot by addressing their pain points.   Adding a “best time to call” drop-down in the lead form can also mitigate the discomfort of “bad timing” responses.

Frequency

Frequency refers to the number of outreach attempts made (regardless of communication platform).  The industry average for prospect outreach is 6 to 10 attempts with the first two outreach channels traditionally being phone and email.  Hubspot suggests a 48-hour break after day 1, before attempting to reach out again so that prospects don’t feel harassed.  Ultimately only testing will help you determine the ideal prospect threshold.

Timing

While an array of studies have been executed about the best time of day for prospect outreach, there are no hard and fast rules.  However there are some suggested sweet spots: According to a cross-check of multiple reports, the best time of day is between 4 pm and 6 pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Sales Messaging

Personalization

When reaching out via messaging or email, take the time to research your lead and personalize your outreach.  Mention specific details that were conveyed in their lead form (not just their first name) that show you’ve done your homework.  For example, what keyword triggered their response? What specific service did they show interest in? If your communication sounds generic and cold it will be perceived as spam and expect to be ignored. 

Value

Offer value and solutions in your messaging. Instead of focusing solely on your product or service, provide value to the lead by offering helpful information, insights, or solutions to their challenges. Position yourself as a trusted advisor who genuinely wants to assist them. This approach can increase engagement and make them more likely to respond.

Social Proof

People are more likely to engage if they see that others have benefited from your product or service. Incorporate social proof, such as customer testimonials or case studies, into your outreach to establish credibility and build trust.

Sales Break-Up Emails

Yes, it’s a thing.  A sales breakup email is the final email you send to your prospects when they’ve not responded to your previous attempts. The purpose of this email is that you are moving on unless your prospects want to re-engage. However, it’s not just a simple goodbye.  The goal is to provide value as you are saying farewell. According to InstantlyAI an email template like the one below can get a percentage of your prospects back in the sales cycle:

Remember, re-engaging leads is an investment.  Be patient and persistent, but also respect the lead’s decision if they choose not to re-engage.