Prospecting is a high-stakes game, so many sales reps make the mistake of being too pushy in an attempt to quickly convert leads into sales.
Such an aggressive approach often backfires, leading to lost opportunities and potential clients who are turned off by the pressure. So, striking the right balance between engaging potential clients and respecting their boundaries is paramount.
This blog post will discuss some clever tactics for subtly engaging your leads and maintaining a persistent communication flow without overwhelming them. These methods aim to foster a sense of trust and interest, paving the way for a meaningful relationship.
Leverage the Reciprocity Principle
In other words, the best way to start a long-lasting relationship with your prospects is by not asking them for anything.
That’s right!
Don’t request anything from them, including an invitation to show up to your demo or a phone call.
Before you ask for anything in return, you should first give something.
And not just any random thing for the sake of giving, but something that your recipients can truly benefit from. Provide them value based on their role in the company or their current situation.
This can be a helpful resource, such as a blog post, free ebook, webinar, or some kind of freebie that they will find useful.
Check out their company website or LinkedIn and Facebook accounts and see whether they’re looking for a solution to a certain problem and try to connect them with someone who can be of help — this doesn’t have to be anything from your niche; you can simply show that you know what they need and help them with it.
This is called the Reciprocity Principle, and it’s a powerful psychological mechanism. Namely, after you give something to people or help them solve a problem without asking for anything in return, they feel obliged to return the favor.
Here’s how.
1. Organize an Online Conference, Webinar, or an Industry Meetup
First of all, do your research and find out what your prospects deal with and identify their pressing pain points.
Then, come up with useful ways that will facilitate their everyday work or solve particular issues that they’re facing on a daily basis. Reach out to other experts from your and complementary industries and put together some really good webinars, online conferences, workshops, training sessions, or fireside chats that will address your (and their) prospects’ challenges.
It’s a great way for all of you to grow your respective networks and learn something new.
Invite your prospects to such an event by listing the benefits they can get if they decide to join.
Just make sure to craft your invitation properly and highlight that this event has been created specifically to address their needs and pain points.
Hey Adrian,
From what I learned from your LinkedIn account, you’re a sales rep.
Since prospecting and connecting with your potential customers has never been more challenging, I’ve decided to ask a couple of sales and marketing industry pundits to join me and share their tips on how to overcome this particular obstacle.
You’re invited to our upcoming webinar [title/topic], and you’ll have the opportunity to listen to [expert 1, expert 2, expert 3] and ask them for advice. At no cost!
Register on the following link: Link
2. Recommend a Connection for an Open Position
Many companies struggle to find the right talent and are more than willing to take recommendations from reliable people.
Introducing your connection with a prospect is a win-win situation for both of them, and you can profit from it, too.
It’s a good idea to check your prospects’ LinkedIn profiles to see whether they’re hiring. In case you have worked with someone who could be the right person for the job, reach out to both parties and connect them.
This matchmaking will work only if you actually know whether the potential candidate is reliable and suitable for the position.
You’ll save both the job seeker and the employer a lot of time and energy, and both of them will owe you one!
3. Offer Valuable Business Advice
Let’s say you’re running an SEO business (Autoklose is a great outreach tool, and we have a lot of these professionals among our customers) and come across a website that’s not optimized properly.
It would be a good idea to do a quick audit, scan it, come up with the most problematic aspects of the website from an SEO point of view, and create a report with suggestions on how to improve all these issues.
By taking the time to analyze your prospects’ current situation without charging anything, you can start building loyalty right from your first email.
Hello Mike,
I’ve come across your website, and it struck me as interesting and well-designed. Being an SEO specialist, I still decided to do a bit of research and see how it stacks up against your competitors.
Despite having some really good elements, it requires some polishing that will result in higher Google rankings and more qualified traffic.
Here’s what I can tell you right off the bat:
- It’s not optimized for mobile
- It’s loading speed should be improved
- You’re not qualifying for the right keywords.
I’m providing the entire report for you to check it out.
If you want to help me with this, book a call in my calendar: Link
Reach Out to Your Prospects Through Other Channels, Too
Besides creating an outreach campaign, the best way to warm up your cold leads is to take a multichannel approach.
Start by connecting on LinkedIn.
It’s important to regularly share relevant information and posts with your audience so that you can build a solid following and offer them a reason to check out what you publish and comment on it.
When it comes to initiating connections, don’t just send them a request – it should be followed with a personalized message in which you’ll try to engage your prospect in a conversation.
After you break the ice, it will be much easier to send them interesting content and industry reports that they might find useful.
So, once you decide to reach out to your LinkedIn connection via email, you won’t be just a random sender – they will remember you, and this fact will increase the likelihood that they’ll open your message and respond.
Use Personalized Video
Video can be the next best thing to an in-person meeting.
That’s the best way to present yourself and your company and humanize your outreach.
Video can convey everything that a written message can’t – the tone of your voice, your body language, and your overall demeanor.  It can also represent your brand, so you can add your logo design, brand elements, and message in the video to make the receiver interested in the company.
And besides being more engaging than any other type of content, video can be used for different purposes.
You can, for example, send your prospects an explainer video in which you’ll show how your product or service works, as well as how they can make the most of it. Or you can create a how-to video with a step-by-step guide on how to solve a specific pressing issue that they might be facing.
Vidyard’s GoVideo integration allows you to effortlessly record a video of yourself or your screen directly from your Autoklose email editor and send it to your recipients.
As you can see, your cold outreach doesn’t have to receive a frosty reception from your cold leads. It’s critical to be helpful and give before you ask for anything.
Know When to Call It a Day
When we’re talking about salespeople, persistence is a virtue, but knowing how and when to graciously step back is crucial.
It’s essential to weigh the effort invested against the potential outcome. If a prospect has been in the pipeline for an extended period without showing progress toward a sale, it may be more efficient to allocate your time and energy elsewhere.
While it’s true that your prospects are busy and maybe forget to respond, sometimes they’re simply not interested. In that case, you’ll notice subtle signals such as not responding to emails, calls, or messages, postponing meetings or calls consistently, and appearing disinterested during interactions.
These are red flags signaling a low likelihood of conversion.
However, unless the prospect explicitly asks you to stop reaching out, you shouldn’t walk away without sending a break-up email, as it can be an effective way to close the loop while leaving the door open for future interactions.
This email should politely acknowledge the lack of fit at the current time, express gratitude for the prospect’s time, and subtly indicate that you remain available should their situation change. This approach ensures a professional parting, maintaining a positive relationship for potential future engagement.
In Conclusion
Warming up your prospects without annoying them requires a delicate balance between engagement and respect for their boundaries. Remember to listen actively to their needs and preferences, enabling you to tailor your communications in a way that resonates with them. The key lies in being patient, persistent, and always focusing on creating a positive and memorable experience. As you master these techniques, you’ll not only avoid annoyance but also open the door to more meaningful and productive relationships with your prospects.
