Here’s a scary fact:

Sales professionals spend over 40% of their productive time in following up with their prospects.

While the most popular media have been email and phone call, hit rates are just not as high as they should be.

Tim Wackel and I recently presented a webinar, “When Prospects Go Silent – Creating Follow Up Campaigns that Work!” Tim is a sales training veteran and I’ve been working in lead generation for ten years.  Here are four takeaways from the webinar that aired on January 21, 2015.

Innovative Media

Apart from the traditional email and phone call, you should consider using media such as post cards, handwritten letters, gifts, freebies, etc. — media that actually grab the prospects’ attention.

Follow-Up Calendar

Continuously engage with your prospects, considering concepts like frequency, media, and message. By following this calendar, sales professionals can ensure that their prospects do not go dormant and even if they do, can easily be pulled back on track.

Re-Engage or Break Up

Rephrase benefit statements to re-engage prospects who normally do not respond to the traditional follow-up content. (You should also consider whether it’s time to say goodbye to prospects who continue to remain silent after repeated follow ups.)

Targeted List=Better Conversion

Approach targeted prospects so that every sales call and subsequent follow up is worth the time you spend. Use LinkedIn and other social channels to build targeted lead lists and approach the right decision makers within your prospect companies.

Would you like to watch the original webinar?