How to Transform Old Leads into New Sales

Sep 4, 2010   //   by Les Proctor    CRM Tools, Inbound Marketing, Software & Apps  //  5 Comments

How to Reactivate Leads if your CRM has become the Equivalent of a “Lead Graveyard”

Reactivate Leads

Can you bring them back to life?

Most leads are declared dead prematurely. If this happens at your company, this means your CRM is the equivalent of a “Lead Graveyard”. 

Very often the best sales people are somewhat technology-averse. Your Reps land like a ton of bricks on the “A” leads, and all the other leads are consigned to the dustbin of CRM history. 

Many sales reps, and most telemarketing firms,will give up on a lead after 3  phone calls, so many leads are declared as unqualified without having a single conversation! The supreme irony is that sales reps are continually asking for more leads after ignoring 3 out of every 4 leads produced for them.  

The bad news is that this is potentially a collosal waste of time and money.  The good news is that we, as marketing managers who are tirelessly advocating for our clients’ and employers’ best interests, and reminding everyone about our mutual purpose of increasing sales and profits, can capitalize on this opportunity and reactivate leads through a followup sequence that will bring those dead leads back to life. 

So that’s why I’m sharing a very simple Reactivation Sequence that you can implement to reactivate leads, and bring them back to life: 

How to Reactivate Leads: A Simple Sequence to rescuscitate leads declared dead prematurely:

The most successful drip marketing sequences are moved forward with “if/then” events. So each one of these events gets delayed, or moved into an alternate sequence based on prospect behaviors. 

  1. Day 1: Post Card ~ with Landing Page with Education/Key Benefit, and a Personalized URL (PURL) and Low Commitment/Early Stage Reactivation Offer. If the prospect calls your 800 number, or fills out a form to request to have somone call, and speaks to a Rep, skip to Day 8.
  2. Day 1 + 7: Follow up Phone Call from Assigned Sales Rep ~ Televalidate contact information; collect email and gain permission to send more information. If the Sales Rep is unable to reach the Prospect this delays the sequence until the Prospect is reached in person.
  3. Day1 + 8: Follow up Email from Sales Rep ~ Initiate Subsequence based on Level of Interest and Knowledge based on Interaction from Day 7. If the Prospect visits clicks on a link or visits your website, you can track their behavior, and create a lead score. If they visit the site, and download a whitepaper about how to solve a particular problem, then you could de-activate the current sequence, and start them in a different follow-up sequence, including another call, and a different follow up. 
  4. Day1 + 15: Education Email with Relevant Content ~ #1 the biggest problem your prospect is probably facing, how it can be solved. If the Prospect visits a link this can trigger a phone call or a new sequence.
  5. Day1 + 22: Education Email with Relevant Content ~ #2 the second biggest problem your prospect is probably facing, how it can be solved.
  6. Day1 + 29: Education Email with Relevant Content ~ #3 the third biggest problem your prospect is probably facing, how it can be solved.
  7. Day1 + 36: Education Email with Relevant Content ~ #4 the fourth biggest problem your prospect is probably facing, how it can be solved. If a Prospect has not done anything after this sequence, maybe the timing isn’t right. Consider another reactivation campaign in the next 3-6 months.

The sequence above requires knowledge of a CRM with Lead Nurturing Capabilities (For example: Infusionsoft, OfficeAutoPilot, or Eloqua), 3 or 4 White Papers developed around your your customer’s most challenging problems, and how your company can solve them, and the Lead Tracking and Lead Scoring Capabilities based on your prospect’s behavior/interaction with your company, or your company’s website. 

Of the leads that are rejected by sales, industry data shows that 1 out of every 2 will buy something from somebody within the next year. If you’re not vigilant, it could be your competitor. 

If you’re currently closing 20% of your leads and converting them to sales, and you’re leaving 80% of your leads  in the CRM Graveyard. How much more money could you make if you reactivate leads and convert another 20%? 

You could effectively double your sales! 

Pages related to “How to Reactivate Leads”: 

If you have any questions or would like to Reactivate Leads at your company please contact us today.

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About Les Proctor

I'm a marketing consultant and I work with executives and and managers at small to medium-sized companies–real people who have a *big need* to do a lot with limited resources. I help them accomplish their goals and make more money with ideas and actions that produce results.

5 Comments

  • Tweets that mention Reactivate Leads from your CRM Graveyard > Cleveland > Northeast Ohio -- Topsy.com September 4, 2010 at 10:04 am

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    Reply
  • BizSugar.com September 4, 2010 at 10:05 am

    Reactivate Leads from your CRM Graveyard…

    How to Reactivate Leads if your CRM has become the Equivalent of a Lead Graveyard. Most leads are declared dead prematurely. If this happens at your company, this means your CRM is the equivalent of a “Lead Graveyard”….

    Reply
  • Gabe Arnold September 4, 2010 at 12:35 pm

    Great post Les. Good to read your thoughts, and connect again through your blog. I will be subscribing and recommending you.

    Reply
    • Les Proctor September 4, 2010 at 12:56 pm

      Thank you Gabe, Keep in touch!

      Reply
  • Drip Marketer September 5, 2010 at 12:30 pm

    Very good sequence. Is there a particular technology you recommend for the scheduling of all this?

    Reply

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