I recently asked my sales team for tips on how to get a silent prospect to respond, here is what they said:
- Sales director, Amy Mancuso: “One thing that seems to be effective also in both email and voicemail is contacting someone to make sure they are ok. It’s not a sales approach, but they will respond, often with an apology and reason why they haven’t gotten back to you. Then, the door is once again open for conversation.” The “is everything ok” approach is also my go to email subject line when trying to get someone to respond to my call or email. I find that it quickly reminds people about our conversation and acts as a call to action for a response.
- Business development manager, Chris Peel: “The one thing I have found that works really well is also really simple. By writing “response kindly requested” in a subject of an email, a prospect is more likely to get back to you. I’ve had several occasions where email and direct mail correspondence goes unanswered, and this line works.”
- Business development manager, Theresa Nguyen: “I talked to a prospect at the Xpo and when he gave me his card I noticed he worked right down the street from us. He professed his love for a particular restaurant near our office during our initial conversation, so in my follow-up email, I titled the subject line “working in close proximity to [restaurant name] is awesome,” so he wouldn’t forget our conversation.”
Read more tips from contributing editor Steve Bookbinder in NY Report's November issue.
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