This week’s post is for anyone who knows the frustrations of hearing crickets when you send out messages, emails, cold calls… or whatever it may be.
This post will cover:
- Why prospects don’t respond to you
- The big mistake most people make when that happens
- What to do when your prospects don’t respond
- And finally, how to encourage responses and increase sales opportunities
Why Your Prospects Don’t Respond to You
The frustration is real. You labor over an email to send to prospects. You gather the courage to make a cold call. You risk losing face by sending out a LinkedIn message.
The point is – you did it. And what happens? You hear crickets.
This is frustrating for anyone, whether you’re a business owner, marketer, or salesperson. In order to know why you don’t get any responses, you need to understand the root of the problem.
In six words: your prospects aren’t motivated to answer.
And there could be lots of reasons for that (and only one of them is that they are not interested.)
Any of the following could be true:
- They’re just not ready for your services right now
- They don’t know who you are… and don’t have the time (or interest) to get to know you
- They don’t see the point… they see you as just another vendor out there looking for a sale
- They’re simply having a bad day
- They are under the gun on a few projects and are not interested in a new conversation
- Or they’re simply not interested in your services
All of these reasons are valid. None of them will help you grow your business and get more sales.
Remember that at any one time, only about 3% of your prospects are actually ready to buy. That means you need a way to keep top of mind so that when they are ready, you’re the one they turn to.
Let’s dive even deeper.
When you want to stay top of mind… you at least need your prospects to open your emails, messages, listen to your voicemail, etc. Even if they don’t answer.
In order to pull attention from everything else they’ve got going on during the day, you’re forced to consider two things (this is assuming you’re targeting the right people and have the right messaging):
Positioning & Trust
You need to position yourself as a resource, not just another vendor. You’re too easy to ignore if you’re just another vendor. On the flip side, if you change their perception so that you’re seen as a true resource, you’re in a totally different bracket. Now your prospect is starting to appreciate your communications. Now they know who you are – and what you can do for them.
Now you’re in the running.
A side effect of changing your positioning in the market is that you also build trust. People have ZERO reason to speak to those they don’t trust and even less reason to buy anything from you. Your positioning has a lot to do with the trust your prospects have for you.
The Biggest Mistake People Make When They Want A Response
So if you’re not getting responses, no matter what platform you’re using to communicate, consider your positioning and the level of trust your prospects have in you. Now that we’ve covered WHY you’re hearing crickets, let’s dive into the biggest mistake people make when their prospects have gone cold.
They give up.
Like I mentioned above, there are a lot of reasons why someone may not respond to you. Maybe it was something you did but more than likely it was due to external factors outside of your control.
We’ve been conditioned to think of sales as slimy and intrusive. But in reality, if done properly, you are offering to help them. You should never feel bad for extending your hand for help.
Until they tell you they are not interested, you have to assume they are not seeing your message or they are too busy to digest what you are saying at this point in time.
What To Do To Get A Response
Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up. So that when they are ready, YOU will be the one they think of.
Before I dive into specifics, let’s look at what these two business owners did when they found themselves in that problem…
Chris with Kunze Analytics wanted to re-engage people in his database that he hadn’t interacted with for many years. These were old colleagues, old clients, people he had done business with in the past… He wanted to send a Christmas message and was able to do it very efficiently (and I’ll tell you exactly what made it most efficient in a minute.) What happened? He got some “very nice messages back” and even new referrals. From this one campaign, he was able to re-engage old contacts and even close new business!
Another is Anne Tanner…
She had been using LinkedIn to reach out to potential clients in hopes of gaining their business – with no response. What did she do? She used the same tool – and the same type of strategy – that Chris did, to efficiently send out email campaigns and engage her prospects.
She was surprised at what a difference response she got when she switched the platform she communicated on,
“My campaign is going very well – signed up 3 people this month and having lots of conversations on an ongoing basis. I’ve connected with some great people and some big influencers. It has led to some great conversations. It is always funny how once they connect and ask for a call, they act like best friends. NOT asking for a call right out of the gate is critical and it really works.
I was surprised by how adding [this tool] has also helped. Often I go through a whole campaign on LinkedIn with no response but as soon as I send an email on [ this tool] they apologize for not being present on LinkedIn and we connect.
I’m very happy with the results!”
The one thing they both had in common was persistence. They did not give up and in return reaped the rewards.
What’s the tool and what’s the strategy that Chris and Anne used? And how can you do the same?
They used the “Trust Equation” approach, along with the software, Connect 365. I’d like to show you how to do the same thing…
Imagine all of the people that you’ve met in the last few years. All of the people you’ve come in contact with…
What would happen if you could actually have your emails opened, read, and responded to?
What kind of impact do you think that would have on your business?
It would be massive.
The Trust Equation shows you a way that will completely transform how you follow up and stay in touch with new contacts, prospects, clients and whoever you need to be in touch with – and still build trust.
(And how to get a lot more NEW prospects into the top of your funnel as well.)
You’ll learn how to instantly create more trust and familiarity with your prospects without being slimy or spammy. With trust today at all-time lows, it’s no wonder that so many businesses are finding that their marketing is not as effective. Enough is enough. It’s time for small businesses to finally get the leg up.
I’ll show you the exact types of email campaigns that both Chris and Anne used to get engagement, connect with people and close more business.
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