6 Ways to Reengage Leads Who Are Ghosting You

Picture this: The marketing-qualified leads are rolling in. As far as you can tell, they’re opening your emails and your content is resonating with them. But then, it happens: Some of those leads who acted interested before seem to fall off the face of the earth. So what happened?

One very real possibility is that they weren’t ever really interested but didn’t want to deal with the pushback that comes with saying no. It’s like when I’d take a sample at Sam’s Club even though I wasn’t interested. I didn’t want to say no, but then I’d have to find a way to escape quickly so that I could avoid a deeper conversation about whether you can even taste the cilantro in the dip.

Or maybe some leads are interested but don’t have budget approval or buy-in from decision makers. They might not respond because they don’t want to deal with pushback from you when they feel confident that nothing can be done to change the minds of the people in charge.

A few other possibilities are that the leads went with other service providers, they’re too busy to deal with any new initiatives, or they’ve moved into new positions in their organizations. Whatever the reason, it can be frustrating for marketers and salespeople alike when leads fall off the map. But don’t lose hope.

If you want to revive your interactions with leads who have ghosted you, you can use some of these strategies for reengaging cold prospects. (Disclaimer: The key to all of these reengagement strategies is to take a personalized approach to each unique situation.)

1. Send them content that helps solve their pain points.

One great way to reengage cold leads is by sending them helpful resources that your content marketing team has created. These resources can include blog posts, articles, infographics, whitepapers, checklists — whatever type of content that’d be the most helpful for each individual lead. When you send content that’s relevant to their unique situations, you’re communicating that you care and that you understand them and the issues they face.

For example, one of my favorite types of resources to send cold leads is our templates. Depending on what each individual lead is struggling with, I might send over our content map template, our analytics template, or our custom editorial calendar template. These resources allow me to be a helpful partner and showcase what our company can do.

2. Check in.

Take time to check in and see what your cold leads are up to. Have they published any press releases or been mentioned in the news? What have they been sharing on LinkedIn? Reference these milestones in your outreach to forge a more personal connection.

Also, send them messages on channels other than phone or email — this way, you can stay top of mind and perhaps even get a response. Just be wary of seeming like you’re going too far. There’s a fine line between personable and creepy. Make sure you’re coming across as a helpful resource, not a nuisance.

3. Schedule events to educate and nurture cold leads.

Events are a great way to reengage cold leads who have gone unresponsive. Providing a means for education and networking can nurture leads and nudge them in the right direction. So organize events that your leads would find valuable.

In addition to our regular cadence of webinars, our team has also held happy hours. In-person happy hours have traditionally been for a designated geographic area, but now that we’re living in a socially distant world, these happy hours have gone virtual. At these virtual happy hours, you can bring people together and even use Zoom’s breakout rooms feature to allow for more targeted networking opportunities.

4. Publish case studies and send them to your cold leads.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “show, don’t tell.” Well, that principle applies to lead nurturing. After all, the easiest way to show someone what you can do for them is to show them what you have done for others. So create case studies and use them in your outreach!

Look back on the results you’ve driven for your customers. Any really great examples stand out? Reach out to those customers and ask whether you can write up a case study detailing their success. Once they say yes, write up engaging copy explaining how your services helped your client reach their goals. Then, once the case study is published, send it to the cold leads who might need similar services or might be hoping for similar results.

5. Phone a friend.

If you’ve talked to multiple people within a company in your sales or marketing conversations, it might be appropriate to reach out to someone else when your primary point of contact goes silent. If that’s the case, reach out and mention that you’ve been trying to get in touch with that main point of contact but haven’t been able to connect and want to make sure things are OK. Be sure to be authentic in this communication and avoid making it seem as though you’re going behind your point of contact’s back.

6. Maintain a regular cadence of touchpoints.

Keep a running list of cold leads that have fallen off the radar, and reach out to them at a regular cadence. I’d recommend quarterly.

If timing or team structure were the reasoning behind a lead disengaging, those things can change pretty quickly. But the lead might not think about your service right away and might just need a reminder that you’re there. I use HubSpot’s lists feature to help me keep track of cold leads who have gone unresponsive but whom I should continue reaching out to.

If you have a group of leads who have seemingly vanished into the ether, don’t worry — it happens to the best of us. But you can’t just leave it at that. Try out these six strategies to reengage those cold prospects and close new business.