How These Sales Pros Engage Frequently With Prospects — Without Overwhelming Them
Being “too much” is a fear many people hold in their personal and professional lives. Everyone wants to say the right thing at the right time, but achieving this kind of communication is an art form. And no one knows that better than sales professionals.
In sales, timing and communication are everything. Sending the right email on a day when a prospect is most open or calling them at the perfect time, could make or break the deal.
While it may sound intimidating to always make sure your communication is on point, there are simple ways to approach engaging prospects. Creating an outreach plan, setting expectations around communication and switching up how you reach out are all ways to ensure you’re touching base with prospects without overwhelming them.
We spoke with two sales professionals at Transfix and Equativ about some of the ways they maintain the delicate balance of prospect engagement. Read on to find out some of the best tips and tricks in the industry and even discover these company’s open roles.
Transfix is a logistics software company providing solutions for the freight shipping industry.
How do you make sure you reach out to prospects frequently enough to stay top-of-mind in their head, while also not fatiguing them with over-communication?
I like to create an outreach plan and be intentional for what I want to accomplish with every shipper or prospect I engage with. A tailored approach allows me to craft personalized and thoughtful messaging that is relevant to key decision makers. Prioritizing quality over quantity is something I’m a big believer in as well, as I always make sure we’re bringing specific value with every touch point.
If given the opportunity, one thing I’ll always do is ask! This way, I can set expectations with my prospects with the content I’ll be sharing and how often they can expect to hear from me, and even adjust that based on their preferences.
Lastly, an extremely impactful, non-intrusive way to gain indirect exposure to my prospects is by connecting with them on LinkedIn and sharing relevant content to my LinkedIn network. When this is done effectively, it can help build rapport, showcase my thought leadership and general market value, drive community and forge relationships to increase the likelihood of converting them into a new customer when the timing is right.
If a prospect is non-responsive, how do you pivot your approach to outreach so that you remain top-of-mind?
First, I try to determine why the prospect is unresponsive. Maybe they are busy with other initiatives or simply missed my emails and calls. Maybe they’ve moved to a new role and haven’t had time to introduce the new contact. Maybe they’re simply uninterested or don’t have a need for anything we’ve offered. In this case, it might be a good next step to identify other decision makers on their team who might be more inclined to have a discussion.
Once I have an idea of why the prospect is unresponsive or have a new contact to engage with, it’s important to craft empathetic, thoughtful and succinct messaging that is tailored to that person and their challenges and goals. Diversifying my outreach channels while utilizing a mix of thoughtful and creative messaging has been most effective for me.
Lastly, I am always mindful of my prospects’ time. Sometimes taking a break from outreach is the best bet. If they’re a LinkedIn connection, this is the time when I’ll share relevant content to maintain my exposure without direct contact. Timing is key, and giving the prospect some space to digest the information I’ve shared has increased my positive response rates.
It’s important to craft empathetic, thoughtful and succinct messaging that is tailored to that person and their challenges and goals.’’
What tips would you share with other sales professionals who want to strike the right balance between frequent outreach and not overwhelming their prospects with over-communication?
I follow six key guidelines in ensuring I’m striking this balance:
- Know my audience: Have a deep understanding of the role, responsibilities and challenges prospects are facing so I can craft my messaging properly and share relevant content.
- Set expectations: I don’t want to bombard anyone with outreach, so setting expectations and aligning on outreach frequency is crucial.
- Personalize outreach, prioritizing quality over quantity: Automated, canned-messaging simply doesn’t work. I create tailored and personalized messaging to each prospect’s unique role, responsibilities, preferences and interests.
- Diversify channels: This includes calls, emails, professional social platforms like LinkedIn, direct mail, events and any other creative outlets that can keep me top of mind in a range of formats.
- Provide value with every touch: This could be in the form of industry intelligence, market updates and/or personalized solutions. When my communication has specific, bespoke value, my prospect will be more likely to engage.
- Monitor engagement: I always try to identify which channel is most impactful with prospects so I can adjust my outreach strategy as needed.
Equativ is an adtech company offering marketing solutions to advertisers, publishers and broadcasters.
How do you make sure you reach out to prospects frequently enough to stay top-of-mind in their head, while also not fatiguing them with over-communication?
I typically ask the client what cadence of follow ups work best for them. For example: “In order to avoid any unnecessary follow ups, if I don't hear from you first when would be an appropriate time to circle back?” or “I am a big proponent of not sending unnecessary follow ups, if I don't hear from you first when would be a good time to touch base?”
Putting the prospect in the drivers seat gives you a timeline for following up and the ability to hold them to the follow up timing that they give.
The key to any successful outreach is to be as tailored and specific as possible.’’
If a prospect is non-responsive, how do you pivot your approach to outreach so that you remain top-of-mind?
If a prospect is non-responsive, I pivot my approach to trying something new. I typically email, call/voicemail, email — where I change the subject line to “checking in/voicemail.”
I change the generic approach to something more tailored to them (i.e., upcoming industry events, interesting articles related to the clients or accounts they work on, etc). I also change the platform that I am reaching out on too. If they are non-responsive via email, I switch to phone calls or LinkedIn.
The key to any successful outreach is to be as tailored and specific as possible. Show them that you are investing time and effort into their business, this will add value and make you stand out from the bunch.
What tips would you share with other sales professionals who want to strike the right balance between frequent outreach and not overwhelming their prospects with over-communication?
I would highly recommend taking the time to research the prospect you are hoping to connect with, in addition to the company and/or clients that they work with. It’s time consuming but if your ultimate goal is to catch their attention I believe this is the most efficient and effective route.
