How do you re-engage the customer who has gone dark on you? I share a tremendous amount of ideas and strategies in A Mind for Sales as to how to re-engage the customer that’s gone dark, but let’s walk through 10 things you can do in the meantime.
Video – How to Re-Engage the Customer Who Has Gone Dark
1. Don’t Give Up
Do not give up on them just because they have gone dark. This is where so many salespeople fall down. They just stop and say, “Well, they didn’t get back to me. They must not be interested.”
No, it’s because you did not keep trying. I’m going to talk to you about some strategies and some ideas to keep them engaged, but I want you to first remember to not give up.
2. Alternate Contacts
One of the things that I challenge anybody in sales is to ask who are the other contacts that you can be using with that customer?
If you only have one contact, you are stuck.
You are locked in. You cannot afford nor allow yourself to be in that position. You want to create alternate contacts.
Now, if they have gone dark on you and you only have one contact, then it is your job to start finding other contacts. You’ve already done some work; do not allow all that work to go away just because one person is not getting back to you.
3. Vary Communication Methods
I see salespeople often say, “I keep reaching out to him with an email,” or “I keep leaving a voicemail.”
You have to use different communication techniques. This may also mean text messaging, regular mail or any number of different ways, but use various communication methods.
4. Different Times and Different Days
I am amazed at the number of salespeople who say, “Well, I try calling him every Friday afternoon.” Well, maybe Friday afternoon that person is off!
Always reach out at different times of the day.
In fact, I do not hesitate to reach out to certain types of people on a Saturday morning. This is because I know I am going to create information that is going to be of value to them.
5. Create Immediacy
Many times, a customer is not getting back to you because there is no urgency. They may think, “I know where they live and if I need to get it, I will come back later.”
Customers are really only going to deal with their top one or two priorities, so you have to create a sense of immediacy.
Say, “We should talk about this because this opportunity is only going to be around for a short while,” or “This is going to lead to ___.”
You have to create a date-driven sense of immediacy that is going to impact their bottom line or their top line.
6. Build on the Outcomes
Build on the outcomes that you have already heard.
You may have had one or two conversations with the customer already, so what I want you to do is say, “Based on what you shared with me, here are some additional things we can do,” or “Here are some additional ways this is going to benefit you.”
You build on the outcomes by helping them see bigger outcomes.
Remember, it is not about what you offer nor what you sell – it is about the outcomes that they are going to achieve based on what they buy from you. Or should I say, what they invest with you.
7. Ask Questions
You may think, “Well, they’re not responding.” It’s okay, keep asking questions.
I was coaching a salesperson the other day who was having a real problem with lack of engagement. I said to him, “All you are doing is sharing information; there is no good call to action.”
Now, in this list of 10 things, I do not have call to action here because I would hope you are already doing it!
Moral of the story is you have to be asking questions that create a need. When you ask questions that are relevant to the customer, their business and their industry, they will be much more likely to engage with you.
I love calling people who have gone silent and asking for their opinion.
If I ask for their opinion on an issue that I know is of importance to them, it is amazing how frequently I get a response back.
Related: How to Have an Effective Demo Call
8. Use Peers and Networks
There may be other peers you know or that they know that you can connect with. There may be other networks or trade associations, even. There are other ways to be able to work yourself into their network of contacts.
The customer may have gone dark on you and may not be responding to you, but if they see you involved in the same trade association they are in, they may think, “You know what? I need to reach out to them.”
In other words, you are leveraging every single tool you have out there.
9. Research
Research comes two ways. What I mean by research is you need to be bringing value to them.
There may be research you already have that you can share with them by saying, “Hey, these are three things that we have found with other customers that are really working!”
Whatever it is, share that information but be sure it is of value to them.
10. Attitude and Belief
You have to have the attitude and the belief that you are going to get them to engage.
If you have a negative attitude towards the customer, it impacts all of your communications. Think to yourself, “I know I can help them because I have helped so many other customers just like them. I have to stay in touch with them.”
I have several customers right now who have gone dark on me, but I am going to keep reaching out to them because I have a belief and I know I can get them to re-engage.
I have had this challenge with other people and I keep coming back to this list of 10 things or the tips in my book, and it does work.
Your attitude and your belief are not going to win for you all the time, but it is amazing how it will help you have the right open mind and open sense to be able to understand how to get that customer to re-engage with you.
You’re going to notice I intentionally did not include some basic things in this list because I want to challenge your thinking and move you to the next level. Great selling.
You can find these tips and more in my latest book, A Mind for Sales.
I’ve written several other books such as High Profit Prospecting and High Profit Selling. I want you to learn from them because I want you to be as successful as possible. Make sure you hit subscribe for my blog and do the same for my YouTube channel. I put a new video out at least twice a week.
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Copyright 2021, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results.
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