How to Follow Up Leads Who Are Not Interested?

"I'm not interested."

How many times have you heard about that response? Does it happen frequently? If it happens, how do you deal with it? Do you still follow up leads who are not interested?

Maybe, that is not the only response you hear. Perhaps you've heard about "I'll think about," "I have yet to talk to my sales teams," and "Maybe next time."

Regardless of the response, we don't want to appear too salesly or too aggressive in following up as if we are forcing them to close a deal, most especially if we're working in a telemarketing company or offering an appointment setting service.

They probably don't expect your call anytime soon. The preparedness starts from you. Before making a call, learn the possible response, handle objections firmly, kindly connect with your leads, and move them to take action. Here are the tips that can help you.

What Should You Do?

The thing is, if you follow-up too much, you might appear desperate. If you don’t, then you might lose a sale.

So what should you do?

Initial phone calls is the crucial moment you have to prepare and work out on. The leads would depend on their decision based on how you speak and how you deliver the message.

Prepare a script, read more information from their website, search for any newspaper content, and find any other source of information you can get.

If you think you have the most appealing script prepared, make sure to seek out the reason behind the objections, find the answers for these, and prepare for another follow-up call sequence.

Look out for the reason why a particular lead wasn’t able to close a deal. Is it about the budget, the timing, or it has something to do with the products or services you offer?

But if they haven’t heard of what you are about to say yet, you can ask them why.

Explain the purpose of your call, and the benefit it would bring to your prospect. Do it clear and concise without making it look like the general uninteresting sales pitch.

Whatever the reason behind the object is, remember that there is a possibility that some prospect might lie. Maybe they don’t want to hurt your feelings, perhaps they don’t want to be direct, or maybe they don’t want to admit their financial incapacity.

But never leave the call without asking for a commitment. It’s simple, “yes, I will buy, or I will invest,” or “No, and their reason.” But do not accept the reason “I’ll think about it.” If they said so, ask for a specific time frame, until when are they going to think about it.

If you know what you’re doing, you will realize if the lead is dishonest or speaking the truth. Avoid being too pushy and avoid wasting time on leads that will never give you a direct answer nor have the desire or ability to close a deal.

Yet, if you think they are honest, ask for a follow-up without being too needy or forceful.

Follow Up with a Valuable Content

Some leads have understandable reasons why they won't be able to purchase or invest in your company, especially in B2B companies.

For instance, the problem may have something with getting a constant flow of leads and prospects. So what should you do?

Show empathy and make them feel you understand the situation. You can let them know any valuable and useful content and say, 'Here's something you can read, a podcast you can listen to, a video you can watch, and so forth.'

There is nothing wrong with giving the prospect a follow-up call, as long as you make it valuable on their part. You can do something to help them achieve their goals, even if sometimes, the service is for free.

Why?

Because that's how you're going to build trust and long-lasting relationships, especially if you're in B2B marketing.

Afterward, you can subtly ask how are things going for them? Does the problem still exist? How's the situation working out? What are the things you are doing to solve the problem of getting more leads?

Maybe you can follow-up with a list of suggestions like, 'Here's something some of my clients did to solve this problem that you may benefit from, or here's another updated advice from the lead generation experts.'

Create an awareness, make your presence known, but not be too pushy. But within these follow-up calls, don't close the sales just yet. The moment will happen in the future.

How Often Should You Follow Up?

The answer is, “It depends”.

It would highly depend on the transaction, the communication, the products or services you are selling.

You are the one who can answer this part. Some leads may need multiple follow-ups, while some may need a little bit of push just to close a deal. But never show anyone that you’re chasing after them. This would make things harder on your part.

You’ll never know, they might contact you some time in the future or they might even recommend a friend or a company that would benefit from your service because of the interest, care, and patience that you’ve shown them.

The bottom line is, make it all about them. You are present to help them solve their problems and act as a trusted advisor. Let them know your presence and create an awareness that you’re not after sales and marketing, although, you are here to close a deal, but to show concern for their business as well.