How often should you follow up with a cold call prospect?

Place yourself in the customer's shoes. They're busy and hundreds of sellers are likely calling on them every week. If your prospecting message doesn't clearly and concisely illuminate problems your company solves and doesn't communicate in a human language free of sales jargon and commission breath (see Josh Bruan) ... you're wasting your time and theirs. Ditch the pitch. Less product training, more problem identification training. Flex your understanding of their common challenges and how you can make their world better.... and do it without pitching your feeds, speeds, bits and bytes. Make it about them and watch your response rates soar.

In my company, I coach my sales people to follow up with prospects 8 to 12 times before giving up. After they call a prospect, they typically follow up with an email referencing the voicemail they just left on the prospect's phone, informing the prospect that they will be following up two to three days later.

Sometimes it's best to layer various outreach options over time to drive the highest engagement. For example; you might reach out to a prospect through LinkedIn Messaging and follow up with a call in the upcoming days/weeks. Another great way to get a prospect's attention is by mailing something creative that leads to the conversation you want to have. For example; you can find custom seed paper on Etsy in almost any shape. Find one relative to your prospect's industry and add a card "Looking forward to connecting and showing how your business will grow by using (insert your company/solution)" Creativity and passion go a long way in connecting with your prospects.

You and everyone else in the world reaches out to the customer via email, phone, text, social, mailers. It's all noise to the customer. Most discarded and never given a thought. Build your personal brand on social media. Talk about things your client cares about. Spotlight good things your client is doing in the marketplace. Tag the customer's business in your social media post amplifying something positive about their business (NOT YOURS). Again, make it about them. Show you care.

Every industry is different, and every approach requires learning. In your cadence, there are touches (steps) depending on what is your best approach, there is where you start. Some like to start with an email, F/U email, Linkedin, DM, or Call. In my experience, nothing beats a Cold Call. Yes, it's scary, it takes an extreme amount of energy, and the rejection is the big stopper. Without taking the first step, nothing will move the needle.

A fast way to get blocked is bombarding the customer with follow ups. Provide something of value (best practices, insights, a new tool, etc) to the customer for free with no expectation of any response in return is a great practice. Be a resource. Earn their trust. Demonstrate you know their world. Then you might motivate them to want to go deeper with you. Take the time to understand their story. Do your research. Stop looking for the quick hits.

People are primarily driven by two things: 1) fear of losing what they have 2) fear of not getting what they want You don't have to resort to pressure filled tactics or hyperbole laced messages to move the needle. Detach from the outcome... walk in the customer's shoes. Show empathy. Respect their schedule and timelines.

Remove all forms of pressure. A customer will respond to you without the chase if your message is resonating with their pain points or you've shown them a better way.