What are some effective ways to know when to stop following up with a prospect after a sales call?

When you've put a lead or prospect through a sales cadence for two weeks straight, and they have yet to answer, this is when I would typically advice my team to send what we call ''The breakup''. It's a great sales tactic that invites the negative in the sense that, actually, maybe they don't need our survive and maybe it's ''not a priority right now''. Scientifically, when people are told that they may be feeling a certain way, they will typically get defensive and say ''actually this is a priority''. This method works all the time and is always the very last touch and sometimes the most effective touch in our cadence!

When setting up a follow-up plan, give the prospect 2 options for meetings ("Does Monday or Tuesday work better for you next week?"). Never give them the option to say no. If the option is there to say no, that's an easy out for them.

Lack of Engagement If a prospect consistently fails to engage with your follow-ups, it may be time to pause your efforts. Signs of disengagement include not responding to emails, calls, or messages, and repeatedly canceling or not showing up for scheduled meetings. It’s important to respect their time and interest level, and consider directing your energy towards more responsive leads.

I always try to ask the prospect what the rest of their decision making process will look like. This will inform you of their timeline and confirm if any other stakeholders need to be consulted before moving forward.

Direct Indicators Sometimes, prospects will give clear indicators that they are no longer interested. This can include direct statements such as “We’re not interested” or “Now is not a good time.” If a prospect requests to be removed from your contact list or asks not to be contacted again, it’s crucial to honor their request and cease further communication.

A sales cadence is your friend! Automating your follow up process helps to eliminate wasted efforts, while ensuring you’re still engaging your prospect.

Evaluating Prospect Potential Evaluate the potential value of the prospect against the time and resources spent on follow-up. If the cost of pursuing the lead outweighs the potential benefit, it may be more strategic to focus on other opportunities. Additionally, if the prospect’s needs do not align with what you offer, or if they have chosen a competitor, it’s a clear sign to move on.

“Based on what you saw today, what if any reason would they decide not to move forward” I love this question because not only will you receive feedback but you’ll also know what specific objections they may have and you’ll have the opportunity to address them.

A good word track for qualifying a prospect during the sales process is to ask, “what problems they’re looking to solve” so you can tailor the presentation to their use case. And after the presentation is completed confirming their decision making process if they were to decide to move forward.