Have you ever thought about someone you knew many years ago, and realized that you enjoyed their company, and now wonder what they’re doing? Did you then reach out to them, and after your conversation, you both agreed that you would definitely keep in touch, and most times you end up setting up a time to meet?
Often, when we do think about contacting them, we get hesitant, and think they probably have moved on, and don’t want to hear from us anyway.
I’ve found when I do this, and others have concurred, that almost every time I do it, the conversation is positive, and in fact, many times the other person was very happy to hear from me.
So, why not start reaching out to old, dormant accounts, that for whatever reason, your company is not doing business with any more.
Here are four ideas to help you reach out with the right strategy, to assist you with your B2B lead generation and appointment setting, as well as making dormant accounts become clients again.
#1. First off, we recommend you start with the retention of your current customers. Remember, it is about 8 to 10 times harder to get a new customer in B2B, than to sell to a current customer. So, stay engaged with—and retain—your current clients. In fact, Bain & Company found that increasing customer retention rates by 5% can increase profits by 25% to 95%.
Customer retention and churn metrics are critical indicators of the health of your business. So, before focusing on re-engaging lost contacts, ensure you have told all of your important customers what you do for them, and what results they are achieving by using your products/services, and always be thanking them for their business. Work as hard as you can to keep them.
#2. Dormant accounts can be your 2nd best source of revenue, right after your current customers. As mentioned above, they already know and trust you, because you have done business with them before. Think of these accounts as under-active, vs inactive.
Research them—and ask yourself if you want to re-engage. Research the contacts you had at that company. You can do this by checking out their LinkedIn profile. Are they still with that company, or is there an opportunity to get into the new company they now work at?
You also should research the company. First, check all your notes, and how you engaged with them in the past. How much did they buy? How long were they a customer? Why did they leave? Are they still in business? Have they been acquired, or have they acquired another company? Check out their website, and if possible, their financial situation. Once you have this knowledge, you can then contact them, with confidence about how you can help them.
#3. Phone them, if possible. The best way to re-engage with someone is by talking to them. We have found it quite difficult to re-engage with someone through email. Most do not respond. The best way to handle B2B appointment setting, and to re-engage these accounts, is by phoning them. This also allows you to find out if they are interested in working with you again.
However, in today’s marketplace, many companies do not list phone numbers, even for support, so you may have to use some ingenuity in getting that number. Again, try LinkedIn. Also, there are companies that you can buy lists from, and many times those lists have phone numbers of the executives of that company. You can also re-engage using email, and other social media systems, but we have found that is not as effective as a phone call.
#4. Many companies do a lot of sales online, and that has become especially true with the onset of the Covid pandemic. Convenient for you and the customer, but usually decreases the personal contact you have with your customer. The result is a reduction in customer loyalty because there is no relationship. We believe that phoning them, thanking them for their past business, asking them about their business (and discovering what other products/services they could buy from you) will show you’re very much interested in doing business with them. And this alone will set you apart from the competition.
As you can see, like going after new business the right way, activating dormant accounts is also a large undertaking to get it right. But it can also be very profitable to your business, and much easier than going after new business.
Let us help you do it. We know how to do it right, as we have been helping our customers reactivate dormant accounts for the entire 21 years of our business life, and that allows you to work with your current customers more.
Many companies have trouble prospecting, and bringing in new leads, and not enough time to re-engage dormant accounts. If that sounds like you, let us do this for you.
With all the disruptions you have gone through over the past 18 months, and with the new ways of doing business, you may need some help navigating your way through all of these changes, and that is where we can help you.
And especially at this time of year, when your sales people are busy working on closing business before year end, we can help you get a jump start on the new year, by helping you reengage with your dormant accounts now.
Outbound campaigns, B2B lead generation, B2B appointment setting, customer outreach, revival of dormant accounts, and expansion, is how we help you grow, and we’ve been at it for over 21 years.
Contact us today, and we will get back to you ASAP, to discuss your needs and how we might help you.
There is no charge for this, and most companies learn a lot, just by talking to us.
So, don’t wait. ACT NOW
Send us an email at inquiry@yorkc.com or, to go directly to our contact page, click here: yorkc.com/contact/
