The primary goal of a prospecting sequence is to elicit any response, which qualifies as “meaningful engagement.” Even a negative reply is a valuable signal, allowing reps to stop wasting effort and reallocate their time to more promising prospects instead of pursuing silence.
Related Insights
Sales reps shouldn't feel pressured to invent a new reason to reach out in every step of a sequence. If your core value proposition is strong and solves a real problem, it remains relevant. Persistently and politely reiterating that value demonstrates conviction and is often more effective than finding weaker, new angles.
When a prospect goes silent on your primary channels (email, work phone), they may be subconsciously filtering you out. Break this pattern by using a novel channel like WhatsApp or a different phone number. This can bypass their filters and elicit a response.
Focusing on email open rates can lead to clickbait subject lines and weak copy. Instead, orient your entire outreach strategy around getting a reply. This forces you to write more personalized, engaging content that addresses the recipient's specific pain points, leading to actual conversations, not just vanity metrics.
When a prospect challenges how you got their number, it's a "pattern interrupt gift" that proves they are listening. Instead of getting defensive, treat it as permission to restate your value proposition more clearly and slowly. This moment of surprise creates an opportunity for deeper engagement and often correlates with more qualified meetings.
Salespeople mistakenly delay follow-ups to avoid being 'annoying,' but this kills momentum. Prospects don't track outreach attempts like salespeople do. A steady, frequent cadence isn't pushy; it demonstrates reliability and preparation, proving you won't quit on them.
If a prospect says "no" to your permission-based opener but doesn't immediately hang up, use that brief moment to provide context. State a relevant trigger (like hiring) and social proof to pique their curiosity and potentially salvage the call.
When a prospect doesn't respond, don't default to thinking they're ignoring you. Instead, assume they are extremely busy and your message was lost in the noise. This mindset encourages persistent, multi-channel follow-up rather than premature disqualification.
Simply executing a multi-touch sequence across different channels is insufficient. If the core message is generic and demonstrates a lack of basic research, even a perfectly structured cadence will be ignored and eventually blocked. Relevance is the prerequisite that makes persistence effective rather than just annoying.
Shift your primary success metric from passive opens to active replies. A reply signifies a genuine two-way conversation and a much deeper level of engagement. Actively inviting responses in your emails transforms a broadcast into a powerful relationship-building tool and provides invaluable audience feedback.
Salespeople often worry about being annoying during follow-up because they frame it as a transactional attempt to close a deal. To overcome this, reframe follow-up as an opportunity to build and enhance the relationship. By consistently providing value—sharing insights, making introductions, or offering resources—the interaction becomes helpful rather than pestering.
