• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Weekly Sales Tip
  • |
  • 303-741-6636
kla-logo

KLA Group

IT Sales and Marketing Agency

Menu
  • SERVICES
      • Digital Marketing
      • Custom Website Design
      • SEO Consulting
      • Email Marketing
      • Content Development
      • Marketing Coaching
      • Software Development
      • Our Process
      • Revenue Generating System
      • Digital Marketing Services
      • Sales Training & Coaching Programs
      • Sales Training Programs
      • How to Cold Call
      • Consultative Selling
      • Email Prospecting
      • How to Ask for Referrals
      • Lead Generation Training
      • Sales Coaching
      • Sales Process
      • Sales Hiring Coaching
      • Outsourced Sales Management
      • Sales Assessment
      • Contact Us
  • WHO WE SERVE
    • ConnectWise Evolve
    • IT Managed Service Providers
    • IT Solution Providers
    • Sales Consultants
    • B2B Companies
    • Phone System Providers
  • ABOUT KLA
    • About Kendra Lee
    • Hire Kendra Lee to Speak
    • Meet the Team
  • BLOG
  • RESOURCES
    • Books by Kendra Lee
      • The Sales Magnet
      • Selling Against the Goal
    • Ebooks & Guides
    • Events
    • Weekly Sales Tip
    • Thoughts About Generating Revenue
    • Coffee with Kendra
  • Contact us

What to Do With Sales Leads That Aren’t Ready – Yet

Published on August 29, 2022 Categories: Sales Prospecting
Sales Funnel

Whether you’re in sales or marketing, you have a list you’re targeting and you’re using prospecting or email marketing to uncover who’s interested right now. But are you doing more than looking for immediate appointments from your target list? Because you should be.

The Ultimate Lead Follow-up Goal

Yes, your ultimate goal with your B2B lead generation strategy is to identify qualified prospects who know about you, read what you send, attend your webinars, follow you on social media, and want to talk with you.

And your ultimate goal with prospecting is to uncover a contact who responds that has an immediate need you can serve.

B2B lead Generation

But only a small percentage of your lead list will be ready to set an appointment right now.

If you’re running an email marketing campaign with a defined end date, what happens to all those contacts who you’ve warmed up, but aren’t ready just yet?

If you’re prospecting, what happens to all those contacts who told you, “Not now?”

How to Find Future Opportunities in Email Marketing Campaigns

We wrote a 19-week marketing campaign for a client to send to their top lead generation target market list. The goal was to identify those companies that may need to enhance their cybersecurity protection. The program included a combination of email campaigns, a webinar, and social outreach. We targeted companies that are early in their Client Buy Cycle, doing research and starting to explore their options where a salesperson could help guide them.

During the 19 weeks, we identified marketing qualified leads (MQLs) by capturing who was opening, clicking, and registering throughout the campaign. At key points, as contacts became MQLs, salespeople called them to see if they could set appointments and convert the marketing leads to sales opportunities.

At the end of the campaign, there were appointments, and then there was the list of everybody else.

Three Primary Lead Sources

Before you figure out what to do with your list of leads who didn’t respond to your salesperson’s follow-up, consider where they came from. There are three primary lead sources.

1. Inbound leads

These leads come from SEO, digital ads, referrals, and calls. They contact you. They may complete a Contact Us form on your website, call, or email you. Sales considers these leads to be hot, salesqualified leads. Often a high percentage are ready to engage if your salesperson knows how to follow up effectively with inbound leads, but some are not.

2. Marketing campaign leads

Frequently these leads originate from email marketing, webinars, trade shows, and other campaigns you’re running focused on your specific target market. You pass your salesperson a list of campaign MQLs with the direction to identify the sales qualified leads (SQLs) and begin the sales process. Typically, only a small percentage are ready to engage.

3. A general list of names 

You have a list of contacts in your CRM. Your sales rep has a list of top prospects to target. There are segments that have been created using specific criteria. These lists are general names your salesperson is prospecting to by emailing, cold calling, and messaging on LinkedIn to try to set an appointment. These contacts may or may not be part of your marketing campaigns simultaneously. Typically, only a small percentage are ready to engage.

Lead Generation Services

What To Do With Unqualified Leads

All three lead sources result in a combination of prospects who became sales qualified leads and those who did not. Most companies think that their list of everybody else is just a bunch of unqualified people. Some even call it garbage because it didn’t result in more appointments.

What you really have is two segmented lists:

  1. A list of people who never opened anything. They didn’t open or click on any email campaigns or event invitations and they didn’t take any sales calls.
  • A list of people who were paying attention. They opened and clicked on some of what you sent, maybe even downloaded, or registered for something. They may not have returned any calls, but they were watching and silently engaging.

The first list probably is garbage – or very, very cold.

The second list, however, is unpolished gold. They’re the contacts who are starting to recognize the value of your company. They may not need you right now, but if you continue to nurture them, when they do have a need, you’ll be top of mind.

Create a Nurture Strategy

So, what’s your strategy to continue nurturing them? Don’t stop now just because your marketing campaign has ended or the prospect said they’re not ready.

You need a process in place to avoid dropping these fledgling sales leads.

  • Add them to an ongoing email campaign and send them good, educational content.
  • Plan consistent sales check-in calls and schedule them.
  • Create a sales sequence (think email campaigns for a salesperson) to avoid dropping them through the cracks.
  • Segment them so they are easily identifiable for other marketing purposes.

Don’t let all your hard work go to waste just because your list isn’t yet ready for an appointment. They may not be ready today, but in 3 or 6 months, they could be your hottest sales leads.

This post was originally published in January, 2016 and updated in August, 2022.

Primary Sidebar

Join Us

The Secret to Increased Sales Productivity in a TikTok World Kendra Animated

Don't miss this opportunity to prospect and close sales faster.

RSVP

Get Your Guide: Build and Protect Your Sales Funnel

KLA 45 Ways

Use these strategies to protect your current clients while generating new leads.

Download It Now

Find Us On Youtube

Get Connected


Get Connected

Categories

  • B2B Lead Generation & Marketing
  • blog
  • Christmas Parodies & Holiday Blogs
  • Email Marketing
  • General
  • Revenue Generating Success Strategies 
  • Revenue Generating System
  • Sales Hiring
  • Sales Prospecting
  • Sales Strategy
  • Sales Tips & Tricks
  • Sales Training Development
  • Selling in Pandemic
  • SEO
  • Success Strategies
  • Videos
  • Website Design
  • Winning New Customers

Footer

Services

  • Digital Marketing Services
  • Sales Training
  • Sales Process
  • Hire Kendra to Speak
footer-logo

Resources

  • Blog
  • Coffee with Kendra
  • Events
  • Ebooks & Guides
  • Newsletter
  • Weekly Sales Tip
  • Books by KLA

About KLA

  • About Us
  • Who We Serve
  • Revenue Generating System

Contact Us

Call +1 888-305-0471Contact Us

Join Us

Subscribe OptionsCoffee With Kendra
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap

© 2023 KLA Group. All Right Reserved.

Talk with an Expert

Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Lead Generation Syllabus

Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Sales Coaching

Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

How to Ask for Referrals Syllabus

Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Email Prospecting Syllabus

Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Consultative Selling Syllabus

Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

How to Cold Call Syllabus

Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.