The Case for Calling Old Data
When was the last time you called a lead that was more than six months old? If you're like most sales professionals, the answer is probably "hardly ever." After all, why would you waste your time calling someone who isn't interested anymore, right? Wrong. There are plenty of good reasons to call leads that are a little (or a lot) long in the tooth. Let's take a look at a few of them.
1. Time heals all wounds (or, at least, most of them).
Let's say you're trying to sell office supplies to small businesses. One of your leads is a new startup that just opened its doors six months ago. At the time, they weren't interested in your products because they were still getting their business up and running and didn't have the budget for office supplies. Fast-forward six months, though, and they've been up and running for a while now. They may have even hired some additional staff. That means they probably have a bigger budget and may be open to your products now. All it takes is one phone call to find out.
2. People's needs change over time.
Even if a lead wasn't interested in your product or service when they first contacted you, their needs may have changed since then. Perhaps they were looking for a product or service that met a specific need at the time, but since then, that need has changed or gone away altogether. It's always worth contacting old leads to see if their needs have changed—you may be surprised how often they have.
3. You never know when someone will be ready to buy.
Just because someone wasn't interested in buying your product six months ago doesn't mean they'll never be interested in buying it. People's circumstances change all the time, which means their buying decisions change as well. Someone who wasn't interested in buying office supplies from you six months ago may be very interested now if their business has grown and they need to outfit additional staff members with supplies. The only way to find out is to pick up the phone and ask them.
If you're only calling leads that are fresh off the press, you're missing out on some great opportunities. Don't be afraid to reach out to leads that are a little (or a lot) long in the tooth—you might be surprised at what you find when you do.