B2B buyers have a very long buying journey. This requires a lot of contact with a single person over a long period of time. According to a bizible study, in 2016 the average customer required over 20 touchpoints before they made the purchase.

It’s so important to be aware of people expressing an interest in your product so you can start keeping in touch regularly. So, if someone downloads a lead magnet, such as a very informative and well put-together white paper, you want to capture their email.

You want to welcome them into your communication stream. Let them know what to expect, and tell them a little bit about what makes your company unique.

You want to keep in touch with them, but not be a pest. You’re going to send them information relevant to their needs. You’re not going to send ten variations of the “Ready to talk to a sales rep yet?” email or phone call.

But what can you do about those people who fell by the wayside? What about all of those names that expressed an interest in your product, but you haven’t heard from? The people who maybe have been in your nurture queue, but haven’t opened an email in months?

Do they remember you exist?

Do they see your headlines at all?

Did they buy from someone else?

Or what about those people who you didn’t keep in touch with before starting a meaningful email thread? Is it possible to reconnect with them? Is it going to be awkward?

Treat Dormant Prospects Like a Long-Lost Connection

Well, think of a dormant prospect like a long lost acquaintance. You went to high school together, you knew each other, and sometimes you hung out in groups together. But, you didn’t make any exclusive plans to hang out just the two of you.

You might have had similar interests, you knew a couple of the same people, but you weren’t close friends. Fast forward, 10…20…or 30 years later. You notice this person is on Facebook.

Occasionally you’ve wondered, “What ever happened to Jim from high school?” Now, you can find out a little bit about Jim. You might be able to find out where he lives and what he does, or not depending on his privacy settings.

You had similar interests and could get to know each other again. So what do you do?

Check Their Interest

You send a brief friend request and a short message. In the message, you remind them of how you know each other, your name, what you had in common in the past, and a brief question about reconnecting.

If Jim is interested, he’ll answer you back, or accept your friend request, or both. When you get an answer, there’s a chance for reconnection. If he doesn’t answer at all, then you know he’s not interested and you can move on.

The same is the case for dormant prospective buyers. You want to check if they’re interested in getting reacquainted.

So, first you send the initial message. Remind them of who you are and how you know each other. Determine if they’re interested in reconnecting.

If they don’t answer your message, take them off your list.

Now, you may argue that they just didn’t see the message. You don’t want to lose out on a valuable client.

Connect More Than Once

This is true. Send a few friendly messages over the course of a few weeks to see if they’re still interested. If you don’t get an answer, then assume they’re not interested and take them off the list.

You might argue they’re not currently looking. If you have a concern about this, link to a survey. Instead of only asking them to reconfirm their email address, give them a link with a few options, such as still interested, bought from someone else but want to remain on your list, etc.

Another option is to ask them to send an email back. This is more work than the other options, and of course by its very nature it means you’ll have a much lower response rate.

Once they reconfirm their interest, you can send a new welcome back sequence that shows off your expertise!

Dormant prospects are still a wealth of potential clients. They showed interest in your product in the past. Don’t discount them, even if you haven’t been keeping in touch.

Are you ready to craft a welcome back sequence for dormant prospects? Contact us for a free 20-minute consultation where we can give you more actionable advice on your email marketing. Or check out our other lead nurturing options.