11 ways to get prospects to call you back

Most salespeople use the same dull, outdated approach when contacting their prospects and then wonder why they never get a callback. To truly captivate and convince your target audience, you have to stand out from this group. For starters, you have to optimize the way you reach out to your prospects so you don’t spend your whole day messaging people who will never respond. To help you out, we compiled a list of our best suggestions to help you stand out from the crowd and get prospects to call you back.

What are the best ways to get prospects to call you back?

Successful sales reps understand the importance of innovation and dedication in approaching prospects. Based on those experiences, we can back up the following ways of ensuring a callback from potential customers:

1. Adapt to their preferred channels of communication
2. Modify your contact attempts
3. Allow your prospects the option to decline your offer
4. Give something useful to prospects
5. Set up a timeline
6. Document every contact
7. Make connections
8. Don’t be afraid to take risks
9. Do follow-ups
10. Use humor in your sales pitch
11. Notify prospects when you give up

#1: Use your preferred channel of communication

Nowadays, everyone has a favored way of communication, be it texting, emailing, or even chatting on LinkedIn. Some individuals simply don’t want to converse on the phone, and you can’t make them change their minds. This is why it’s crucial that you communicate with prospects via their preferred form of contact.

#2: Modify your contact attempts

We have a tendency to develop daily routines where we repeat the same actions at the same time every day. Prospecting isn’t immune to this. You may contact a prospect at the same time every day if you typically reserve a specific period of the day for prospecting. When you try to contact someone, make a conscious effort to vary the time of day. If they didn’t answer when you called them in the early morning after you’ve gotten your coffee, try again in the late afternoon while you’re driving home. You’ll probably have more success stories if you switch it up now and then.

To get more prospects, add a popup to your website that lets visitors leave their phone numbers. Something like a ConvertMore callback widget can do wonders in collecting all the phone numbers and increasing your conversion rate!

#3: Allow prospects the option to decline

One of the best ways to get prospects to call you back is to offer them a way out. It might sound counterintuitive, but it works! Via an email or a voicemail, let them know it’s okay to say no. They’ll either call you back to say they did pick another company, or they’ll call you to say they haven’t made up their mind.

In the second scenario, they might even apologize for not letting you know sooner. If you play your cards right, you’ll have an amazing chance of converting. In any case, you’ll know where you stand with this prospect and whether more effort is a waste of your time.

#4: Give prospects something useful

Generally speaking, proving value is very important for every business. Most people won’t give websites a second glance if they notice there isn’t any valuable information on them. So, for starters, it’s important your website shows the value you can give. This will boost web lead conversions from the start.

Furthermore, most prospects expect to receive something of value from businesses and salespeople who reach out to them specifically. Because of this, whenever you make contact with a potential customer, you should always have something valuable to give them. Usually, this is some form of valuable information that isn’t readily available to them. It can be in the shape of an offer, manual, infographic, pdf, or whatever someone in their position might find helpful. Don’t forget to tailor this approach to every individual prospect to further raise your chances of converting.

#5: Set up a timeline

After each interaction, you should let the prospect know what the next steps are and the timeframe by which they will be completed. In this manner, if the prospect doesn’t answer the follow-up call at the agreed-upon time, you might leave a message reminding them of the agreement. Believe it or not, most of the time, a reminder like this can significantly increase their willingness and get prospects to call you back. 

#6: Document everything

In order to keep track of all agreements and timelines you set up, you have to create a document containing all contact information and details about your prospects. For example, you can create a spreadsheet detailing the steps you took and your future plan of action.

When you get the first contact information from the lead engagement software, make sure you write the date you received that lead. Later, track the date you sent your first message or talked on the phone, the date you said you’ll call again, and the date you finally get the prospect to convert.

#7: Make a connection

It goes without saying that customized communications often perform best. This is because most people prefer to work with somebody who makes them feel at ease and can chat with them casually instead of faking pleasantries. Focus on learning enough about the potential contact before reaching out, but don’t go overboard. Knowing too much about the prospect can make you seem creepy and weird while knowing nothing will make it seem like you’re not good at your job. Find a balance that works for you.

#8: Don’t be afraid to take risks

Don’t be afraid of taking risks and doing something as daring as paying a surprise visit to a location where you know the important prospect will be present or even sending a handwritten letter along with a gift. It might seem crazy, but if you truly believe the prospect is a good fit for your company, the worst thing you can do is not do your hardest to convince them. Just be careful to always act with respect and within the bounds of the law.

#9: Check up on them

If you message a prospect who’s gone silent without an explanation and ask if they’re okay, there’s a high chance they’ll answer apologizing for neglecting to answer before. If you make it sound like you were truly worried about them, it will show you care.

#10: Use humor in your pitch

We’re not suggesting you send them office gifs or random memes, but a little wordplay in an outreach email never hurt anybody. Don’t be afraid to spice up some of your messages with a dash of humor.

#11: Let them know that you’re giving up

Let’s say you contacted a prospect too many times to count. Emails, phone calls, LinkedIn messages – you did it all and they still didn’t respond. Well, now it’s time to let them know this will be your last attempt at contacting them. If they actually answer, that’s amazing, and if not, that’s okay too.

Final thoughts

If all of these options fail to get prospects to call you back, there might be nothing you can do. As a salesperson, it’s important to recognize a lost cause and refocus your efforts on prospects worth your time. Cut your losses and move on to the next prospect on your list. Only by embracing that mindset will you be able to fulfill your potential as a sales rep. Of course, having useful tools such as ConvertMore on your side can help you there.

Keep reading our blog for more useful guidelines on how to get more results in sales and marketing.