So, things have “cooled down” and you either haven’t heard from your leads for a while or the enthusiasm just isn’t what it used to be. 

Too easy to let them slip through the cracks—but neglect isn’t the right call, as you’re potentially leaving a lot of money on the table.

Here, we’ll look at some strategies for rekindling those distant connections with video, email, and social media. We’ll also discuss how to restart those conversations and ensure you’re presenting old prospects with valuable information.

Reactivating Cold Leads Begins with Research

Just because you already researched these leads a long time ago doesn’t mean you should skip this step. 

Before getting started, take some time to revisit your interaction history with past leads, and do some research to learn more about their current pain points and goals. 

The idea here is to gather a complete picture of each situation, which will then shape your video outreach strategy.

Before you start putting together messages, you’ll need to get some context. Look back at your CRM records to determine, what, exactly went wrong--if anything. 

Make a list of cold leads and the circumstances around each missed opportunity to inform your strategy. For example:

• If the lead dropped out of the funnel because they were busy, you’ll want to make sure to focus on creating stand-out subject lines and providing as much contextual information as possible upfront to save them time. 

• If there were lingering questions, make a point of providing personalized answers when you reach back out.

• If the deal stalled after you sent a proposal or demo-ed a product, address objections or clarify key details to get the deal back on track.

• And, if they weren’t interested in moving forward, skip it. 

Look for Trigger Events to Inspire Your Outreach Video

After you’ve identified a list of cold leads you’d like to get back in touch with, you’ll want to look gather some intel to uncover where your prospects are at today. 

Try to identify trigger events, or big changes happening within your leads’ organization--think recent acquisitions, recent achievements, expansions, etc. The benefit here is, you can use that good news as a reason to reach out--then present new solutions that speak to their new situation.

Here’s what you should do:

• Look for social media or press mentions about recent developments within your lead’s company. 

• Create a personalized video congratulating them on their latest win. 

• Avoid including a sales pitch, here. Instead, the CTA might focus on scheduling a call or demo to share solutions centered around new needs.

• Reference the event in the subject line to pique interest. 

Building your message around specific accomplishments is likely to flatter your prospect and make them more inclined to respond this time around. When you create your video, focus on ways that you can drive that success even further with specific solutions. 

Consider Where You Choose to Make Contact

Particularly in cases where the deal originally fell through because the lead got too busy or forgot to follow up, making a point of “meeting” prospects on their preferred channel can help you cut through the noise and get this deal back on track. 

Look into the demographics of your old leads to identify which channels make the most sense for making a reintroduction. 

Older buyers might prefer to use Facebook, while Millennials might primarily use Twitter. Depending on industry or role, LinkedIn might be the best choice, here, regardless of which generation they belong to.

Do your customer records reveal any channel preferences? 

Beyond general demographics, look for any indications that individual leads prefer one channel over another. If the primary communication with this lead took place over email, that might be the best way to reach them. 

Otherwise, if it makes sense, connect with those leads on relevant social media platforms.

Ease back into the relationship by liking or commenting on their posts, then send a direct message containing a personal video to hop back in. 

Before you send your video, make sure that the following questions can be answered in the accompanying message:

• Why is this video relevant? 

• What is it about?

• What does the prospect gain by watching?

• What is the purpose of reaching out again?

• What steps do you want the prospect to take after watching?

Pick Up Where You Left Off

Make things easy on your prospects by offering a recap of where things were before everything fell apart. We recommend approaching this as a friendly reintroduction, focusing less on conversions and more on restarting the conversation. 

Here’s an example from our Video Funnel Playbook of how you might introduce your message:

Source: Bonjoro's Video Funnel Playbook

The intro message is simple but it accomplishes the following:

• References the last interaction with the prospect.

• It gives the recipient a sense of what’s included in the video.

• Promises to provide new information around the brand’s solution.

You’ll want to keep the video itself rather short--like a minute or so--and provide clear next steps for how the lead can get back on track with this deal. 

In the example above, we’ve opted to focus on revisiting the original proposal or booking a call. 

Address Questions 

This example could work really well with the proposal CTA we used in the last section. 

Here's a screen-grab of a video I got sent recently, a supplier reached out to me with a personalised screen share walking me through his proposal aiming to clear up exactly how their solution would work with our signup flow

Show Them What They’ve Missed

Have you introduced any new features, product lines, or upgrades since you last spoke to this prospect? If so, there’s your reason for reaching out. 

Create a video that addresses these new changes, but make sure you do so in a way that focuses on how the new capabilities can better solve the problems the prospect brought up in your last conversation. 

A couple of ideas for how you might approach this:

Here’s a walkthrough Zendesk used at the 2018 Relate event to introduce its new CRM, Sunshine. While this example is designed for a crowd, you might try creating shorter industry or customer-specific videos in this vein to reconnect with prospects. 

Source

This example from Gusto is part of a longer tutorial, but it does a nice job showing viewers how to use each feature. 

We could see this being an effective template for highlighting new features in a way that’s specific to individual leads. 

Source

Focus on Helping over Selling

This example from Pressable is a great way to introduce your offer. It’s super simple, but we like how the message text focuses on helping rather than selling. The whiteboard is a neat touch too, which shows Roger that Claudia from Pressable has totally taken the time for him personally, and the offer of guidance is real and not fake.

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As far as video content goes, you might approach like they’ve done in the above example, with a candid, personal message that outlines some potential solutions. 

Or, you might try approaching this from the product side using video to promote relevant solutions, as LinkedIn has done in the example below. 

This demo highlights how the platform recommends educational content based on the skills included in a profile, helping the user identify relevant ways to build on his or her existing experience. 

Source

You might then end by inviting your prospect to participate in a free webinar or a personalized tutorial to get them re-invested in the process, or by offering another opportunity to try your product for free. 

Wrapping Up

As mentioned up top, there are several reasons that a lead might go cold, and often it’s more about failing to follow up than disinterest. 

The reason we’ve focused on video-specific tactics is, it’s one of the best ways to deliver the personalized attention needed to hop back in the funnel. That said, it’s not enough to create a video and pray for the best. 

You’ll need to look back at past interactions and identify where things went wrong, so you don’t make the same mistakes twice.

If you’re using Bonjoro, you can create a tag in your CRM for leads who have been inactive for a certain number of days, so after say, 30 or 60 days, those prospects will automatically be added into Bonjoro, ensuring that they don’t fall through the cracks this time around. Click here to sign up for a free trial.