13 Techniques To Turn An Uninterested Prospect Into A Loyal Client

One of the earliest lessons teams learn about marketing and sales is that often the job comes down to a numbers game. Not every prospect you’ll pitch to will be receptive to your ideas. However, even though a client might not have been particularly interested in your product or service in the past, it doesn't mean that they aren't likely to want or need it in the future.

Guiding a formerly uninterested client into becoming a loyal customer doesn't happen without a bit of strategy, however. Below, 13 members of Forbes Business Development Council examine several techniques that can help turn uninterested prospects into clients and close that critical first sale.

Photos courtesy of the individual members.

1. Understand Your Prospect

Understand your prospect. Watch for buying triggers like technology replacements and upgrades, and send relevant content about how your product or service can add value. Use cases and testimonials can be very effective tools. You should be able to identify many buying triggers and should create well-aligned content so you can be opportunistic when you prospect is buying. Be creative and targeted. - Adam Feiner, FirstFuel Software, Inc.

2. Create An Educational Mindset

Constantly educate prospects by providing industry insights that align with their pain points. Whether that's sharing relevant articles, case studies or company collateral, your prospects will gradually learn what benefits they can get out of your platform. Once the prospect has had enough with their current vendor, they'll remember your company as an option for a new solution. - Christian Valiulis, Automatic Payroll System


3. Lead With Value

Leading with value is an effective sales technique, even if you have a cold prospect. Send them something of value for free, without asking for anything in return. This can help revive the relationship. The key here is that it creates value for that person or company: a free workbook, session, book, sample or product you make—not the usual pens or paper with your logo. - Robin Farmanfarmaian, Actavalon

4. Sell To The Pain Versus The Gain

Normally, when clients don't move forward it's not because they don't like you or your solution, but more often because they don't see the challenge being addressed as important enough. If you want to get a stalled deal moving again, you need to make sure the issue you are addressing warrants budget and resources. Quantifying the cost of "do nothing" is key in getting from "stall" to "yes." - Tom Pisello, mediafly.com

5. Play The Long Game

If the relationship is important enough, play the long game. If you believe that a prospect will need your product or service down the road and they are sizable enough to warrant the investment in time and resources, maintain an ongoing relationship. Keep a line of communication open and check in often enough so you are not forgotten (but not so often that you are deemed an annoyance). - Adam Mendler, The Veloz Group

6. Bring Innovation To The Table

Most industries are seeing change at a rapid pace. This presents a problem for businesses and an opportunity to engage past prospects with new opportunities. Whether it is a cutting-edge product, service or an existing product that fits with today's market, remember that it's not about you, it's about your potential client. Look for the headache they don't know exists and solve it before it happens. - Emily Hauptvogel, H&H Products Company

7. Be Persistent

Be the expert at solving customers' pain points and find out what a previous uninterested prospect needs. Find advocates that will help you get in front of this important prospect and when you do, offer solutions. Build your reputation and your brand. - John McCoy, Komet USA

8. Bring Them Outcomes, Not Products

First, keep the engagement going to keep communication lines open. Otherwise, you will not be top of mind. Second, know their business and bring them outcomes, not products or solutions. Remember, executives make decisions from a position of loss. You win when they feel like they cannot lose by doing business with you. Do these two things and you will have a higher conversion rate. - Eric Hutto, Unisys

9. Build Re-Engagement Nurture Campaigns

Unless your contact has opted out of your email campaigns, there's no reason not to use this channel to stay in communication with leads that have previously opted out of a purchase. My recommendation is to focus on providing them educational content. Look for ways to add value. Help them achieve their goals. When they are ready for your product or service, they will come to you. - Jen Spencer, SmartBug Media

10. Address Client Objections

Whenever you come back to the table with a client, it's critical that you understand and address whatever their objections or hesitations were the first time around. Maybe the client didn't have a need for your product, it was a bad fit or the timing of the deal was off. Using this information, you can build a conversation with the client around why your product or services are a great fit now. - Vijay Sundaram, Zoho Corporation

11. Stay Top Of Mind

Set reminders to reach out to potential customers and just ask how they are doing. Send an interesting, relevant article about their industry, like and comment on some of their social media postings and send emails simply asking how things are going. These "touches" keep you on their radar so they think of you when the time comes to purchase. - Janet Waring, Model B

12. Be Unique In Your Follow-Up

When coaching on sales, I tell people that follow-up must be unique. Prospects become callused to your follow-up efforts quickly, so avoid just calling or emailing. Find creative texts to send like videotext, or put them on a mock Forbes cover, using humor. Send them content or personalized cards to ensure you are on their front of mind. Whatever you do, change it up and be unique. - Don Markland, MoneySolver

13. Remarket Your Product Pitch

Remarketing your product pitch can lead consumers to rediscovering the product that they’d previously said "no" to before. The power of remarketing comes from its main super power—the follow-up. Segmenting your prospects while utilizing your remarketing strategy can help categorize areas like "previous customers," "visitors who abandoned their carts" or "general visitors." - Joel Goldstein, Mr. Checkout Distributors
