Your sales lead just got promoted. What should you do?

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Offline doha

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Your sales lead just got promoted. What should you do?
« on: September 18, 2014, 06:48:40 PM »
Your sales lead just got promoted. What should you do?

by Jason Rushin |  CRM Intelligence, customer intelligence, Customer Success, outbound prospecting, prospect outreach, Prospecting, Relationship Management


Anytime a sales lead has an interesting moment, it’s an opening to reach out to them, engage, make conversation, and, obviously, try to convert them into a closed deal. An interesting moment can be anything from a corporate event, like good earnings or an acquisition, or a personal event, like a job change or a published article.

The hardest part is quickly being alerted when an interesting moment takes place, but there are tools to help with that. What I want to focus on here is how to capitalize on a specific type of interesting moment: the job promotion.

So, assuming that you received a timely alert to a lead’s promotion, here are some tips for turning it into a deal-progressing event.

1.   Offer your congratulations.

They’re probably getting a lot of congratulatory emails, but it’s a great opening to lob in a call and an email. Keep it short and be sure to remind them of who you are. And, remember to be clear on what’s in it for them to do anything more than just ignore your message.

2.   Understand that they’re probably overwhelmed.


If they are a decision-maker, overwhelmed might be an understatement. A new role generally means new responsibilities, new people, and lots to think about. Their old responsibilities might not even be related to their new ones, so it’s important to remember that you’ve probably just dropped a few rungs on their priority list. But, that’s your opportunity to help them by either taking something off of their list or helping them with their transition.

3.   Ask for a meeting to see if their new perspective makes you more interesting.


A promotion can open up a person’s area of responsibility, give them more access to more people, and make them privy to decisions that were formerly above their pay grade. That could all be great for you. Again, it’s letting them know that you’re helping them make the transition and look like a rockstar in their new role.

4.   Ask them to connect you with their replacement.


Promotions are good excuses to get things off of your plate, so your lead might not be your lead any longer. Try to get them to connect you with their replacement or whomever will be taking over the related project. It’ll cut out much of the new person’s vetting of you if you’re referred directly.

5.   Ask for permission to use their name to open other doors.

If they don’t connect you with others, ask them directly if you can use their name when reaching out to others. An email or voicemail that starts with, “Molly Smith asked me to contact you…” is always best. But, lacking that, it’s still above board to say things like, “I was working with Molly Smith on this project and I think that you’re now leading it…”

6.   Stay in touch and keep them in the loop.


If they’ve been responsive, it’s a great idea to keep them periodically aware of your progress, or to ask for help in making progress. Better to reach out every couple of months than to try to get them to remember you a year later when you’re grasping for an entry. If they still have oversight or involvement in the project, then definitely keep them in the loop, just so they remember who you are and why you’re so great.