The $119 Million Reason to Never Give Up on a Cold Lead

What does it take to achieve real success? Thomas Edison’s life offers a clear answer: persistence. He still holds the record for the most patents by a single inventor. He ran over 10,000 experiments while creating the light bulb and tested more than 17,000 plants in his search for natural rubber.

His secret was simple — he never quit. As he famously said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

So, how far are you willing to go to reach your goals?

In marketing, it’s easy to get caught up on hacks, quick fixes or a magic shortcut to growth. While there are ways to accelerate progress, the hard truth is that long-term success is built on determination and persistence.

It took me 27 years to build a $119 million business, and the foundation was the same principle Edison lived by: I kept going.

You can’t predict whether a lead will close in three days or 3,000 — but you can control your consistency. There should never be a point when you stop marketing to your audience. Here are three best practices for effective follow-up.

Related: The 3 Greatest Lessons I’ve Learned After 25 Years in Business and $100 Million in Revenue

1. Never stop following up (unless they officially unsubscribe)

Have you ever looked at a text message from a friend or an email from a colleague and thought in that moment, “I’ll respond to this later,” only to completely forget to do that?

The same thing happens with your prospects. They may be interested, but they’re also busy; maybe they get distracted, or maybe they’re not ready to buy yet. In either case, don’t give up! Consistent follow-up is the key to bringing their attention back to you.

Keep sending your emails, SMS messages, direct mailers and any other follow-ups you do unless they tell you to stop, even if you feel like you’re being annoying.

I have contacts in my arsenal as old as my business, PostcardMania. That’s 27-year-old leads!

But guess what: Many of them are closing. And I don’t mean they’re closing shop — they are buying what we sell.

We did some research on this recently and found that in one week, we emailed 148,894 leads that first inquired three years ago — and, in that same week, 86 responded, and 12 of them converted.

We also looked further back to five-year-old leads and found that after 126,148 emails, 61 responded and seven converted.

That’s 19 new clients and 147 restarted sales conversations total from very old leads.

The truth is, there’s no good reason for you to eliminate contacts once they’ve reached out to you. The ones who are truly uninterested will unsubscribe on their own.

Don’t risk losing out on more revenue just because you lack faith in converting an old lead.

Related: Executing a Follow-Up Campaign in 4 Steps

2. Get more creative with your follow-up and diversify your delivery

It’s essential to follow up with your leads across different marketing channels — not just email or text — because every person has his or her own preferred marketing channel.

I personally love the tangibility of direct mail. I enjoy opening my mailbox and finding a physical letter or postcard waiting for me. It’s a welcome change from sifting through hundreds of emails every day. And research shows I’m hardly alone in this!

But you might not mind clicking through emails or responding to a text message. That’s exactly why reaching out on several channels matters. The more often your leads see your business show up in front of them, the more likely they are to remember you when the time comes.

And just because someone doesn’t buy from you immediately doesn’t mean they never will. They may be waiting for the right moment — when they need your service, when their budget opens up or even after trying a competitor and having a disappointing experience.

People choose businesses they already know and trust. Consistent follow-up not only builds strong awareness but also credibility.

3. Make your follow-up easier by putting automations in place

Scheduling automated emails or social posts is just part of doing business these days. But automated follow-up postcards or letters — does that actually exist?

It does. And honestly, it’s one of the smartest evolutions in direct mail I’ve seen in my 27-plus years doing this.

Direct mail automation lets you trigger mailers based on real actions your prospects take. Someone browses your site, pokes around a product page, then disappears without calling or filling out your form? They can get a postcard automatically — no staff intervention, no manual list pulling, nothing. Same with a lead who got a quote and then went quiet for two weeks. Instead of crossing your fingers, the system sends a friendly nudge in the mail for you.

You can even tailor the timing based on how “old” the lead is. Older leads might get a gentle monthly reminder; newer leads might get weekly touches. Once you set the rules, it all runs in the background while you focus on what you do best.

And here’s something I always remind business owners: You might not think you love direct mail, but the data shows most marketers do. About 88% of them say they see conversion rates from direct mail at least 5% higher than their next closest marketing channel.

Related: How to Boost Your Business With Direct Mail Automation and Retargeting — a Detailed Beginner’s Guide

The good news is that setting up direct mail automation is not the ordeal people imagine. Most CRMs today can talk to a direct mail automation platform easily. All those dormant leads sitting in your database — people who raised their hands once, then drifted away — you can wake them back up with zero manual effort.

I’ve had countless clients over the years tell me, “Joy, I’ve been getting your postcards forever. Now I’m finally ready.” That’s the magic of staying in front of people. Automation just makes it effortless.

Put this into practice, and you’ll be amazed at how much more revenue you can squeeze out of the leads you already have — without running yourself ragged.

What does it take to achieve real success? Thomas Edison’s life offers a clear answer: persistence. He still holds the record for the most patents by a single inventor. He ran over 10,000 experiments while creating the light bulb and tested more than 17,000 plants in his search for natural rubber.

His secret was simple — he never quit. As he famously said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”