I'm sure you've told yourself and heard advice from many people more than once:
"Call all your leads! Follow up relentlessly! Call, call, call! Just keep sending them emails over and over!"
And yet, none of it worked for you. Presumably, you achieved a customer connection rate of 10–15% even with leads who showed interest through your ads. So, if 100 people went through your funnel, you’d only be able to talk to 10–15 of them. And I don’t mean you booked them in your calendar—I mean you simply had a conversation with them.
Moreover, only 20% of people open your emails, and less than 0.5% actually click or book a time.
This is inefficient and benefits neither you nor your team. In the early and mid-2000s, this wasn’t the case. Picking up the phone and calling was the best way to reach your dream clients.
But now, it’s not.
Changes in the marketing and sales environment have led to the following consequences:
Declining trust: People have become more skeptical of unsolicited calls, often viewing them as intrusive and annoying.
Ease of blocking: With technological advancements, it’s easier than ever to block unknown numbers or send them straight to voicemail. In fact, as of 2020, 94% of calls from unknown numbers go to voicemail (UpLead).
Decreased attention span: Nowadays, people have less patience for phone conversations, especially with strangers. Research shows that a prospect’s interest in a cold call fades after just nine minutes (FounderJar).
Knowing this, a more efficient approach is needed. We generate over 2,000 leads monthly for ourselves and our clients, and we rarely call or email these leads ourselves. Yet, we book over 15% of them. That’s the same as what you’d achieve just by connecting with them via calls!
This isn’t a pipe dream—it can be your reality. Today, I want to help you become a more effective business owner, sleep better at night, and give your team more productive and busy days.
My name is Nikolay Markov, founder of NeuroPlume, an agency specializing in AI-powered solutions. Our team of experts creates innovative products that help businesses automate processes and improve efficiency.
Problems with Traditional Methods
Traditional lead engagement methods, such as cold calling and email campaigns, often yield poor results and are becoming increasingly ineffective. As mentioned earlier, cold calls have low engagement rates and high rejection rates.
Research shows that it takes an average of 18 calls to actually reach a buyer, and only 1–2% of cold calls result in a meeting (UpLead). This method not only consumes significant time and resources but also leads to frustration among sales teams, who face constant rejection.
On the other hand, email campaigns, while less intrusive, face their own challenges. With average open rates of around 20%, most of your messages will never be seen by potential leads (SalesRoads). Even if an email is opened, the average click-through rate is even lower—often less than 1%. This means most of your carefully crafted emails go unread, failing to engage your audience.
Even if you decide to set up a system for mass cold emailing, it comes with significant costs. You not only need to configure all domains and email accounts to land in the inbox (easier said than done) but also craft a message that converts your audience. I’ve been through this myself, sending over a million cold emails using such systems. Most of them failed. And this is coming from someone who writes copy and builds marketing systems for a living. That’s why we no longer offer this as a service.
It’s simply inefficient.
Additionally, the delay in email communication can lead to slow response times and missed opportunities. Unlike phone calls or messages, emails can sit in inboxes for hours or even days before being read. This delay can be critical in a world where customers expect fast, personalized interactions. Research shows that 78% of consumers buy from the first responder, highlighting the need for speed in lead engagement.
Today’s customers expect immediate, relevant interactions tailored to their needs and preferences. Traditional methods fall short in delivering this level of personalization and responsiveness. Cold calls often feel impersonal and intrusive, while emails lack the urgency needed to hold a lead’s attention. This gap between expectations and reality results in lost leads and reduced sales efficiency.
Moreover, modern consumers are bombarded with information and marketing messages across multiple channels. Cutting through this noise requires a more sophisticated approach than traditional methods offer. Personalized, timely interactions are key to capturing and retaining a lead’s attention in an oversaturated market. Traditional methods, with their delays and impersonal nature, often fail to make the necessary impact.
While traditional methods like cold calling and email campaigns still have their place, they are becoming less effective in today’s market. The high rejection rates of cold calls and the low engagement of email campaigns underscore the need for a more dynamic, responsive, and personalized approach to lead engagement. This is where an automated funnel, combined with SMS bots, comes in—offering a solution that aligns with modern consumer expectations, behavior, and efficient resource utilization.
Introducing a New Strategy
To combat the inefficiency of cold calling, we’ve shifted to using SMS bots for lead engagement. Here’s why this is revolutionary:
Higher engagement rates: Text messages boast an impressive open rate of around 98%, compared to 20% for emails and even lower for cold calls (Layerise).
Instant communication: SMS is instantaneous and often preferred by customers, who can respond at their convenience—regardless of age.
Automation: With an SMS bot, you can automate initial engagement, follow-ups, and even appointment scheduling. This not only saves time but ensures no lead falls through the cracks.
How It Works
1. Initial engagement: As soon as a lead submits an inquiry, the SMS bot sends a personalized welcome message, starting the conversation in a non-intrusive way. This is typically a very open-ended question about their current situation.
2. Follow-up: The bot continues engaging the lead, providing relevant content and responses based on their interactions. This keeps the lead interested and builds trust over time.
3. Appointment scheduling: Once the lead shows interest, the bot can automatically schedule a call or meeting, integrating with your calendar.
Using this strategy, we engage more leads, book more meetings, and ultimately close more deals—without the inefficiency and frustration of cold calling. If you’re ready to make your lead generation process efficient, it’s time to switch to SMS bots.
If your business isn’t yet using AI in SMS campaigns, we recommend implementing standard operating procedures for your sales team to effectively incorporate text messaging into their workflow. NeuroPlume can also provide an AI-powered solution to automate and optimize this process.
I guarantee this will increase your booking rate and create more opportunities in your and your team’s calendars.
Quick Recap
Problems with cold calling:
Low engagement rates and high rejection rates.
It takes an average of 18 calls to reach a buyer.
Only 1–2% of cold calls result in a meeting.
It’s time-consuming and leads to sales team frustration.
Challenges with email campaigns:
Average open rates of around 20%, with even lower click-through rates.
Delayed responses can lead to missed opportunities.
Lack of urgency and personalization hinders effective lead engagement.
Modern consumer expectations:
Customers expect fast and personalized interactions.
Traditional methods fail to meet these expectations, leading to lost leads and reduced sales efficiency.
Market noise:
Consumers are overwhelmed with information and marketing messages.
A more sophisticated approach is needed to capture and retain attention.
Inefficiency of traditional methods:
High rejection rates for cold calls and low engagement for email campaigns highlight the need for a more dynamic approach.
Introduction of SMS bots:
Higher engagement—98% open rates for text messages.
Instant communication, preferred by customers.
Automation simplifies lead engagement, appointment scheduling, and maintaining interest.
Results
More engaged leads, more booked meetings, and ultimately, more closed deals.
Eliminates the inefficiency and frustration of cold calling.
Proof
Since implementing this strategy, our results have been incredible. Just last month, we sent nearly 3,000 text messages. Here are the raw results:
21% booking rate
75% reduction in customer acquisition cost (CAC)
212% increase in lead response
32% increase in attendance rate
The highest-performing partner spent just ~140k on ads to generate 176 qualified calls and increase revenue by 4.3 million.