According to Hubspot, the average B2B sales cycle is 84 days with at least 18 touches to convert a lead. For SDRs, that timeline means more opportunities for leads to go cold or change jobs before you close. And these numbers only increase with new leads or enterprise products with high-ticket sales.
Because of the extended timeline, a lot of SDRs end up getting ghosted or losing their contacts to job changes. So, when you do score a warm lead, keeping them engaged throughout the sales cycle will boost your chances of closing the deal.
But how do you keep a lead from going cold when your sales cycle can take months to come full circle?
Below, we break down 10 strategies to keep your leads engaged throughout the sales cycle and re-engage them when they start to cool off.
What are warm leads?
A warm lead sits between a cold contact who's never heard of you and a hot lead actively requesting a demo. Unlike a cold lead who has never heard of you, or a hot lead who is actively asking for a demo, a warm lead sits in the valuable sweet spot right in between. They are potential customers who have shown some level of interest in your company but aren't quite ready for a direct sales pitch yet.
This interest is measurable. It's based on specific actions: A lead becomes warm when they:
Download a piece of content like an ebook or case study.
Attend one of your webinars.
Visit high-intent landing pages on your website, like your pricing or integration pages.
Repeatedly open your email newsletters.
Are a past customer who recently started a new job at one of your target accounts.
Warm leads have shown clear interest in your solution through their behavior. They recognize your name, which makes them far more receptive to outreach than a cold contact.
The goal of your SDRs is to take that initial spark of interest and, through smart nurturing, guide them toward becoming sales-ready.
10 expert strategies to generate warm leads
Lead nurturing shortens your sales cycle by helping you understand exactly what your prospect needs to move forward. It’s not just about making a sale but making the effort to understand your prospect's needs. As an added bonus, these insights can help you personalize the sales experience and shorten the sales cycle.
We asked sales professionals about how they’ve kept their warm leads engaged throughout the sales cycle and practical ways to re-engage cold leads.
Here’s what they had to share.
1. Follow up with an email
Thoughtful email campaigns are a great way to keep the connection between you and your warm lead alive. During an 84-day sales cycle, priorities shift, budgets change, and stakeholders move on.
Following up can be helpful on both ends — it keeps you top of mind with the prospect and you can find out what they need to move on to the next stage.
The difference between effective follow-up and spam comes down to relevance and value.
Here’s how to follow up without coming off as spammy:
Use a mutual action plan
A mutual action plan is a document that outlines all the steps that need to be taken by the sales team and prospect until the deal is closed. It sets clear expectations for both parties and ensures you are aligned on jobs to be done during the sales process.
"From day one, I seek to create a MAP (Mutual Action Plan) for success to help prospects/buyers reach their success goals. Creating this MAP early allows for touchpoints that prioritize alignment beyond simple check-ins," says Gabrielle Reyson, Senior Account Development Representative at UserGems.
Use nurture sequences
Nurture sequences (also known as drip campaigns) are a series of emails sent to a lead to keep them engaged. They can include information about your product or customer success stories.
Noah Bastien, Senior ADR at UserGems, is a big fan of using nurture sequences to keep leads engaged. “Periodically sending over useful emails or blog posts helps to make sure they don’t forget about what you have to offer.”
Max Benz, Founder of BankingGeek, adds that automated nurture campaigns allow all leads to receive the same level of attention and consistency. “This way, when leads aren't ready to buy immediately, you stay top of mind for when they are.”
Personalize your emails
Personalization differentiates emails from spam. Your subject line and the content you share should be helpful to your leads. “I call, text, or email my leads with interesting content that applies to their role and the company's main goals. And share non-generic case studies that fit their business. Timing matters more than frequency—reach out when you have something relevant to share,” says Prince Anyanwu, Enterprise SDR at TigerGraph.
Here's a sample warm lead email template from Noah of UserGems:
2. Reach out with a phone call
Using multiple means of communication helps to build trust with a lead, and phone calls shouldn’t be overlooked. While cold calling involves contacting someone with no prior engagement, calling a warm lead is much more effective. According to a Crunchbase survey, 57% of C-level buyers prefer to be contacted via phone.
In fact, 44% of sales professionals say phone calls are their most effective channel for remote selling. This makes sense because phone calls are personal and interactive. Phone calls let you address objections in real-time and book the next step before you hang up.
Here's a warm lead call script the UserGems ADR team uses:
Hi {first name} this is {SDR} at {company name} - I'm calling to make sure you received the content you requested.
[pause to make sure that settles in]
You recently {requested more information/signed up for our newsletter/etc} so first I wanted to make sure that you received {requested content} at {their email address}.
[wait for confirmation - if not found have them check their spam folder and mark it “not spam”]
That’s great! Also just wanted to spend a couple of minutes to understand better your interest in {information} in case I have more content of value that I can share with you. Do you have 2 minutes to continue?
[If yes]
Really appreciate the time {first name}, so what sparked your interest?
[If no]
Sorry to have caught you at a bad time, but thanks for confirming that you got what you were looking for. Would it be ok if I sent over content that I come across on the same topic?
3. Share case studies and testimonials
Case studies show prospects exactly what outcomes they can expect. When you share a story from a similar company in their industry, you're giving them a concrete picture of what success looks like.
Share case studies with similar use cases for your warm leads' businesses to make them more relatable. For example, if your client is in the banking industry, sharing a case study of a customer with a similar challenge in the same industry can help to move the needle. This is because people will connect with real-life examples faster than an abstract idea of how you can help them.
It’s also a nice way to show leads that you care about their business goals. “Letting them know, in the aforementioned way, that you are thinking of them as more than an opportunity helps a lot,” says Rhonda Alexander, Market Development Rep at DocuSign.
“When leads see you're focused on solving their problem rather than closing a deal, they're more likely to engage when they're ready to buy.”
4. Multi-thread
Sales multithreading refers to building relationships with multiple stakeholders — decision makers, champions, and influencers — at your target account. This also includes leveraging referrals from existing contacts.
Multithreading minimizes your chances of losing a lead since there are other people involved in the sales process. Multithreading increases your win rate by ensuring you're not dependent on a single contact who might leave or lose influence.
Revive a warm lead through industry peers
Sebastian Igla, Head of Sales at QikChat, applied multi-threading to re-engage a warm lead whose level of engagement dropped.
“We tried reaching out to the lead via email and phone, but they did not respond,” says Sebastian.
“To revive the connection, we decided to change our approach. Instead of reaching out to the lead directly, we decided to reach out to the lead's industry peers and ask for an introduction. Through this approach, we were able to re-establish contact with the lead and move the sales process forward.”
Track past customers and prospects’ job changes
Another multithreading technique often overlooked is tracking job changes of your past customers and prospects.
Past customers who move to target accounts already know your product works. They're 3x more likely to buy and require less convincing, which shortens your sales cycle significantly.
Revenue teams often overlook this strategy because the manual process of tracking these leads is tedious and overwhelming. UserGems automates this tracking, surfacing leads that are 3x more likely to buy because they already know your product.
The revenue team at Cobalt, a UserGems customer, generated warm leads that increased their ROI to 18X by tracking job change triggers.
READ MORE: Here's how UserGems helped Cobalt generate 18X ROI from tracking warm leads
“Quality matters more than volume when it comes to lead generation. And the quality and conversion rate of a UserGems lead is way higher than that of a content syndication program or an outsourced BDR program. Content syndication helps fill out our database in terms of people to nurture, but the conversion doesn’t always play out,” says Clare Corriveau, Director of Demand Generation at Cobalt. “And UserGems puts a nice warm lead who’s open to having a conversation for a BDR. Our BDRs are happy. I look forward to the first week of every month because it’s the UserGems day.”
💡PLAYBOOK: Adopt Cobalt’s playbook to drive revenue alignment and generate a warm pipeline on autopilot.
5. Keep in touch on social media
Social media gives you two ways to stay visible: engage with leads' posts organically or run retargeting ads to stay top of mind.
For example, engage with warm leads on various social media platforms and provide useful insights where necessary. Or launch a retargeting ad campaign to stay top of mind on their favorite social platform.
Their social media accounts can also provide you with great points to leverage in your next meeting.
James Urie, Senior Partnerships Manager at Close, recommends engaging with leads on LinkedIn to improve your response rate. “Connect with leads on LinkedIn — like, and comment on their posts (if they have any), or DM the lead on LinkedIn with a short question. Liking and commenting consistently on their posts before you DM them will help warm up that DM message for a higher response rate.”
And with paid ads on social media, you can target warm leads with content that speaks to where they are in the sales cycle. For example, if they are still learning about your brand, you can target them with customer stories or product marketing videos.
6. Offer a demo
A demo shows prospects exactly how your product works and whether it fits their needs. Where a case study serves as social proof, a demo can show a warm lead if the product is right for them based on ease of use and time to value. Interactive demos let prospects see your product's key features in action, which accelerates their decision-making.
A demo also minimizes the risk of overwhelming your clients with too much information. “In today’s buying environment, many of our clients experience information overload and buyer’s fatigue,” says Carley Congdon, Sales Manager at Team Building. “We diversify our communications by using email, calls, text messages, virtual meetings, and live demos so that our clients are motivated to engage with us.”
7. Create relevant content
Engage your warm leads with relevant content that’s personalized to their needs.
A strong content marketing strategy is key to nurturing. “Leads can go cold if the only engagements are sales calls and demos,” says Joe Kevens, founder of B2B SaaS Reviews.
“Invite your leads to webinars and customer roundtables and send them relevant case studies and how-to guides to keep them warm. When your content helps leads solve problems, they're more likely to engage with your outreach.”
Two ways to ensure your content resonates:
Understand your target audience
Chris Cicconi, Director of Business Development at Replicant, notes that understanding your prospect and their pain points is key to keeping leads warm.
“Some folks are into learning and will be very gung-ho to attend events and webinars or receive content. Others care more about the relationship, and a few well-timed calls, emails, or videos could be worthwhile. Some prospects prefer text messages for quick updates, while others find them intrusive.”
Focus on providing value
Carley Congdon advises focusing on providing value to clients through your content rather than making sales.
“At Team Building, Carley Congdon encourages her team to act as resources for clients. This step gives our clients the support they need during their buying process without feeling the pressure to act before they are ready. We find that this approach keeps clients engaged with us even if they are not a ‘hot lead’ ready to buy right away.”
8. Use personalized videos
In a Hubspot survey, 36% of marketers revealed that video content drives more engagement than other types of marketing. Video lets you demonstrate your product's value in ways that text alone can't match.
For example, you can embed personalized video messages in emails as an alternative means of introducing yourself to a warm lead. Video lets prospects see and hear you, which builds trust faster than email alone.
James Urie at Close recommends using platforms like Loom or Sendspark to send personalized videos via email. Here’s his suggestion to get your lead to engage with a video.
“When recording a video, make sure your shared screen is on the lead’s LinkedIn profile or website. Record your relevant video message and embed the video within your email outreach. Your lead will click the email, see the embedded email with their LinkedIn profile or website on the thumbnail and be far more likely to view the video and reply. You'll also get a notification that they watched the video, so you can reply when they’ve engaged with your video."
9. Add a human touch to your tech stack
Using B2B lead generation tools will help you scale sales activities, but adding a human touch to your tech stack can help keep your leads warm. Make sure your contact information and lead data in your CRM is always up-to-date.
“Marketing automation scales your outreach, but only if you balance it with timely, personal follow-up,” says Matthew Ramirez, founder of Rephrasely.
“When trying to keep leads warm, it’s important to use marketing automation strategically. For example, you might use your marketing automation to send a welcome email to new leads, but you also want to ensure you follow up with them quickly after they fill out a form or respond to a social media post. You can use your marketing automation to set up a series of follow-up emails or even a phone call, but make sure you’re also reaching out manually to warm leads.”
10. Streamline your sales process
The more complex your sales process, the more likely a lead will go cold. The longer your sales process, the more likely leads will go cold. Streamline it to improve your win rate.
“We have streamlined our sales process so that working with us is easy,” says Carley Congdon at Team Building. “We encourage our Client Advisors to remove the “fluff” in their communications and set clear next steps for our clients. This allows our customers to quickly get the information they need with minimal effort on their end, meaning that they are more likely to respond to us throughout the sales process.”
Automate signal detection and outreach—so your SDRs focus on conversations, not research
Nurturing warm leads requires tracking multiple accounts, timing follow-ups correctly, and personalizing every message. You’re trying to track key accounts, follow up at the right time, and personalize every message—all while trying to hit your quota. Leads go cold when your team spends more time on manual research than actual selling.
UserGems automates the hardest parts of outbound: finding the right buyers and knowing exactly when to reach them.
UserGems is an AI platform that helps sales and marketing teams double their pipeline by identifying which buyers are in-market and drafting relevant outreach based on specific signals.
We identify who to target based on buying signals, then draft the outreach for you.
UserGems keeps your pipeline full of warm, ready-to-engage leads:
Automate the "why now" with timely signals
Our platform surfaces leads based on real-world buying signals, so your SDRs know exactly who to prioritize. Your SDRs work from a prioritized list of qualified leads who have a real reason to talk.
We automatically identify high-intent signals, such as:
Past customers and champions who start new jobs at your target accounts.
New executives and key promotions in roles you sell to.
Accounts showing intent by visiting your website or researching competitors.
Get relevant AI outreach, not spam
Identifying the right buyers is just the first step. Our AI agent, Gem-E, drafts entire outreach sequences and call scripts based on the specific signal we identified. This ensures your messaging is always on point:
If we find a past champion at a new company, the email will reference their previous positive experience.
If we find a new VP of Engineering, the outreach will be tailored to their new role.
This saves your SDRs hours of writing time. Every email references the specific signal that made this person a priority, which drives higher response rates.
Launch high-impact campaigns instantly
UserGems comes with pre-built workflows used by over 350 B2B revenue teams. UserGems comes with a campaign library of pre-built, high-performing plays used by over 350 of the best B2B revenue teams. Activate proven campaigns for job-changers, new hires, or website visitors. Your team can start generating qualified pipeline within weeks.
The result: your SDRs spend less time researching and more time in conversations that convert. Your SDRs become strategic relationship-builders, focusing on conversations that book meetings and advance deals.
Ready to run outbound plays that actually generate qualified pipeline? Book a demo to see UserGems in action.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What's the main difference between a warm lead and a hot lead?
The key difference is the level of intent.
A warm lead has shown interest by engaging with your marketing campaigns and materials, such as downloading lead magnets (e.g., an eBook) or attending a webinar.
A hot lead, often called a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL), has shown clear buying intent by taking an action like requesting a demo, filling out a "contact sales" form, or directly asking about pricing.
Hot leads are ready for a sales conversation immediately, while warm leads need further nurturing. Understanding this distinction is crucial for managing your sales funnel and ensuring your team focuses on truly quality leads.
How do you know when a warm lead is ready for a sales pitch?
Look for a shift from passive interest to active consideration. A lead is likely ready for a sales conversation when they exhibit high-intent behaviors like repeatedly visiting your pricing page, clicking on product-specific CTAs in your emails, viewing late-stage case studies, or responding to a nurture email with a specific question about your product's functionality.
This is where lead scoring within your CRM becomes valuable, as you can assign higher scores to these sales-ready actions.
How often should you contact a warm lead without being annoying?
The right cadence often depends on good email marketing practices and list segmentation. For example, you can segment your email list based on a lead's industry or engagement level to send more relevant content. This value-driven approach works for large enterprises and small businesses alike.
Instead of just "checking in," ensure every touchpoint provides value.
What's the best way to re-engage a warm lead that has gone cold?
The most effective method is to use a new, timely trigger event, which should be a key part of your overall lead generation strategy. It allows you to maximize the ROI of your past marketing efforts by giving you a perfect, non-awkward reason to reach out again. For example, a tool like UserGems can alert you when that contact starts a new job, instantly warming them back up with a relevant message.
