This article is part of the Hidden Gems series, where we publish findings from our data science team on the impact of buyer job changes on B2B revenue.
“If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they’re yours; if they don’t, they never were.”
Great saying. But apologies, Richard, that’s terrible advice for B2B sales.
We've worked with category-leading SaaS companies. And one question we often hear is:
“We have strong NPS scores. Our customers love us. They’ll always bring us to their next company. Why do we need to know when they change jobs?”
The assumption here is these customers will come back on their own anyway. So why allocate budget and resources to tracking job changers. As it would amount to moving pipeline from one bucket to another instead of creating net new pipeline.
Now, that's a sensible assumption. The data tells a different story.
So, our data science team set out to answer the following question:
“For SaaS brands with high NPS scores, do past champions/customers come back?”
Our methodology?
We compiled a list of companies that were clear category leaders and had strong NPS scores.
Next, we analyzed their data to identify key contacts who had started new jobs more than three months ago. But weren’t in their Salesforce yet.
The goal? Find champions who had changed jobs over three months ago - but hadn’t come back.
The results?
Even for these category leaders, 91% of their Gems didn't come back on their own - even after 90+ days at their new jobs.
As we shared in part 1 of the Hidden Gems series, deals with Gems mean 114% higher win rates, 54% bigger deal sizes, and 12% shorter sales cycles. Given what we already know (114% higher win rates, 54% larger deal sizes, 12% shorter sales cycles), leaving 91% of your Gems unworked is a significant pipeline gap.
Forgotten Gems still convert when re-engaged
Good question. We surfaced those forgotten Gems and tracked how they performed when worked by sales.
We had one attribution requirement: these Gems must be the primary contact on the new opportunity.
The results?
These “forgotten Gems” generated 5% of the overall closed-won revenue that quarter.
So no, Richard Bach's advice doesn't translate to B2B sales. Your champions don’t always come back on their own. And a little nudge from you could have significant impact on your numbers.
As a product marketer, I was a heavy Chorus user. I used it extensively for persona development, messaging and competitive research. I told everyone that cared to listen about Chorus.
Then I joined a new company that didn't have a call recording tool. At the same time, I started noticing Gong all over LinkedIn.
Their content was genuinely useful, and over time I started trusting Gong before I'd ever seen a demo. But here's what Chorus missed: I had changed jobs and was now at a company without a call recording tool. That's a high-intent signal. Chorus never reached out. Gong did. That's the difference. when a Gong rep reached out, I didn't evaluate anyone else. Gong won the deal before the rep even sent the first email.
If a Chorus rep had reached out at the right moment, they'd have a significant advantage — a warm champion with no loyalty to anyone else yet. That window closes fast.
As a buyer, I keep my options open. Unless you're the undisputed category leader, your champions will consider competitors, especially when no one from your team has reached out.
This is why it baffles me when companies say, “I know the value of repeat champions. But we don't need to reach out when they change their jobs. Our customers love us. They always come back on their own!”
Really? It's a big gamble to assume your champions will buy again without a little extra push. And if you're not tracking your champions…
How would you know about the ones that don't come back?
Why would you leave your best buyers open to competitors?
Why leave your pipeline dependent on buyers reaching out when they're ready, on their timeline, not yours?
Think about how large that pool actually is across your book of business. Or “forgotten Gems” as I prefer to call them.
Start your customer re-engagement strategy with these Gems
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