Imagine scoring $1.3 million in new pipeline and more than 20 new sales orders, in just a few days, with a simple and clear email outreach strategy.
For my team, one campaign stands out for its ability to drive revenue, re-engage closed-lost deals, and help our reps hit their numbers: revive and renew.
Too often sales leaders focus on once-and-done campaigns when it’s time to set goals and plan sales events. As a result, they can struggle to build the type of momentum that leads to real results.
The new year is a time of revival and renewal for all of us, and sales is no different. This can be the perfect time to develop ongoing efforts that can grow pipeline, and that’s what we do with our revive and renew sales campaign.
Closed-lost doesn’t mean no forever
Salespeople talk frequently about the importance of revisiting closed-lost deals. This is a foundational sales activity, but it’s rarely prioritized to the point of creating an event around it.
A revive and renew campaign does just that. It gets the entire sales team focused on a single point of truth: A closed-lost deal isn’t a no forever.
The last time your reps spoke to a prospect, that prospect may not have been a fit. But leaders continually evolve their processes. They hire new team members, develop new products—and rethink their tech stack.
A revive and renew campaign focuses on reaching out to these accounts to explore the changes that may have taken place since they last engaged.
Because reps already have relationships with these accounts, your rep isn’t starting from zero. They have a headstart into a conversation about how you can help them. These accounts become low-hanging fruit.
By setting aside a few days to re-engage them, you help your reps make this foundational activity the priority it should be.
How to set up a revive and renew campaign
This campaign can last anywhere from a day to a week. Schedule it at a time when there are no other commitments, so your reps aren’t distracted by other priorities.
I usually announce the campaign about a week before we start.
The assignment: Reach out to contacts from closed-lost deals whose business has grown to the point where they might reconsider our solution. Revenue operations leaders commonly provide a list of accounts to target, or can ask reps to compile one. I emphasize that this will help them hit their numbers and we’ll give them resources to re-engage as many prospects as possible.
The reps don’t have to do this alone. When I announce the campaign, we share:
- Clear, direct instructions—ideally a step-by-step guide
- Scripts, templates, and sequences, so everyone has a similar message
- Visibility to real-time reporting and leaderboards to help track results
- Awards for those who drive the most pipeline
The messaging: “Companies are rapidly evolving in today’s market. Last time we spoke, the timing wasn’t right. We’ve developed some new features that might be a good fit. Perhaps now is a better time to explore the product fit and how we can help support your growing business.”
Simple idea, dramatic results
This is a simple campaign designed to give your reps time to focus on foundational sales motions. Here at Clari, we’ve seen dramatic results.
A revive and renew campaign for just one quarter resulted in:
- 724 accounts with closed-lost deals targeted
- 750 emails sent
- 65% of the 724 accounts re-engaged
- 23 sales orders created, with more deals in the pipeline
- $1.36 million in pipeline opportunities generated
With results like this, this campaign doesn’t need to run just once a year. It’s perfect for the first quarter, since that’s when accounts get rebalanced among reps. But it can work equally well at other times, too.
Benefits beyond the pipeline
Every sales organization in a revenue operations function has one focus—to help reps move prospects quickly through the pipeline.
By scheduling sales events for your entire team, you’ll send a clear message to your reps that you have their backs. And they’ll understand that you don’t just talk about best practices, you make them a real priority.
The revive and renew campaign will boost your sales numbers, but those aren’t the only benefits. Over the years, I’ve also seen an increase in teamwork, and opportunities to learn from one another’s successes. My reps swap tips on what worked, cheer each other on, and set new goals for themselves.
Those are benefits that last all year.
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