In this episode of the B2B Brand180 Podcast, Linda Fanaras interviews Aly Samaha, known as the Follow-Up King, who has generated millions in sales by re-engaging leads others had given up on. Together, they explore why quiet prospects are not necessarily lost deals, why traditional follow-up often fails, and how sales teams can revive opportunities already sitting in their pipelines.
Aly shares practical insights on non-assumptive language, handling common objections, and following up without sounding pushy or desperate. You’ll hear actionable strategies for reconnecting with prospects, creating value in every interaction, and turning overlooked leads into new revenue opportunities.
01:54 Why Quiet Prospects Aren’t Necessarily Lost Deals
03:09 Why Salespeople Give Up on “Dead” Leads Too Soon
05:18 The Three Reasons Prospects Ghost You
07:26 What to Send a Prospect Who Went Quiet Months Ago
11:10 Non-Assumptive Language: Following Up Without the Pressure
12:58 The Breakup Message That Gets Prospects to Respond
16:22 Handling Price, Budget, and “Let Me Think About It” Objections
20:11 How to Revive the One Deal You Thought Was Dead
https://www.facebook.com/samsonsamaha
Linda’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindafanaras/
Millennium Agency: Brand Strategy | Marketing | Web Design: mill.agency
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@mill.agency
Linda’s Books:
Claim Your White Space
https://www.amazon.com/CLAIM-YOUR-WHITE-SPACE-CRITICAL-ebook/dp/B0CLK8VLYV
Passion + Profits: Fueling Business And Brand Success
https://www.amazon.com/Passion-Profits-Fueling-Business-Success-ebook/dp/B0CLLDDSNX/
Linda:
Most people think a quiet prospect is a lost prospect, but my guest today has made two and a half million dollars in cash proving that is wrong. Most of it from leads other people had already given up on. He works one or two calls a day and that’s it. So stick around because by the end of this, you’ll have the exact words to send to the deal that went quiet on you three months ago. So welcome back to the show. I’m Linda Fanaras and today’s guest is Aly Samaha. He’s known as the follow-up king and Aly has done $2.37 million in cash over the last two and a half years working one to two calls a day and most of it comes from dead leads. It’s great to have you here on the show, Aly.
Aly:
Thanks Linda.
Linda:
So let’s start with the number because that thing is something people won’t believe. $2.37 million in cash, two and a half years, one or two calls a weekday, most of it from leads other people had already thrown out. So how is that even possible?
Aly:
Yeah, it’s simpler than most people want it to be. I mean, most sellers, they treat a quiet lead as a dead lead. They walk away and go buy a new one and you run an agency, Customer Acquisition Costs (CACs) are getting higher and higher every year. I do the opposite. I go back and talk to the people who already said yes to something and raise their hand to something. Something changed in their life or they got in another direction. I’d rather just go back to those guys and see if they’re still in the game. And most of the time people who don’t buy still have that problem. So that deal doesn’t need convincing. It needs the right message at the right moment. And if you do that once or twice a day instead of chasing 50 new strangers, you land at a better number. So it was good for me because I didn’t need to hop on as many calls and I could make more money and it’s good for the client who shouldn’t have been given up on.
Linda:
Yeah. And I think a lot of times we’re always focused, especially if you’ve got that sort of hunter that’s been doing sales, they’re always looking for the next shiny new object. So everybody else’s instinct is to go buy some more leads, which is what we just talked about. That’s a whole industry, right? What made you turn around and go back to those dead leads instead?
Aly:
That’s a great question. I actually came from an operations marketing background and founder background. So I knew that it cost a lot to leave stones unturned. And so somehow I had that owner mentality and I wasn’t the first person to realize it. It was actually the leaders within the organization that were like, “You have a lot of potential.” And I was like, “What? How do they know that?” And they were in the CRM seeing how much I was following up with people. So I just felt it was the normal thing to do. A lot of closers, what they do is, like you said, they’re always looking for more and the next shiny object and then next inbound lead. And I didn’t realize I was the only person with a squeaky clean pipeline. So I guess it’s just coming from a background where I know the pain of leaving stones unturned and applying that to the closer realm and being a professional and seeing that it pays off.
It doesn’t pay off immediately. Some people were getting paid for me more than me in the first few months, but month three, month four, once that pipeline’s getting worked the way I was doing it, I was beating everybody in there.
Linda:
That’s awesome. So you use this line that I’ve heard you say, and I’d love for you to explain it. You say, “A prospect who goes quiet is not saying no.” So what are they actually saying?
Aly:
Yeah. So oftentimes what they’re saying is not right now or not like this. Or some people don’t even have a reference point of investing in themselves. Some people don’t have that pulsating pain right there. Let’s talk like a concrete example here. So somebody who’s maybe investing in career coaching and you’re pitching to them a 30K program that helps them land their desired role. They might be thinking of that as half a home and no thanks. But the moment that they have a job loss pending, they have a high stake or they have a job interview with Facebook that they’re completely unprepared for that pays 400K, then it starts making sense. I’m paying 10% in order to land that thing with a high level of certainty. Okay, now it makes sense. So oftentimes it’s just not the right time. And that’s not BS. Sometimes it’s just really the case.
And so if you can stay top of mind in their world and a great mentor of mine said, it’s not time that kills deals, it’s lack of proximity. And I love that because it’s true. Some deals take time because whatever reason, it’s not fitting their world right there right then. And so what I’ve realized is if you can remain top of mind in their world, and if you can be coming from a place of service and value provision, people will thank you for how much you follow up. But if you’re coming from a place of need or if you’re coming from a place of pushing or making the other person feel like they’re not in control or that’s not going to work. So there really is a human element to it that you have to come from a place of service and really care and really care to collaborate with that person to get them to their goal.
If they feel that, you’re good. But if they feel like you need the deal more than them, it’s not going to work. So oftentimes it’s just not the right time or the sense of urgency is not there or the logistics are not there at the moment or so many other things. Sometimes a lot of people tend to think, ah, they’re BSing or whatever. Yeah, sometimes they are, but many times they’re not.
Linda:
No, that’s great. Because you’ve said in the past, there are like three reasons anyone ever ghosts you. So only three. So I’m really curious, what are those
Aly:
Three? I would say there’s three rules that people violate. They make a prospect feel stupid. They miss something and nobody likes to feel stupid. When somebody feels stupid, they’re like, okay. They have the luxury of ghosting you. It’s not a phone call where you have that tight frame going on. Fall off is really, you got to make sure you’re following basic human principles. The other one is they feel trapped. They feel cornered. And nobody likes to feel cornered. People like to feel in control of their decision or they feel pushed. So if somebody feels pushed, what does that generally say that you need the deal more than they do the moment they smell that commission breath like most people say, or they sense that, then you lose a deal. And I think that’s the number one thing that closers mess up because you asked that great question at the tail end.
And why? Because let’s be real, closers are competitive. Closers are dealing with a competitive environment within the organization where they want to be number one top dog, where they sometimes treat a prospect like a prospect and not a human. And so at the end of the day, if you’re operating from that mentality, then you seem like you need the deal. And sometimes it’s not because you need the money, but because you need the recognition from your organization or your management or your team or your pod or whatever. And so something one of my mentors taught me that was outstanding was it’s okay to be married to the process, to be outstanding every single day and everything that you do, but be detached from the outcome. If you do that, then you’ll be outstanding, but you won’t be needy. And guess what? If you’re not needy, you’ll be even better.
So a lot of people think, oh, if I let go of the outcome, I’m going to perform weaker. No, you’re not because you’re married to the process, you’re married to the controllables, you’re married to the things that you can do to move the deal forward. And if you focus on those things, you’re going to get what you want and you’re going to get the frost of what they want as well.
Linda:
Perfect. Yep. Absolutely. So let’s just jump into the tactics a little bit. Someone listening has a deal that went quiet like three months ago as an example. So they’re going to open their laptop right after the episode. They’re going to go, okay. What do you think is the first message that person should send to that prospect? So what would those sort of words actually be along the lines of those words? Yeah, there’s
Aly:
A few good ones I like. One of them is, are you still looking to goal? Are you still looking to goal? Have you found a solution to goal or are you still looking? That’s another way of putting it. You can make it humor. Some people respond better to humor. Dang, did I get ghosted here? But the best one, if it’s been an extended period of time, a few months would be, are you still looking to go? It’s so simple, but it works. And it’s so simple because if they’re not still in the field of looking for solution, then there’s no conversation to be had. But oftentimes what is like somebody who doesn’t go to the gym or doesn’t sign up for a program or doesn’t get support, guess what happens? Their situation just continues the way it was. And guess what that means for you as a closer?
You’re in a better position because now they have more weight towards the fact that they’re unable to solve that problem on their own. So when you’re coming back to them from a place of service and curiosity, you have likely more urgency coming from their end and more of the seesaw tipped in your direction because that weight of time and lack and inability is just evident by the passing of time and the lack of a solution.
Linda:
A lot of people, salespeople might be just like, “Hey, I’m just checking in.” And I think because everybody sends it, it feels sort of harmless, but it doesn’t work.
Aly:
The problem with that is it gives the other person nothing. It has no value. There’s no reason really to reply. And it sounds like you need something, not that they need it. So it’s you kind of tapping them on the shoulder to ask where your deal is. And that doesn’t work. If somebody is conditioned to open up a message from you and get zero value, they’ll ignore it. And guess what will happen when they see it again? They’re just conditioned. There’s no value from this person. So you want to make sure that you delete that from your lingo because it offers zero value. And if your follow-up doesn’t realign them with a goal, with a simple question like the one I shared, are you still looking for? Or client testimonials just came in today. Remember how you’re telling me that you’re really concerned about interviews?
Here’s somebody who screenshot and she bombed the interview. She thought she bombed the interview and she was the number one pick for the organization, her dream company. Here’s the funny situation where she had a back and forth with the client success manager and was sharing that experience. That’s it. Is that valuable? Yeah. Why? Because you’re showing that person something that first of all is going to make them realize that the opportunity is there and it’s possible and that their fear can be overcome. And that person communication with the CSM shows that we’re people that can help people. And it shows raw ability to share something that’s recent, that’s timely, that’s relevant. That’s value. It doesn’t have to be a grand slam 90 page PDF that walks them through every part. It’s not it. A lot of people just overthink follow. It’s really just about how would you talk to a friend?
And it’s relevant, it’s timely, and it’s related to our conversation. By the way, I remember a conversation and that’s coming from the fact that I’m bringing up something relevant.
Linda:
That’s probably helpful. Yeah.
Aly:
Yeah.
Linda:
You talked about what I call non-assumptive language. What is that exactly?
Aly:
When you’re communicating via text, you want to make sure you’re always starting something off with, not even sure if this is relevant. Immediately what it does is lowers resistance levels. So now what you can do is, not even sure if you’re interested, Linda, but our CEO who has one, two, three accolades and has helped people get outcome that you’re looking for is offering a free ask me anything where you can hop on again. I know it’s a little bit of last minute, but is that something you’d even be interested in? If you are, let me know and I’ll pop over the link so that you can join. It’s so non-assumptive. It’s a non-assumptive sandwich essentially. You what I mean? Start non-assumptive, end non-assumptive. Middle value packed. If you can do that, my God, it’s just like if you give them a way, it’s a very interesting psychology.
If you give somebody a way out of your community, they step in. It’s unbelievable, especially in texting. It’s like, I’m not even sure if you’d be interested or not even sure if this is still relevant for you, not even sure if the timing makes sense for you. And then make it a grand slam offer that’s relevant to them. And then close with, throw links your way if it’s not relevant, but just let me know if you are and I’ll get you in and make sure that our CEO answers your question first. How many people are going to say no to. And you know what? Even if they don’t respond to that, you’ve reminded them of who you are and the value you can provide to them. So you don’t always have to get a response to every one of your questions, but just reminding them who your CEO is.
Just reminding them that you can help the problem. You’re staying top of mind in their world, and that has added value to your conversation.
Linda:
I’d love to talk about that breakup line. If there’s one breakup message, can you maybe walk me through that a little bit?
Aly:
One of the campaigns that I ran for what, million a month companies, well over eight figures, and that got a 40% reply rate, which is insane. I didn’t even know that until somebody on the team, marketing team was like, “Hey, you want to jam out on a new one? The last one got four.” I was like, “What? 40%?” And the reason why is people responded mostly to the first question, which was what I shared with you as a really good question, which is, are you still looking for? Or the last question, which was, “Hey, I’ve reached out a few times. Haven’t heard back. Is this something that’s been pushed down the priority list for you? If so, just let me know and we’ll close your file.” Or, “Hey, is this not a priority for you? Should I close your file or do you still want to have that conversation?” So you can start with that where they’re like, “Okay, I have a way out. Let me lean back in.” Or, “Is this still relevant for you or should I close your file?” Either way, you’re giving them a way out of the conversation, which is a very, very, very effective way to get people to lean back in.
Because the person who’s willing to walk away, simple walkout strategy. Since I don’t know how far back even Harvard negotiation project getting to yes, FBI, anybody who’s willing to walk away from a deal is usually the one who’s the one in control. And it’s not about acting. Again, a lot of this stuff does really have to come from, are you really somebody who is not needy? Are you really somebody who wakes up with gratitude? Are you really somebody who comes from a place of sincerity? Are you really somebody who believes in abundance? And when you operate the way I operate, which is there’s plenty of deals in the pipeline, then you actually believe that.
But if you’re just salivating for the next inbound lead that’s going to come by somebody who’s controlling your pipeline and paying for, you’re just not going to operate from that same. I operate like I literally have a swipe file of follow-up stuff, and I know I can go on for a year and I’ll still be coming from a place of value. So really rewire yourself to believe that because if you fake it, it’s not going to work.
Linda:
Yeah. I like coming from a place of value. I think that that’s key for me. Checking in, how’s everything going? Blah, blah, blah.
Aly:
It doesn’t feel good, right? Let’s go back to a simple principle. If something doesn’t feel good to you when you send it off, it’s probably not good. You’re a human. You have an emotional guidance system. How do you talk to a friend? If it feels like you’re not talking to a friend, it’s probably weird. A lot of people get off the call and they’re damn good at it. I’m not the best closer. I’m just not. I know that for sure. I’m good. I’d say maybe in the top 10% maybe, but I’m not the top 1%. I don’t think so, at least. Some people might argue against me. But when I get off the call, I maintain that sincerity and authority. And some people just get weird. And I don’t know why. It’s a very interesting dynamic, but they get weird. And it feels like maybe because they feel like, “Oh, I didn’t get it on the first call.
I’m on defense now.” You are on defense. That’s pretty damn true. In follow-up, they are more in control of the deal than you, for sure. They are. You are on defense. If you don’t play defense well, you’re going to lose. So you got to know how to play it in a human way, just like a friend who’s going to ghost you if you make them feel stupid, push, cornered. These guys are the exact same. There’s no difference.
Linda:
Yeah. Let’s play a little game here. So let’s say somebody says to you. I have a couple of objections, so I want to just kind of walk through those. Number one, like, oh, it’s too expensive, which everybody has heard, or it’s out of our budget. Or it might be something like, let me think about it. So what would your responses be?
Aly:
It’s very similar to on the call, except I break things down. Oftentimes what people do in follow-up and text is they try to get everything done in one massive paragraph, which doesn’t work. It’s like ping pong. Deal with one thing at a time. So first thing is just like on a call, I don’t argue. I agree and get curious. At the end of the day, totally fair. Some people ask compared to what you could ask, is it more about this being outside of your budget or you don’t see the value? So it’s isolation to some degree. You got to find out a little bit more clarity what they mean by that. And if you’ve done a good job on the call, you know their logistical situation. You know if finance is actually a barrier. You know if value is a barrier. You know if certainty is the barrier.
So the most important thing is don’t get defensive. You get clarity first because if you’re solving the wrong problem, doesn’t matter how good you are, you’re not going to solve it. It’s a waste of time. And they could totally ghost you and it’s over. So I get them talking about the cost of where they are. So for example, I could say, yeah, finances aside, is this something that you feel would get you to your goals? Finances aside, is this something that will help you get that six back in the next three months so that you can be on the beach and feeling confident? Finances aside, is this something that you feel would help you land that data role that you’re looking for? Finances aside, is this something that’s going to help you land on top gigs where you can speak on stage and find it?
Yes. Why? So I can ask why. A lot of these things, you’re just building up the yes factor once again. If they’re realigned with their goal, then you get on the side of collaborating. So diffuse, agree. Diffuse DAC is what I always use. Diffuse, agree, collaborate. Diffuse, not a problem. And I get some clarity. Agree. Is this something that you still want to do? They’ll say yes. If they don’t say yes, they’re in no state. If somebody’s in no state, they’re in fight or flight. If they’re in fight or flight, you’re not going to close them. Whether it’s on a call, especially in follow. Then collaborate. Awesome. So you really want to do this, but it’s just about the finances. Yes. All right. So how about this? And no pressure. Again, you’re being non-assumptive. Why don’t we at least explore what’s possible from a financial perspective so that if there’s a way forward, we can take that.
If not, at least we know what’s possible. Sound fair enough? They’ll say yes. Most of the time they’ll say yes because you’ve isolated. And then let me think about it. Is almost always a smokescreen. So that one’s totally different. So when they say that, of course, they should get some though. Or you just give them a. And they say, just so I know everything, is it price? Is it timing? Is it your partner’s not on board? You should know a few things that might make them think. And this usually comes up on the call. It doesn’t come up on fall off. So this is more of a call thing. So it’s always a smokescreen almost just like partner. So usually, unless in your case, actually there’s a lot of B2B. So in B2B, many times a partner’s required. So let’s talk think for a sec.
So think, you want to find out what of three main things, price, timing, decision, making capability is it. If you isolate one of these, it’s usually finances, right? Or certainty. And so what you do then is you realign. Or if it’s timing, then again, it’s usually tied to certainty because is it about that lack of priority or do you literally not have the time allotted to do this? It sounds like you’re not going to get any more free time. Again, you just want to isolate and deal with it based on what the real situation
Linda:
Is. So I have a last one for you. So somebody listening has one deal, they’ve just been bugging them, right? The one that they thought they were going to close and then it just went dead. Should they do anything about it this week? What are your thoughts on that?
Aly:
It’s really simple. There’s a way forward. So it’s usually not the one that requires a lot of thought. Step into human. Step into the fact that you can only screw up a deal if you break one of those rules that I mentioned and send a short human message. Not a polished long paragraph and not just checking in. I hope you’re taking notes so far. So the light one that gives them the easy way back. So, “Hey, did I get ghosted? Or are you still looking to outcome?” And at the end of the day, worst case is stay zero. What have you lost by following up? But if you ask one of those two things, and some people use memes to kind of break the. I’ll tell you a funny story. There’s a gentleman that I was following up with. I am not joking. He literally was saying that he got busy doing his taxes.
And I said, “George, what’s going on? Are you doing taxes for the whole town?” And then I swear, I swear. And then I said, “Man, is your LLC structure that complicated, George?” Things like that cracked him up. And you know what happened in the end? He actually had a complicated LLC structure and he explained to me. He’s like, “Yeah, I have three LLCs.” So humor works really well. As long as it doesn’t make him feel stupid. So you got to be smart with how you follow up. And you should have built rapport on the call. If you’re an a-hole and you didn’t do a good job on the call and you violated one of those principles on the call, you might want to have one of your team members step in because you violated the rapport and just say, “Hey, I heard the conversation didn’t go so well with.
We come from a place of service and at the end of the day, don’t want something permanent here in the relationship. So Aly really cares about you, wanted you to make sure fully taken care of, doesn’t want to have his ego prevent you from getting what you’re looking to do. Would you want to hop on? I heard that barrier for you was X. I’m really good at helping solve that problem.” Something like that. Sometimes you violated one of those principles already, so you want somebody else to kind of step in and solve the problem for them, but you shouldn’t do that. At the end of the day, we need to raise our standards as sales professionals to be number one service providers.
Linda:
Yep. Those are great points. So Aly, this was great. So I’d love for you to tell people where they can find you and what the follow-up king is.
Aly:
Yeah, absolutely. So you can find me on Facebook, facebook.com/samsonsamaha, S-A-M-S-O-N, Samaha, S-A-M-A-H-A. If you want to follow, I give all of my best stuff away there. Also, I’ve done something special for Linda and anybody who’s listening here. My name, A-L-Y-S-A-M-A-H-A, alysamaha.com/linda, L-I-N-D-A. You’ll get a free audit, which means that you’ll be able to find out exactly how much money is leaking in your pipeline down to the dollar. And you’ll also get the opportunity to submit one deal that’s bugging you, and I will personally respond within 40 hours telling you exactly how to overcome it. So golden opportunity for you, that deal that’s bugging you, for me to handle it personally, done for you. Do it, submit it, and I will personally hand write every single one of those. And yeah, at the end of the day, what I do personally as an offer is I work with organizations who are looking to leave zero stones unturned.
So B2B high ticket organizations who are looking to literally give me their entire CSV, downloaded any dead leads, and I work them. I guarantee outcomes with that. So at the end of the day, if you want zero stones unturned in your pipeline and you want the ability for me to literally hand write everything all the way back to closer call booked or deal closed, I do that as well. I really appreciate you, Linda, for having me on today. And I hope people submit this audit and get my support because at the end of the day, nothing makes me happier than seeing people revive something that they thought was dead, especially organizations when their eyes light up. And I really, really am grateful for all the leaders in my life who recognize this ability that I had before I did, because that shows leadership. When you can recognize, but it also shows that they’re smart because a lot of people are just chasing this idea of more and it’s one of the most costly things, especially in this day and age.
Customer acquisition costs are going up and all of these things are going up. So you want to find out what you already have at your disposal because they’re way closer to yes than somebody who needs a whole bunch of new touch points and warming up and has a lot more noise in their world than they did once they contacted you a few months ago.
Linda:
That’s great. Awesome. So there we have it. Thank you, Aly Samaha. Thanks for coming on today. It was a great episode. And for our audience of a deal sitting in your inbox that you just gave up on, go find it before you do anything else and definitely connect with Aly. So again, I’m Linda Harris from the B2B Brand180 Podcast. I’ll see you next time and make sure you check out the comments. And if you like what you heard today, hit like, share or subscribe. And don’t forget about your 60-second revival audit at alysamaha.com/linda.
