The Invisible 37%
Stop chasing new clicks . Start a low-friction conversation with the people you already found.
The Invisible 37%: the prospects who enquired, took your time, and then drifted back into research mode because life got in the way. They’re a leak in your business, and you already paid for their attention. Stop chasing new clicks and start a low-friction conversation with the gold mine you already own.
Most business owners are addicted to the hunt.
They wake up thinking about the ‘New.’ New clicks. New enquiries. New ‘Buy Now’ customers.
They pour thousands into Google Ads and LinkedIn campaigns, and fight a bloody war for the top 3% of the market.
According to Sabri Suby’s Larger Market Formula1 at any given moment only 3% of your market is ready to buy. And they will buy, because you and every of of your competitors is chasing them
The other 97%? Dismissed as ‘junk,’ ‘tyre-kickers,’ or ‘lost deals.’
But there’s a segment within that 97% that represents the single biggest leak in your business.
It’s the Invisible 37%. This graphic, page 78 of Suby’s book, explains it:
Do you see where the 37% is?
37% Didn’t Just Disappear, They Moved
The Invisible 37% holds two groups:
Information Gathering (17%)
Problem Aware (20%).
Six months ago, these people were in your top 3%. They enquired. They downloaded your lead magnet. They sat through a discovery call. You prepared (and they received) the proposal.
Then, life happened. A budget got cut, a project got delayed, or a competitor’s shiny ad distracted them.
You marked the deal ‘Lost’ and moved on.
But they didn’t stop having the problem. They just moved back down the pyramid. They’re still researching. They still need help. They sit there forlornly, a record in your CRM, waiting for a human to tap them on the shoulder. If you aren’t that human, you’re just warming them up for your competitors to close later.
The Marketing Black Hole
Why do we ignore the 37%? Because there’s always more new leads coming in. Because the salesperson got told ‘no’ the first time, and doesn’t want to beg another call.
But the math doesn’t add up. The Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) for that top 3% is skyrocketing. You are outbidding everyone in your industry for the same tiny slice of the pie, and it’s a race to the bottom for you all.
Meanwhile, you’ve already paid to find the 37%. You paid for the click. You paid for the lead capture. You paid for the initial sales person’s time.
Ignoring these leads is like buying a gold mine, digging halfway, and walking away because you didn’t find a nugget in the first 10 minutes.
Educate Me
In his book, Suby talks about the need to ‘educate’ the middle of the pyramid. Marketing agencies position this as ‘send them a 40-page whitepaper or a fancy glossy newsletter.’ Which, of course, they’re happy to produce for you.
Wrong.
The 37% don’t want more content.
They want a conversation.
They want a low-friction way to figure out if what you’re offering is what they want.
They want to take their time before they spend their hard-earned cash.
You want the sale. The prospect says, ‘Not yet.’ Your salesperson hears, ‘No,’ and moves on to the next prospect.
Sales process done, lead marked ‘Lost.’
But it’s not always lost. For whatever reason, the timing wasn’t right. Or some higher-priority thing came up. Or they didn’t trust your salesperson. Or - and this is common - they just wanted a bit more time to think things through.
Re-engage
Even if it’s been months, you can easily and respectfully re-engage with your once-warm prospects.
It’s all about putting the sales pitch to one side and simply asking if they’re still interested.
The smart tool is a simple, plain-text question that looks like it came from a human on your team:
‘Hey [Name], I’m cleaning up my files and your name came up. Are you still looking for help with [X]?’
That’s not salesy. It’s respectful. It’s courteous.
For the person who’s been vacillating in the ‘Information Gathering’ (17%) or the ‘Problem Aware’ (20%) phases for six months, it’s the bridge they need to move up to the ‘Buy Now’ (3%).
This Is Real
Your abandoned leads list is an asset. Like any asset, it decays if it isn’t maintained.
Data rots. Domains get weak. Relationships go cold.
Your list of 1,000 dormant leads holds value. There’s statistical certainty of found revenue. Even if 75% are truly gone, the remaining 25% represents weeks or months of sales.
You paid to get those names on your radar. The 3% will come your way regardless, but that 37% represents a bumper harvest.
Suby S. Sell LIke Crazy : How to get as many clients, customers and sales as you can possibly handle. Self published, 2019, p78. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.