Revive Lost Deals with Walking Dead Sales Play

Re-engaging lost sales opportunities can often feel like trudging through a graveyard of rejected deals. Yet, many successful sales teams know that these so-called “dead” leads hold invaluable insight and second-chance opportunities. That’s where the Walking Dead sales play comes into action—a process designed to revive closed-lost prospects and maximize the chance of reigniting valuable conversations for your pipeline.

Based on the original video:

Understanding the Walking Dead Sales Play

The Walking Dead sales play is a structured approach for following up on closed-lost deals—those opportunities that didn’t convert the first time around. Instead of ignoring these prospects, this system breathes new life into your pipeline by methodically re-engaging both previous contacts (“survivors”) and fresh stakeholders (“zombies”) from the same organizations. Leveraging smart triggers and customized multi-channel outreach, the Walking Dead play helps sales professionals uncover new opportunities and gather vital industry intelligence.

Key takeaways about the Walking Dead sales play:

• Targets closed-lost opportunities, boosting response rates over typical cold outreach.
• Divides contacts into “survivors” (previous touchpoints) and “zombies” (new stakeholders within the same company).
• Relies on timely, triggered follow-ups in your CRM or sales platform.
• Mixes email, LinkedIn, and phone outreach for maximum impact.
• Places equal value on conversations, meetings, and collecting competitive intelligence.

Why Reviving Closed-Lost Deals Matters in Sales

It’s easy for salespeople to focus entirely on fresh prospects, but the “low-hanging fruit” often lies in closed-lost opportunities. These accounts have already engaged with your team, indicated relevant pain points, and shown enough interest to initiate at least a discovery call. That sets them apart from true cold leads.

When your CRM prompts you to revisit opportunities previously marked as “dead,” you’re leveraging a key sales principle: warm leads convert better. By systematically re-approaching these contacts, you not only increase your win rate but also gather crucial feedback on your offering, competitors, and market trends.

The Two Paths: Survivors and Zombies

Chris Chone, a seasoned sales consultant, breaks down the Walking Dead campaign into two distinct approaches:

1. Survivors: Re-Engaging Known Contacts

Survivors are the individuals you spoke with during the initial sales process. They’re familiar with your name, your company, and the solution discussed. The process for survivor leads involves:

• 3-Month Trigger: After a deal is marked closed-lost, your CRM or sales engagement platform reminds you to reconnect in 3 months.
• Verification: Always check LinkedIn to ensure your contact is still at the organization and in a relevant role. If titles or roles have changed, tailor your message accordingly.
• Personalized Sequence: Launch a series of touchpoints—typically 4 emails, 2 LinkedIn messages, and 3 phone calls—over approximately 2.5 weeks.
• Email Template: Reference your prior conversation and the specific business problem that was discussed. Show that you value both the relationship and the context.

2. Zombies: Engaging New Stakeholders in the Same Company

Zombies haven’t personally interacted with you before, but they work at organizations that previously expressed interest or pain points. The approach slightly shifts:

• Name-dropping: Reference your engagement with their team or specific colleagues from prior discussions.
• Pain Point Emphasis: Highlight that your offering helped address a challenge important enough for their company to explore.
• Diversified Outreach: Target new contacts within different departments to see if others are impacted by the same issue.

Automating Outreach: Role of CRM and RevOps Triggers

One of the biggest reasons this sales play is so efficient is the automation behind it. Powerful RevOps teams can set up hidden triggers in your CRM or sales engagement platforms, prompting you to revisit opportunities like clockwork:

• When a deal is set to closed-lost, schedule an automated alert for 3 months later.
• Prompt sellers to launch the survivor sequence for key contacts, ensuring consistent follow-up.
• If there’s no win or new engagement after the first sequence, schedule a second check-in 6 months down the line.

This system guarantees that no valuable connection falls through the cracks, fueling a continuous pipeline of revived deals.

Crafting Effective Follow-Up Messaging

The heart of Walking Dead’s success lies in messaging tailored to the recipient’s relationship with your organization. Here’s what makes the difference:

• For Survivors: Begin with the prior conversation—demonstrate memory and respect for their time. Reference specific goals, challenges, or objections discussed in your last exchange.
• For Zombies: Open with context: “We recently worked with your team on [problem].” Use a warm but inquisitive tone to discover if others in the organization still feel the same pain or urgency.

Both approaches share the goals of reigniting engagement and surfacing new insights about organizational needs and decision dynamics.

Building the Walking Dead Sequence: A Multi-Touch Approach

The communication cadence is crucial for success. A typical survivor sequence looks like this:

• 4 emails – Each builds on prior contact and the status quo of the organization.
• 2 LinkedIn touches – Light, personalized, not overly salesy.
• 3 phone calls – Voicemails can reinforce your email/LinkedIn messages.
• 2.5 weeks – The outreach occurs over a brisk but respectful timeline, maximizing reply opportunities without overwhelming the contact.

This blend increases the chance of standing out, especially since it’s not just another generic cold email campaign.

Why This Play Delivers Higher Response Rates than Cold Outreach

The data speaks for itself: Walking Dead campaigns often yield a 40% response rate. That’s drastically higher than the typical cold email or cold call, which usually hovers below 10%.

The warmer nature of these leads makes a decisive impact. Recipients recognize your company name, may recall earlier conversations, and are more open to reconnecting—if only to share why they went in a different direction.

Even a “No” is a win: Gathering candid reasons for lost deals arms you with competitive intelligence and clues to further refine your product, service, or approach.

Learning from Rejections: The Value Beyond Meetings

Sales pros can get obsessed with booking immediate meetings, but there’s tremendous value in the data revealed by “No.” Walking Dead outreach often results in feedback such as:

• “We went with a competitor.”
• “Budget priorities shifted.”
• “Decision-making has slowed due to industry changes.”

Every piece of information informs your future sales playbook. It helps you understand what truly matters to customers, what competitors are doing well, and how external factors shape buying timelines. This is pure E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) in practice.

Best Practices: Checklist for Launching Your Own Walking Dead Play

To build a high-performing Walking Dead outreach campaign, follow this proven checklist:

• Leverage CRM automation: Use reminders and workflow triggers so no lead is forgotten.
• Segment by relationship: Identify survivors (previous contacts) and zombies (new organizational contacts).
• Check contact status: Always verify employment details before outreach—don’t waste time messaging those who’ve left.
• Personalize messaging: Reference prior discussions or company challenges. Avoid generic pitches.
• Mix channels: Combine email, LinkedIn, and phone for stronger multi-touch engagement.
• Analyze all replies: Document competitor mentions, objections, and strategic intelligence learned—even when you lose.

Real-World Impact: How Sales Teams Are Winning with Walking Dead Outreach

Sales teams deploying this play report significant increases in productive conversations and booked meetings. Just as importantly, they gain insights into:

• Why deals are lost in their market (e.g., pricing, features).
• Emerging shifts in buyer priorities or industry landscapes.
• Where competitors have outmaneuvered them—and how to adjust.

This approach not only revives dormant opportunities but builds a smarter, more adaptive sales organization. For nuanced strategies on increasing sales by addressing the root of customer problems, explore Gap Selling: Boost Sales by Solving Problems—it offers further insights into how problem-oriented messaging converts.

Maintaining the Cycle: Long-Term Pipeline Health

The best part about the Walking Dead play is its repeatable structure:

• If a reconnection attempt doesn’t yield a live deal, the cycle isn’t over—schedule a second outreach for 6 months later.
• This persistent, low-pressure cadence ensures your company is always top-of-mind for former prospects as needs or budgets evolve.
• The process continually surfaces new stakeholders (zombies), expanding your network within each target organization.

Final Thoughts: Turning Closed-Lost Deals into Growth Drivers

Reviving closed-lost opportunities isn’t just about scoring a few extra meetings; it’s about building resilience and intelligence into your sales process. The Walking Dead play turns every lost deal into a valuable learning moment—or even a second chance at a win. By consistently mining your past pipeline, personalizing outreach, and leveraging automation, your team can transform dead leads into real future growth.

FAQ: Walking Dead Sales Play Strategies

What is the Walking Dead sales play?

The Walking Dead sales play is a methodical follow-up strategy targeting closed-lost sales opportunities. It involves re-engaging past prospects (survivors) and uncontacted internal stakeholders (zombies) at companies that previously expressed interest, using multi-channel outreach and CRM automation for efficient follow-up.

Why target closed-lost opportunities?

Closed-lost opportunities are more likely to engage than cold leads because they already recognize your company and the problem you address. Systematic follow-ups can yield high response rates and provide essential feedback about market preferences and competitors.

How often should I re-engage closed-lost deals?

The recommended cadence is to reach out again at the 3-month mark after closing the deal as lost, with another follow-up at the 6-month mark if there’s no reply or win from the initial sequence. This keeps your outreach timely without overwhelming the prospect.

What should my first email say when re-engaging a survivor?

Your email should show you respect the previous relationship by referencing the initial conversation, summarizing the prior challenge, and asking about any changes since. Personalization is crucial for warming up the connection.

What’s the benefit of engaging new stakeholders (zombies) in the same organization?

Reaching out to additional contacts can reveal new champions, shifts in organizational pain points, or buying readiness. Sometimes the original contact is no longer involved—but others at the organization may still need your solution.