You’ve been talking for weeks. Things were going great. They sounded interested, and you could sense the mutual excitement.
Then the unexpected occurs. Silence. You send a follow-up. No reply.
Then another. You hear crickets chirp in your inbox as you breathe a sigh of frustration.
This is what it feels like to be professionally ghosted. And chances are, if you’re an entrepreneur, it’s happened to you. From trying to close contracts to signing new partnerships, sometimes a new business flame can wane unexpectedly. Instead of sitting home with ice cream mourning the contract that could have been, here’s what to do instead.
1. Rekindle the magic with one last mail.
“If I send another mail, will I annoy them?” is a thought that’s popped into my mind when debating whether to contact the person I’m trying to woo. In the past, I’ve often hesitated with follow-up because of my own pride.
Now, I’ve learned that the key to closing sales is continued follow-up. In the business world, everyone is busy. Think about your day. You’ve likely done a million things and a business trying to sell you something is probably at the end of your list. Remembering my time in house before I started my company, I remember my to-do list was so big that mails I meant to answer often slipped through the cracks. I’ve learned that a few additional follow-ups can often lead to a closed sale.
Typically, when I’m trying to close a new contract, I follow up three to five times and space my contact attempts a week apart. If I hear nothing back after five emails, then at least I can safely say they’re not interested.
In your follow-up mail, stress the value you can provide and reiterate the value you believe you can drive for them. The follow-up can be as simple as:
“This great article came out today (link) about the new changes in Facebook’s algorithm that we spoke about last week. I’d love to help you start implementing the proposed social strategy next week. Do you have time to jump on the phone this week to talk about next steps?”
A quick reminder could make or break the success of the contract. “It’s important to be patient and understand that the person on the other end may just be busy and your request may not be top of mind, even if they are interested in your proposal.” says Frank Denbow, Founder at INK’A. “A friendly follow up, preferably with some new added information that may be helpful to the conversation will help you get back on their radar. Use email tracking software like Mixmax to see if it was even opened and schedule your follow up as you write the initial email.”
2. Ask the tough questions and get real.
Sometimes when I’m met with silence, I’ll send a follow-up mail asking what hesitations the client had. Asking directly about hold-ups acknowledges any concerns of the other party and gives your potential partner or client a chance to disclose their hesitations. Sometimes your client might be stuck on price or a contract clause, and a follow-up mail can help resolve the issue.
Here’s a mail I’ve used in the past:
“Wanted to touch base on the contract sent over. We’d love to help you improve your PR for next quarter but wanted to make sure you felt comfortable with the terms. Were there any hesitations we could talk through?”
3. There are plenty of other fish in the ‘professional’ sea.
In the past, being ghosted left me feeling frustrated and dismayed. Being professionally ghosted can hurt– but don’t take it personally. Sometimes a potential client won’t respond because they feel uncomfortable telling you that you’re out of their budget or that the service wasn’t quite right for what they were looking for.
When you feel you’ve followed up enough times, move on to the next deal. There are hundreds of thousands of businesses that could use your help. Pitch to them, and quickly move on to the next prospect. Remind yourself that you have a great product to sell, and get back out there!
In sales and in business, rejection is common. Having a strategy to deal with it will help you push through and come out even stronger.
