I think we’ve all been the victim of a good ghosting; whether that was a blind date, an event with a friend, or the cousin that never shows up to your family get-togethers, we’ve all seen it happen.
However, this phenomenon has made its way into the world of business as well. You get a client that seems interested in what you have to offer, you set a date to hammer out the details, then poof! They go dark, and you never hear from them again.
Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to keep a prospect engaged and hopefully avoid any ghosting, to begin with.
5 Steps to Avoid Prospect Ghosting!
Listen First, Pitch Second
Gleaning information by listening to your prospect and their needs is the first and best way to land the deal. The average business owner doesn’t want to patiently sit and wait for your pitch to be over right off the bat. That works in baseball, but not for real people. Start the conversation by asking questions and listening to their needs then adjust your pitch to those needs. When you add keywords to the conversation, they’re more likely to remember you, anyway.
Get Info! (When Ghosted)
It doesn’t help to jump to conclusions if you’ve JUST been ghosted. Try to find out if they’re sick, had a family or business-related emergency, maybe their needs have changed since you last talked, or long periods of silence is the way they operate. It could be a million and one different things, you just have to find out which one it is.
Sometimes the best strategy is to give them the space they need to get their end settled.
Language
Everyone wants to sound like they’re the authority on their field, lucky for us, you are! However, corporate-speak and technical jargon will sometimes confuse or irritate specific clients. You need to assess how they communicate during the initial phase of the process and adjust accordingly.
Align Both Ends of the Deal
You should never lose sight of the customer’s end of the deal. If someone ghosts you, it might be because some aspect of the transaction doesn’t work for them. Go through it again in your mind. If something might not work for them, mention it (if you can fix it) in your next email, voice mail, or text.
Switch Your Platform
Speaking of text, we all have our favorite way of communicating. Some like email, others love to meet in person. If your phone call strategy isn’t working, try changing it up. I, personally, find email the least offensive way to get my attention.
Conclusion
There’s usually a reason a prospect will ghost you and sometimes there’s nothing you can do about it. The majority of ghosts simply aren’t interested in what you have to offer and pursuing them will only serve to waste your time. However, there is a percentage of ghosts that can be swayed, and if you follow the steps above, you’re more likely to bring those ghosts back to the land of the living.