Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time
-Thomas Edison
It happens to everyone. You have a great first call with the prospect, you've done your discovery, and they seem like a great fit all around. They're fully qualified using your BANT, and you've set a follow up appointment for discussion with your initial contact who is also the decision maker. It starts with a cancellation of the meeting via email with no explanation. Then POOF the prospect vanishes, without leaving a trace, friggin’ Casper the friggin’ ghost. You write, you call and keep up the full court press with consistent pokes, but nothing.
Now for some salespeople, this lights the competitive fire deep inside, the primitive hunter instinct comes out, and they mumble repeatedly “you can’t get away” and “you won’t beat me”. They take it as a personal affront, a slight. Others bring out that “stalkery” college ex-girlfriend mojo that scared you into changing schools – relentless voicemails, messages and handwritten notes that are strange, cryptic and have a slight hint of threatening instability (sorry, had a flashback). Others, just throw in the towel and move on.
I just search for a “No.” Answer me either way but answer me so I can cross you off my list and disqualify you or let’s move on to the deal. The shortest path to “No” is my friend.
Here are some techniques I have grown to love over the years for getting answers, many I learned from others with far greater skills than me. Use them as you will, but with great caution and the utmost professionalism.
Old Faithful aka The Concerned Sales Rep – I must admit, I learned this one from a sibling who is also in sales. We were discussing techniques to use when you get ghosted, and prospects don’t respond. I can tell you I have never had it fail. Write an email with the subject “Is everything OK?”. In the body, just a short sentence that says, “I’ve tried to contact you several times, with no answer.” That’s it. Short, sweet, and empathetic. Ensured to garner a response.
The Crazy Lisa – named for the college ex previously mentioned, time to put on your relentless hat. Use email, LinkedIn, and the phone to consistently contact the individual with the same message. Treat it as a game and be determined that you will not lose. A rep I once knew added in the “show up at the front desk” technique and would stop in every time he passed the location to ask for the prospect. That usually did the trick and ended up in an answer. But also created a sense of fear, no more ghosting and a long-lasting relationship of prompt communication.
Peer Pressure – nothing like a little pressure from coworkers to raise the temperature. There is just so much information out there today, it’s easy to find out coworkers that are in the same department as your prospect. I’ll typically use LinkedIn sales navigator, or zoom info, or some other source on the web to find people that work in the same department, or they were on an initial call, but not the prime contact. I’ll try and call first, and ask and innocuous question, like “Is John on vacation or out of the office? I haven’t been able to get a hold of him on an important project we’re working on.” It’s amazing how many will transfer the call, use chat to communicate with your target prospect, or at least if they don’t do that, you can be sure they will let your prospect know that you called or forward the email.
The Nuke – this one is special, and I typically save it as the last resort. I also call it using brackets. It entails contacting the person’s boss and someone that works for them directly at the same time. I’ll typically use it to gather information to find out if the purchase is still in the works, and to apply some pressure to the prospect to answer. Note: if you use this technique be prepared to be ghosted permanently, depending on your prospect’s personality. But at least you can close the sales motion, and shout “Next.”
Hopefully you can use one or all of these to get an answer from those that have disappeared premier sales radar. Do you have a Crazy Lisa or a Nuke? Share in the comments. If you know a Crazy Lisa at work, share this post below ;)