Have I Been Ghosted?

In Sales there is nothing more unsettling than being ghosted by a prospect with whom you believed you had a good rapport. Everything was going so well, and then … nothing.

Is the deal dead? Did I miss something that has now disqualified me? Can the deal be saved?

Well, maybe yes, maybe no.

Something has changed within the business, and you have either not picked up on the signals your buyer was trying to communicate, or the buyer is not at liberty to share those reasons with you.

Here are some scenarios that may have caused your buyer to cut-off communications without explanation:

1.      The prospect company may have promoted or demoted someone that effectively diminished your buyer’s power and influence in the company, and your buyer no longer wants to champion an initiative that could further impact their position or status in the company.

2.      Your buyer may be on their way out of the organization, either voluntarily or otherwise.

3.      There may be a pending change in leadership, or a potential merger or acquisition that has forced all initiatives to be put on-hold. Your buyer may not have been aware that this situation was brewing and is now obligated to keep it private until the change has been completed and made public.

4.      Poor financial performance can also impact capital expenditures and large initiatives. Your buyer may have been ordered to reduce their departmental budget, and your initiative may be a victim of the expense reduction.

5.      The procurement process may have exposed operational problems that need to be fixed, and this has temporarily derailed the procurement process.

What can you do to restart communications with your buyer?

Stop selling. Don’t pitch anything. Don’t remind the buyer of your value prop.

Communicate that you recognize that something has interrupted the procurement process, and you need to know if the initiative has been pushed to a future quarter or if it’s been completely cancelled. You also need to put the buyer on-notice by saying that if you don’t get a reply by a specified date (no more than 3 business days), you will close the file on this initiative (discontinue the business relationship). If they don’t have the courtesy to reply, there is no point in wasting more time on this opportunity.

In my experience, the buyer usually responds apologetically, even if they can’t disclose what the situation is that has stopped the procurement process in its tracks.