Good afternoon,
I am constantly dealing with prospects not responding. After five, six, seven, eight attempts with no response, my mind drifts back to my dating years and starts to think that maybe they are not interested!
Today, my job is not to decide whether they’re interested based on silence. My job is to professionally stay visible until they make a decision. Prospects have a variety of bombarding them each day. Things like Budgets, Travel, Putting out Fires, Health, Wives, Girlfriends, Pets, Kids and just trying to stay alive in their job. The biggest mistake we can make is confusing no response with no interest.
My competitors are often quitting too early. Opportunities frequently go to the salesperson who stayed engaged the longest, not necessarily because they were more talented or had a better product, but because they were there when the prospect was finally ready to act.
From Sales Gravy- Here are Four Ways to Stay Persistent without Being Pushy:
1. Stop Assuming the Silence
When a prospect doesn’t respond to your call or email, the story you’re telling yourself could be wrong. Most salespeople jump to conclusions. They say things like, “They must not be interested,” or “They must have gone with a competitor,” or “They must have changed their mind.” The reality is, you don’t know. Silence is simply missing information. Don’t create a negative story when you don’t have all the facts.
2. Don’t Let Optimism Replace Reality
Sometimes salespeople are guilty of positive thinking in the wrong places. The prospect stops responding, and we tell ourselves the good news. We convince ourselves they’re still interested and just need more time. Maybe they are. Maybe they’re not. The problem is we often create these stories because we’re afraid of facing the truth that the opportunity might be dead. We allow the silence, and maybe even welcome it, so the deal stays in our pipeline.
Great salespeople don’t assume positive or negative. They seek the truth. Instead of guessing, they follow up consistently to uncover what’s really happening. Hope is not a strategy, and neither is assumption. Your job isn’t to convince yourself or your manager that the deal is alive. Your job is to find out.
3. Always Bring Value
If every follow-up just says “I’m circling back” or “just checking in,” you’re easy to ignore. Instead, bring something useful. Share a link to an article. Provide an industry insight. Offer an idea. Mention a customer success story. Give the prospect a reason to want to engage with you. The best follow-ups create value, not pressure.
4. Vary Your Communication Channel
If you’ve already sent three emails and gotten nothing back, stop sending email. Mix it up. Pick up the phone and call. Send a message through LinkedIn. Record a quick video. Different people respond to different communication channels. The goal is to create familiarity and increase the likelihood of being seen and getting engagement.
Hope this provides encouragement to keep going!
RJ
