So your prospect totally ghosted you. Now what?

This is a guest post on communicating with clients from my friend Tracie at Okay, Okapi.

If communicating with potential clients doesn’t come oh-so-natural to you (*raises hand*) then the pro tips and a uber-useful script in this post are for you.

This week, my friend Tracie from Okay, Okapi has something super-special for you! She’s a copywriter extraordinaire, writing coach, and editor and she’s doled out an expert template for you to use whenever you feel a bit “ghosted” by a potential client. And, bonus, this post is peppered with stats and referenced facts–my fav kind of post! 🙂

Remember, as the professional, the ball is in your court. Here’s how to turn the ghostly situation around.

Enjoy!

Queue Tracie:

You had an awesome discovery call with a prospective client.

You were confident, articulate, witty. The client was engaged, coachable, excited to work with you.

Maybe you hung up the phone and struck that infamous winning baby pose (you know the one) or started brainstorming all the ways you’re going to help this new client and totally change their life.

But…their name doesn’t pop up on your calendar again. There’s no happy payment confirmation in your inbox. You never hear from them again.

You’ve been ghosted.

You feel defeated. You start second guessing your consult script and your sales pitch. You wonder what you did wrong.

And maybe you stop there.

You move on to the next prospect, one you think you’re more likely to get an immediate “HELL YES!” from.

But here’s what you should do instead: Follow up on that lead.

You see, a whopping 80 percent of sales require at least 5 follow-ups before someone gives in. I mean, says yes. Almost 80 percent of leads never even turn into sales. And, in a world where we’re constantly inundated with ads, emails, sales pitches, and social media posts, you need to get in front of your prospect 8 times before they even notice you.

But, hey, good news: According to everyone’s favorite red-headed sales coach (that would be Kendrick Shope), following up can boost your biz by 50 percent.

Yep, follow-up, my friend, is what’s going to book that client and have you #Winning every day.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s incredibly intimidating.

If you’re not already regularly following up with prospects, all kinds of fraudy, imposter syndrome feelings might start showing up:

• I’m being annoying.
• I’m being pushy.
• I’m being salesy.
• They don’t want to hear from me.
• They obviously hired someone else.

But following up really is what’s going to transform your business. #TruthBomb

Aside from the totally obvious benefits of booking more clients, making more money, and upping your sales skills, you’ll prove to yourself that you CAN do hard things, which just might give you the confidence to waltz outside your comfort zone in other areas of your business.

(Speaking gigs? Live video? Writing a book? Who knows?!)

All of that sounds pretty amazing, right? Who doesn’t want to feel more confident and convert leads? I know I sure as hell do.

So, to make it easier and to increase the likelihood that you’ll actually follow up, here’s a template you can use.

It’s one I and some of my clients have used with great success. (One client sent her version of this template to a lead that had ghosted her and heard back that same day. Oh, and he booked her for a six-month package!)

Hi [CLIENT NAME],

At the risk of bugging you, I’m cheerfully hunting you down (no actual hunting or hunting gear involved but of course) to pick our convo back up.

I know how busy you are with [give some details about what they’re working on].

[OPTIONAL: Add a genuine compliment, like: By the way, I loved the recipe you shared in your last post. I’ve already made it twice, and my family LOVES it!]

I’d love to move forward on working together. If now isn’t a good time, I’ll gladly follow up again next week. If that works for you, simply hit me back with a “Yes, next week” and I’ll pop back into your inbox then.

Looking forward to hearing back.

[YOUR NAME]

Now, here’s your challenge:

Take this template and make it your own. Load it up in your canned responses. And start using it as one more tool in your sales process.

I think you’ll be blown away by what happens.

Back to Leesa:

There you have it. Don’t take “ghosting” personally and follow-up like the professional you are!

How many clients do you need to follow-up with today?

GUEST BIO: Tracie Kendziora

Tracie Kendziora, founder of Okay, Okapi, is a writing coach and editor (and shameless wannabe standup comedian). She helps online business owners, entrepreneurs, and creatives write copy that doesn’t embarrass them…and that sounds like something they’d actually say.