Getting ghosted? Try these five emails, subject line and all.
Have you ever had an amazing conversation with a prospect that you were sure was going to turn into a sale?
They’d asked all the right questions and you’d had all the correct answers.
Everyone was smiling and nodding along as you spoke. They’d even told you that they were moving forward with the project and just had a few things to line up before the kickoff call.
But now it’s Thursday and you were supposed to hear from them on Monday.
You sink in your desk chair. You’ve sent a couple emails and you even tried a call.
Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
Now, let me clarify:
A ghost is not someone you’ve been emailing or calling and getting no response.
That person is not interested and is ignoring you. Now, it would be helpful if they’d just tell you “no thanks,” but after a certain number of emails (or once they tell you no) you have to stop trying to reach them. They don’t want what you’re offering.
A ghost is someone with whom you’ve had a positive conversation, they’ve indicated they’re interested in moving forward, and then they disappear.
This person might go completely dark or they may breadcrumb you over the course of weeks with short, intermittent replies.
This is annoying as anything and you need a way to win them back. Here’s where your ghost-busting email comes in.
I love a good ghost-busting email.
Thanks to some help from the amazing Chris Voss (former FBI hostage negotiator turned business negotiator) I was able to solve many of my sales-related woes. I highly recommend looking into his work.
I’ve found that, when sending one of these, the rate of response goes up significantly.
Okay, I don’t know the rate of return, but I will say that when I send a different “hello I’m still here” email, I get nothing.
When I send one of these, I almost always get a response.
I recommend that you try to prevent ghosting before it happens by saying something on the call like, “Sometimes I have a great call with someone and then they disappear. I’m not saying that will happen with you, but could you do me a favor and, even if you’re busy, send me a quick message to let me know you’re still receiving my emails?”
You should ask:
- “What is the best time of day to show up in your inbox?”
- “Do you prefer email, text, or phone communication?”
- “Are there any big projects or trips coming up that could make it more challenging for you to reply when I reach out next week?”
Alright, I don’t want to make you read a massive wall of text before getting to the goods: this isn’t an Internet-based recipe.
Pick one of these, based on how your previous conversations have gone, to start with:
SUBJECT LINE: Squeaky wheel follow-up!
EMAIL BODY: Hi [insert name here],
I live by the “squeaky wheel gets the grease” so I’m VERY good about following up! If you’re thinking, “no way, there’s definitely no time to do this now,” let me know. Otherwise, I’d love 5 minutes of your time on the phone so I can tell you what the process looks like to get some awesome solutions for your [insert their info] program.
Here’s a short video about what we do: [insert video]
Let me know!
Why this works: You’re telling them that you’re good at following up and giving them an opportunity to tell you “no” without feeling uncomfortable.
SUBJECT LINE: Tomorrow [or insert a day, like “Thursday”]
EMAIL BODY: Hi [insert name here], were you no longer interested in connecting tomorrow?
Why this works: The subject line of a day gets their attention. They’ll think, “Wait, did I have something on the calendar for tomorrow that I forgot about?” You’re also asking a “no-based” question, which will get them to say, “No, I’m still interested!”
SUBJECT LINE: No longer interested?
EMAIL BODY: Hi [insert name here], are you no longer interested in working on this project with us?
Why this works: You’re again here asking a no-based question and by opening the subject line with a question, you might get them to open the email.
The above emails are fairly interchangeable and you can start with one, move onto another, and A/B test them with different types of prospects.
This is your second-to-last email to them:
SUBJECT LINE: Abandoned project?
EMAIL BODY: Hi, have you given up on this project?
Why this works: In my experience, this one gets a response the vast majority of the time.
Why?
People hate feeling like they’re missing out on something. As Chris Voss says, they hate the feeling of loss more than the feeling of a win.
This next one is your final email to them if they still haven’t responded.
SUBJECT LINE: Did I do something wrong?
EMAIL BODY: It’s been a while since I heard back. Did I do something wrong?
Note: This email is an awkward one to send, especially the first time you send it.
You know you didn’t actually do anything wrong, but most people are empathetic and won’t want you to think you did do something wrong.
Now, if they reply and say you messed up (which has never happened to me!) then you wouldn’t want to work with this client, anyway.
If this ghost does turn into a client, do yourself a favor early-on in the project and set expectations around replies. Tell them, “This project will move forward faster and with more stamina if we exchange emails on a regular, consistent basis.”
Best of luck on prospecting and extinguishing those ghosts!
