7 Ways to Deal with Prospects Who Go Silent After Sending Proposals

Recognize the fine line you walk with them

All salespeople are trained to follow up with their prospects regularly. Still, your prospects can easily perceive the salesperson as “pushy,” so it’s imperative always to visualize how they would react to your approach and always utilize one they would welcome and perceive as “non-threatening”. 

Continue diplomatically reaching out with a message of value

If you haven’t heard back from your silent prospect, they may not want to speak with you. This process can be complex because you don’t know why the prospect has gone silent and have to balance the previously mentioned “fine line”.  Instead of contacting the prospect requesting the status of your proposal, try offering the prospect something of value. A good approach can be, “Hi Bob, I wanted to contact you because our company just came up with a new approach or service, and  I immediately felt it could be of value to you, so let’s meet.”

Look for feedback

Not every prospect will buy at this time, but they all can provide valued feedback, so always ask for their suggestions such as “What would have to change for you to have a stronger interest.” Even if they are not buying anything right now, this can help start a relationship with them which can eventually help to facilitate a sale. 

Review your sales process

Find out what you can do to improve your sales process. Sometimes people are silent because they don’t understand the value of your products or services. This situation becomes an excellent opportunity to determine how you could help your prospect identify their pain points and create a stronger desire for your solutions. 

Consider other methods to contact them

Often meeting a prospect at a networking event presents an excellent opportunity to open up the dialogue. This opportunity becomes even more effective if you have clients at a networking event that can validate the benefits of your services. Ideally, providing a prospect with a lead for their business is also a great way to break the silence.

Recognize that “no” may mean “not now”

If people are not responding, sometimes the best approach is to let them know that you have no intentions to pester them and hope that things will change in a future time. Prospects often welcome this level of honesty and professionalism.

If all else fails, you can always utilize what I refer to as the “guilt” message 

As an example, “When we met, you expressed a strong desire to secure our services to address your identified needs,  so since we haven’t been able to connect, please let me know if I’ve dropped any balls along the way.” In my experience, the prospect will respond to let you know that it’s not you but them, which often leads to a discussion of the real reasons for the silence.

Conclusion

Hopefully, these 7 ways to deal with prospects who go silent after sending your proposals will help you salvage a relationship with a quiet prospect!  Diligently working a sales cycle while always remembering that it’s about them, not you will be a winning formula for those silent prospects!

---