Qualified Prospect Ghosting out of nowhere

WR, looking for some advice. I have been facing this a bit lately and assuming its due to the economic climate but had a great lead come thru to me for a product. Had a great disco call he was very open and transparent in what he was looking for and needed. Ended up turning into more of a bundle type product offering which would be better for his needs. Had two great demos of both products and how they are tied together and he said this was a project for him to get done before EOY. He said this looks like a great fit and this is his project to fulfill. He was super transparent and easy to work with. He then wanted to see different breakdowns of pricing for his user count bundled and not. So I did just that and gave him what it would cost for the bundle (which was best value) what it would cost for each product if he purchased them separately which actually would cost him more! Furthermore, he has another set of users he wants to do the same thing with next year which would be a bigger project. So gave him ballpark pricing for that as well. This guy was a hand raiser so im confused where I went wrong.


The bundle is a no brainer and would check both his boxes for his requirements and best bang for his buck. Since then I havent heard from him in 3 weeks, and my SE and Sales Specialists where very excited about this opp and felt it was qualified. Also told him we have price increases next year (about 8%) so with the bundled pricing with built in discounts plus avoiding the price increase if he waits he is going to be saving money 2x.


Since then, I havent been able to connect via phone or email have even sent him calendar invites to which he does not respond or show. He even gave me access to his calendar so i know when he is free and not and so I booked times he was open. He gave me his own calendar link so I can schedule a call through that with him which I have also tried and no show or response.


Think my mistake was sending him the pricing breakdown instead of presenting it and getting a feel for his feedback live on a call so i think thats where i went wrong.


My question, how do I get a response out of him? At this point i just need to know if we are going to move forward or not. I have had one of the BDRs who set up the initial disco call, emailing and calling him as well in tandem with myself but no success.

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oldcloser
Arsonist
9
💀
I think you got way too excited during dinner and had a premature price ejaculation during the movie. Prospect saw the stain and didn't even let you in his car for the ride home after the date. You smelled a lay down and cut process corners. Ok, scolding over.

Heed @Pachacuti 's warning below. If he's not dead AND he's still employed at the company, it ain't over. But you've likely come off as somewhere between PIP'd and desperate. You've gotta get quiet immediately. Get your BDR to sit on his hands. Stop sequences.

If he is dead or no longer there, you've got your answer. Start over with his replacement or his boss. But go wider so this doesn't happen again.
Find out if he's still there. Creep his calendar. See if he's adding meetings. If daily activity, he's there. If you're still not sure, call the main line. Ask someone. If no main line, call HR to verify his employment (be careful). Check his other socials. Look for a sign of life. You may learn something.

Ideas for re-engagement if he's still there and alive?

Once quiet for a week, text him a personalized specific question. Random, like - hey can you give me your shipping address? If he replies, you've got dialogue. If not, send him a gift. Call when it tracks delivered and tell him "The company sends these out when we bring in a new client. " I submitted this last month. I really thought we had a deal. Feeling pretty stupid right now...did I jump the gun?"

No answer? Let him off the hook and push personal levers: What did he tell you about himself? Text him with something that you know will ring his bell. "Hey, it's me again. Look, I get you're not gonna be a customer. And that's cool. But dude, this isn't about that. I've got tickets to Cindy Lauper! You in or what?"

Call his wife and tell her you've got his test results.
Call him and leave a message from his wife's attorney.


Otherwise, dump him. Drop his ass in the CRM as closed lost. It may have had nothing to do with you at all. Dude may just be on vacation. Keep moving and don't get so happy next time. This shit does happen.


GDO
Politicker
3
BDM
Lol premature price ejaculation 🤣
RckChlkG33k
Big Shot
3
AE (Account Executive)
This wins today.
Pachacuti
Politicker
8
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
First off, never send over pricing without scheduling a call to discuss the pricing. I typically send over pricing 10-15min prior to the pricing call.

Second - don't inundate him with calls, emails, etc. Its very off putting and will kill your deal. Be patient and give him time. You don't know what's going on in his personal and professional life.

So give it a week or so of quiet time and then reach out and put a 15min call on his calendar (since he gave you access) or drop him an email.
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
2
Sales Rep
Love this move
BTQ
Politicker
5
Account Manager
paging @oldcloser
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
5
Bravado's Resident Asshole
maybe try telegraphing him too.
SportsSalesGuy
Tycoon
5
Enterprise Account Executive
Waiting for mine to come in the mail by Stork
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
5
Bravado's Resident Asshole
That would be a baby... right?
oldcloser
Arsonist
2
💀
Fluff answered.
Diablo
Politicker
3
Sr. AE
Does he still work there? Did the company have pay offs? Also, are you connected with just him the company?
SportsSalesGuy
Tycoon
1
Enterprise Account Executive
From my knowledge he is still at the org. But he does not have much of a LinkedIn presence so I cannot check really. And only connected with him as this would be a new logo for us
js2458
Politicker
3
Enterprise SDR
Our protocol is if they ghost you, you need to get them on the phone. You won’t do any convincing over email - need to be able to persuade him verbally. Wonder what went wrong here though…
Sunbunny31
Politicker
2
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Did you find out if he has internal approvals that he has to go through? Who else needs to sign off? Who signs the agreement and the check?
RckChlkG33k
Big Shot
2
AE (Account Executive)
If I had a nickel...

In all seriousness though, here's my advice.

This is borderline manipulative, but it's worked for me as a last-ditch effort. If you've tried everything that @oldcloser said below and it still doesn't work, reach out and ask him the same question you're asking us.

Tell him that you feel like conversations were progressing, but that you're worried that you might have done something wrong. Ask for coaching as to what you can do better.
99% of the time they'll come back and say you didn't do anything wrong and give you some insight as to why things have been happening the way they have. Then you have some visibility into where they are.

If they don't reply after that, move on.
waterjugsales
Politicker
1
Account Executive @ Funemployed
I've had this happen before - the ROI on continuing to reach out as others have illustrated - is low if you've tried a bunch already.
interested to see what happens and the advice here is solid - the main point being give him some space.
oldcloser
Arsonist
1
💀
Honored
AnchorPoint
Politicker
1
Business Coach
Did not read.. but if you are getting ghosted, they stopped seeing value.
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