Let’s Talk About Ghosting in Sales
I’ve noticed something lately and it’s been across a few different sales teams – just how often ghosting comes up. It’s one of those things everyone deals with, but no one really talks about because it can feel a little personal.
And when I say ghosting, I’m talking about that situation where you meet with someone, build a bit of rapport, have what feels like a productive conversation, send or present a proposal… and then nothing. Complete silence. No reply, no acknowledgement – just a big empty gap where communication used to be.
It’s frustrating when it happens, but the more I look at it, the more I feel it’s rarely the dramatic rejection most people fear. More often it’s far simpler. People get busy. Priorities shuffle around. Someone fully intends to reply but leaves it a bit too long, and suddenly the moment feels awkward.
And sometimes, yes, they’ve chosen another provider – often because of price and just don’t quite know how to say it. Silence feels easier in the moment.
I’ve also noticed that ghosting tends to creep in when the process isn’t very tight. If a meeting ends with “have a think and let me know,” there’s nothing pulling the conversation forward. Even if the person was genuinely interested, without a clear next step it becomes easy for the whole thing to lose momentum.
On top of that, most salespeople genuinely don’t want to annoy anyone. They don’t want to push too hard. So they wait to follow up, or send a soft “just checking in,” or they leave it too long and decide it’s too late.
Ghosting Often Starts Earlier in the Sales Process
What I reckon is that ghosting often has its roots earlier in the process. When your qualifying questions are sharper, when you understand what the client is comparing you against, when you gently surface their hesitations before you present anything – then the silence tends to drop away.
This part takes time though, you build an instinct for which questions to ask, how to read the tone of the room, and when someone is being politely non-committal rather than genuinely engaged. And you get better at pre-empting the things that normally cause people to go quiet.
Interestingly, the more structure you put around the whole process, the less “salesy” it feels for everyone involved. People like clarity. They like knowing what the next step is. They’d rather have a conversation about a proposal than have it land cold in their inbox.
Ghosting is frustrating, but it’s rarely personal. Most of the time it’s timing, discomfort, or simply a gap in the process that can be tightened up.
Are you finding the same? Are you getting ghosted more than ever at the moment?