Latest / Sales Leadership with Fexingo: Quota Carriers, Sales Managers, and Revenue Teams / How Sales Reps Can Recover After Getting Ghosted
Transcript
- Lucas: So you've had three great discovery calls with a prospect. They've confirmed budget, they've introduced you to the decision-maker, they've asked for a proposal. Then — nothing. No reply to your email. No answer to your voicemail. The deal goes completely dark. Luna: The ghost. Every sales rep knows it. And the instinct is to keep reaching out — maybe send a 'just checking in' email, or call from a different number. But that usually makes it worse. Lucas: Exactly. So today I want to talk about how to recover after getting ghosted. Not the motivational 'keep grinding' version. I mean a specific three-step framework that I've seen work in deals worth anywhere from fifty thousand to half a million dollars. Lucas: And this is relevant right now — June 2026 — because a lot of enterprise budgets are under scrutiny. Longer sales cycles, more stakeholders. Ghosting is almost becoming the new 'no.' But it doesn't have to be permanent. Luna: Before we dive into the framework — I want to note something. If these conversations have helped you think differently about a deal or a negotiation, and you'd like to support the show staying ad-free, you can buy us a coffee. It's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just a way to keep this going. Lucas: Appreciate that. And speaking of keeping things going — let's talk about why buyers ghost in the first place. Lucas: I read a study last year from a sales intelligence firm — they surveyed about 400 B2B buyers. The top reason for ghosting? It wasn't that they didn't like the product. Forty-three percent said they went silent because they got busy with other priorities and felt too awkward to say 'I'm not ready yet.' Luna: So it's not rejection — it's avoidance. That's actually encouraging. It means the deal isn't dead, it's just stalled. Lucas: Right. And the second most common reason — about 28 percent — was that an internal stakeholder raised a concern the buyer didn't know how to handle. So they freeze. They don't want to tell you the objection because they're not sure how to articulate it. Luna: So the worst thing you can do is assume they've lost interest and move on. Lucas: Exactly. So here's the framework. Step one: pause and diagnose. Step two: re-engage with a specific trigger. Step three: create a structured off-ramp. Lucas: Let me give you a real example. I worked with a SaaS company last year — they sell a compliance platform. A mid-market manufacturer had gone through four demos, and then silence. The rep had sent five emails over three weeks, all ignored. Luna: Five emails? That's already too many without a response. Lucas: Yeah. So step one — pause and diagnose. The rep stopped reaching out for ten days. That's hard to do, but it's necessary. During that time, she looked at the prospect's LinkedIn activity. She saw the VP of Engineering had shared an article about a new compliance regulation that was about to take effect. Luna: That's the trigger. She found a reason to re-engage that wasn't about her demo. Lucas: Exactly. Step two: re-engage with a specific trigger. Instead of 'just checking in,' she sent a short email referencing that regulation. She said, 'I saw your VP shared the article about the new regulation. I put together a one-page summary of how it affects manufacturers like you — no strings attached, just a resource.' She didn't ask for a meeting. Luna: That's smart. She's giving value, not asking for time. Lucas: The prospect replied within two hours. Said, 'Thank you, we're actually struggling with this. Can you send the summary?' That reopened the conversation. And within two weeks, they closed a deal worth about $180,000 a year. Luna: But what if there's no trigger? What if the prospect just goes dark and you can't find any recent activity? Lucas: That's where step three comes in: the structured off-ramp. You send one final email that explicitly gives them permission to say no. Here's the language I recommend: 'I haven't heard from you in a few weeks, so I'm assuming the timing isn't right. I'll close out our file, but if anything changes, feel free to reach out directly.' Luna: That actually creates a little pressure, because you're removing yourself. And it's polite — you're not burning the bridge. Lucas: Right. And here's the key: you set a calendar reminder to follow up exactly 30 days later. Research shows that about 44 percent of stalled deals eventually close if you re-engage within 30 days. So you don't give up — you just create a structured pattern. Luna: I've heard this called the 'ping-pong' pattern. You ping, they don't respond, you wait, you ping again with a new trigger, and eventually the ball comes back. Lucas: Yeah, that's a good way to think about it. But you can't ping-pong without a new trigger each time. So after the off-ramp email, your next touchpoint should be something like sharing a case study relevant to their industry, or a new feature that addresses a concern they mentioned earlier. Luna: And how many times do you do this before you truly walk away? Lucas: I'd say three structured attempts after the initial ghost. First, the trigger-based re-engagement. Second, the off-ramp email. Third, a value-add follow-up 30 days later. If after that there's nothing, you document the deal as lost and move on. But you've done it professionally. Luna: One thing I want to push back on: isn't this just persistence dressed up as strategy? Some reps might use this as an excuse to never let go. Lucas: Fair point. And that's why the structure matters. Without a framework, reps either give up too early or annoy the prospect into a permanent no. With a framework, you have a clear stopping point. You're not chasing — you're executing a sequence. Lucas: Also, the data helps. That 44 percent closure rate on re-engaged deals — that's not a reason to chase forever. It's a reason to have a systematic approach for the first 30 days after ghosting. Luna: So the takeaway: don't take silence personally. Diagnose, trigger, off-ramp. And use the calendar as your discipline. Lucas: Exactly. And I'd add one more thing: when you do re-engage, never lead with 'I was wondering if you'd given any more thought to...' That's a losing line. Lead with value — an insight, a resource, a relevant observation. That's what separates the reps who recover deals from the ones who lose them to silence.