Ghosting does not kill most deals
Ghosting does not kill most deals. Anxious follow-up does. Chris Voss, former FBI negotiator, uses a clean sales line when a buyer goes quiet:
“Have you given up on X?” That is the whole message.
No context. No softener. No case study.
No reminder of the value.
Just the question. Because silence does something strange to sellers. It makes guessing feel like work.
Legal is slow.
The CFO is busy. The champion is stuck. The timing is off.
They still care, they just need another nudge. Maybe.
But sometimes the deal is dead and no one wants to say it.
That is where sellers lose control. They send a longer email. Then a warmer one.
Then a “just checking in.” Then another piece of proof. Each message feels useful when you are anxious.
To the buyer, it can feel like pressure.
A clean question does something different. It removes the performance. It gives the buyer room to answer honestly.
If they still care, they will usually give you a reason.
If something personal is happening, you respond like a human. If they do not answer, that is information too.
The deal was not lost because you asked.
It was already gone. You just stopped treating silence like pipeline.
The skill is not better follow-up.
It is knowing when your message is serving the deal, and when it is only serving your anxiety. What is your default move when a buyer goes quiet?
video credit: FBINegotiator
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