5 Reasons why your client will never respond
November 10, 2021 • Sales • Clients ⌇ Connect ↗
Whether you are a freelancer, sales, or any client-facing person, we’ve all been there… The initial round or rounds of talks go really well — but suddenly.
*Crickets*.
No reply. No phone call. Nothing.
And all us service-oriented individuals are left thinking is: “What did I do wrong?” or even worse “My offering is probably just garbage”.
Well, I am here to tell you that’s not true.
I do not know exactly what it was you presented, how you did it, and in what context it all chronologically accrued, but this fact still remains: it is and always will be professional decency for the client to say no to someone’s face in a business setting. Why? Rejection might feel horrible in the short run, but in the long run, you always learn the most.
So not only are these “ghosting” individuals unprofessional, but they are also robbing you of a learning experience you could have grown from.
These “no-answer” people have zero regard for anyone but themselves.
They are feeding off of the inspiration your brilliance is teeming with. Only to turn their back on you without the decency to give a single reason why.
3 Proclamations
Instead of allowing frustration and anger to overcome us in these dire circumstances, let us plot a different course. A course of proclamations that can prepare our minds for what otherwise turns into a negative spiral:
- We won’t care more than the decency our situation deserves.
- We won’t burn any bridges or close any doors despite rejection.
- We will move on to another mission without shedding a tear.
Regardless of how cheesy these proclamations sound, what remains is only to understand why a client could have ghosted you in the first place.
So without further ado, let’s get into the reasons.
The 5 Reasons
In any of the following circumstances, it is important to remember: none of them are directly your fault, but still require you to take 100% responsibility.
- Your pitch is too narrow » if you cannot communicate what you can do for the client, it can go one of two ways: either you are not communicating well enough (too many buzzwords or jargon). Or your offering is too specific — the client expected something else.
- You haven’t diagnosed the problem » if your treatment is addressing the wrong symptoms (AKA: the ones the client does not have or know they have yet), your diagnosis will have missed the mark. As a result, the client won’t feel comfortable making the decision to go with you.
- You are more motivated than the client » if you walz into the first meeting super energetic and pumped, that might win you the gig with certain individuals. But others, especially the business owners who have poured their heart blood into building something usually don’t want someone that could be more excited than themselves. Mostly because of an authority complex or other psychological phenomena.
- The client simply isn’t inspired to form intent » if you know SEO, you will get this right away: whenever you google something, you have search intent. And that search intent can be split up into 4 categories: Informational, Navigational, Commercial Investigation, and Transactional. Simply put, if your client isn’t in the second half, it’ll be tough.
- The client does not value your time or worth » if you have attempted gathering your own client stream, you know that some people in this world are simply contemptible. They either don’t value your time and just want to get inspired by ideas you pitch them for free and/or they don’t value your worth by refusing to pay you what your asking price beforehand — both, you want to stay away from.
Going Full Circle
As you could have guessed by now, I have made a couple of very interesting experiences. Mostly in the 3rd reason. For those who know me, you know I am quite an energetic and intense person. I see it as a strength, but it is definitely a reason why some clients simply do not get back to me.
Nevertheless, I have honestly encountered all 5 reasons. And you know what? I don’t think any of them warrant being unprofessional — AKA ghosting.
That said. I believe writing a 200 character message whenever a client does not see the fit, would be a professional courtesy. Here is an example script:
“Hey NAME, Thank you so much for your pitch. We thoroughly enjoyed hearing A, B, C. Sadly, we cannot commit to you at this moment in time because of reason X. We will be in touch if anything changes. Thank you.”
As you can see this message is forthcoming by appreciating the work committed so far, but it is also honest on the state of the project, so you can know what to improve and grow professionally as a result.
And most importantly, this script leaves no one hanging. Every professional relationship should be able to end with 5 minutes spent on that template.
After all… we are all in this game to learn, aren’t we? Even the clients.
Let’s make saying “no” more fruitful together.
Thank you so much for reading this far. I would love to hear your experiences & reasons as to why clients stopped responding to you. Feel free to comment below and/or connect with me over Twitter — I talk a lot about product development, branding, and entrepreneurship.
I’ll see you around.
Connect
Let’s meet on whatever platform serves your desired outcome best. My digital identity holds all platform intentions. Prefer email? Try contact@julianpaul.me.
Want to stay up to date? RSS ↗ and/or subscribe for email updates. ↓
Socialise with me: LinkedIn | Instagram | đť•Ź.com | Read.cv
