What to Do When a Hot Lead Ghosts You (The Art of Never Stopping)
Contributed by SBOC Member:
Pat Miller
Founder of the Small Business Owners Community
This content was first released in the new Small Business Summary Newsletter. Subscribe below to get insights like this straight to your inbox!
You had them. They were all in. They asked questions. They seemed excited. You were sure this was going to close.
And then… nothing. Silence. They’re ghosting you.
What do you do?
First: Don't Take It Personal
Everyone you’re working with is fighting a silent struggle you don’t know about.
Just because they haven’t booked doesn’t mean they hate you. It doesn’t mean they went with a competitor. It might mean their basement flooded. Or their kid got sick. Or they got slammed at work. Or they just… forgot.
Before you spiral, go stalk them a little. Check their Facebook. Check their LinkedIn. See if they’re active.
Are they ghosting everyone or just you?
If they’re quiet everywhere, give them grace. Something’s going on. If they’re posting vacation photos while ignoring your emails… okay, maybe it’s you.
Second: Change Up the Contact Method
If you’ve been emailing, send a text. The text response rate is insane—over 90% get read. Way higher than email.
If texting doesn’t work, try video. Record a quick personal message:
“Hey Rebecca, how are you? I was thinking about your business and wanted to check in…”
People reply saying “I thought this was gonna be generic” or “I thought this was AI but it’s clearly not.” It works.
But here’s my conspiracy theory: audio messages work even better.
There’s an intimacy to audio that you don’t get with video. It’s like a radio show in their ear. They hear every piece of inflection. It sounds personal. And nobody does it, so you stand out.
Keep it short:
“Hey, I haven’t heard from you. I was so excited to start working on your project and it seems like you’ve got some stuff going on. I’ll be here when you’re ready, but I just wanted to reach out and say I’m still thinking about it. Take care.”
Thirty seconds. Done. Way more intimate than a video.
For really big deals? Send snail mail. An actual letter. You’ll be shocked at the response rate.
Third: Never. Stop. Reaching out.
This is the biggest one.
I can’t tell you how many deals I’ve closed by simply not giving up.
For the 2024 SBOC conference, I wanted a deal with Square. I emailed the Square guy for 90 days before he finally got back to me.
When he replied, you know what he said? “I’m so glad you didn’t stop emailing me. I’ve had you on my list. I had COVID, I had a thing, I had other stuff going on. I’m so glad you kept in touch.”
Ninety days. That’s how long it took.
Here’s my system: When I email someone and they don’t reply, I put it on my to-do list with a date two weeks out. Two weeks later, I email again. Still nothing? Two more weeks. I just keep pushing the date forward.
Eventually one of three things happens:
- They reply and we do business
- They tell me to stop (which is actually fine—at least I know)
- I decide they’re not worth pursuing anymore
But I never just let it die.
Build Your Lead List Deep
The other piece of this: don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
If you only have one hot lead, you’re going to be desperate and weird about it. If you have ten leads in various stages, you can be patient with the one who’s ghosting you because you’ve got other opportunities cooking.
A strong pipeline gives you the confidence to be persistent without being needy.
The Quick Checklist
- Don’t take it personal—check their social activity first
- Change contact method (email → text → video → audio → snail mail)
- Put a follow-up date on your calendar
- Follow up every 2 weeks until they respond or tell you to stop
- Build a deep lead list so no single prospect has all the power
Under no circumstances should you stop reaching out.
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Contributed by
Pat Miller
Founder of the Small Business Owners Community
Pat spent two decades in broadcasting management and hosting. After leaving the radio industry, he spent time consulting small businesses and realized the support system for entrepreneurs was broken. Where could you find help for improving small businesses and building real connections with other like-minded people. In June of 2020, the Idea Collective Small Business Community was born.