Are you getting ghosted? Completely wiped off the digital radar by the object of your affection without so much as a “no thanks” or “I’ve moved on”? We’re not talking about a dating app – although that’s a thing now in case you haven’t heard– but in the corporate world are your inquiries and follow ups being ignored?  What is going on?

These last few years I have increasingly felt the virtual slap in the face of being ghosted. It sucks. It’s frustrating and it goes against what most would consider proper business etiquette.  To find out some reasons why this is happening, and offer a few tips, I’ve completed a bit of research on workplace ghosting.

The list may seem basic and really obvious, but a wise man once said common sense is not always common practice.

1. The struggle is real

People are busier today than in years past. Let me clarify, we still have the same 24 hours to get stuff done, and likely not much more on our plates, but the level of distraction is increasing at breakneck speed. The rate of technology advancement from 2001-2019 has increased more than 200x the entire combined advancement of the previous 2,000 years. You need to really stand out amid the distraction and make sure your focus is where it needs to be.

2. It’s not you, it’s them. Wait. No. It’s probably you.

How are you responding? Are you peppering them with emails? Only texting? People have different preferences so change it up. Try an old fashion phone call. Other tools like Slack, What’s App and the aforementioned texting and emailing, if not the prospect’s M.O., might work to shake lose a response.

3. What’s the problem?

Sales 101 tells us to find the prospect’s pain point and sell your solution, product, service, etc. around solving that. It still holds true but in our efforts to rush to yes it’s likely that we’ve put ourselves first – forcing our solution before figuring out what the pain really is. Step back, make sure you understand what the needs are and use statements like “help me understand…xyz”. Serve first. Sell second.

4. Take the high road and/or peace out.

When all else fails you can simply send a “last ditch” email apologizing for whatever it is you’ve done to cause disengagement from the sales process. Let them know you are sorry if you caused offense or did a poor job communicating your company value proposition. Then just peace out. This gives them a way to gracefully reengage if there are outside factors causing the ghosting. If not, just move on and know you’ve done all you could.

Hope this helps shed some light on the issue of workplace ghosting. Send your feedback to info@cornerstonecreative, we’d love to hear from you.

As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out! Until then, keep an eye on Cornerstone Creative as we continue our growth and continue our campaign to be the best creative shop around. Click here to send us an email, let us know what you think.

About the author

Matt Baumeyer is President and Founder of Cornerstone Creative, an award-winning digital agency based in Centennial, Colorado. Matt helps businesses find their way in the crowded marketplace, cut through the clutter and increase meaningful interactions with more qualified customer prospects. For a free audit please contact Matt directly: matt@cornerstonecreative.com