Prospect Ghosting

I couldn’t help but smirk with irony at the ‘about time – what goes around comes around’ reporting of the latest new millennial behaviour to hit feeds.

It seems that in a Western world of if not near-full then fluid employment, the freshest generation to the workplace are turning the traditional staff rulebook upside down.

If they get fed up with their role, through what seems the age-old catalogue of complaints including broken promises, lack of recognition and workload alterations, they simply nip their disappointments in the bud and don’t come in to work the next day. Nor any further day. They just leave. Without any communications with their now ex-managers.

Likewise, when seeking a job, they’ll tend to accept more than one. Then only when required to turn up, choose which to grace with their presence. Again, the also-rans won’t be informed of such decision-making.

Both lead to the concept of ghosting being cited. Now moving from dating apps to the mainstream. So much so, the US Fed stamped it with credence by mentioning it as a bone fide employment trend.

Now, the first instance will be strange to non-Americans. As nowhere else does the “at will” concept exist. Unless on a zero-hour, gig economy footing, it’s tricky for us to up and go. Yet with the second, well, how many times do we when jobseekers bemoan the lack of decency or class of recruiters who for decades have treated most applicants with disdain.

There’s a natural parallel with solution selling.

From prospecting to ultimate closing, we’ve long suffered ghosting ourselves.

Countless messages, voicemails and gatekeeper discussions and yet silence from our intended recipient.

Right through to the Board Sign-off Meeting where, post Final Presentation we can await The Decision, only for it to come and go, again with no call from our key contact.

Seasoned pros are well used to this. Spreading the net one repeatable insurance. Whether that be bulging the mouth of your funnel or widening the reach within a live prospect.

Web gurus offer supposed quick fixes. Such as the email which asks for a reply of something akin to either ‘don’t bother us, it’s over’ or, ‘we’re stuck on _____’.

But I do like the one pre-emptive measure I learn from articles on this;

“Last October, Johnson & Johnson, the major medical supply and consumer products company, announced it had launched a new platform for job applicants, one that allows them to track their progress through the system.”

And how about this for an analogy of their logic;

“We can track a pizza we order from Domino’s—why can’t we give candidates the same ability to track where they are in the hiring process?”

Which begs the big question; how are we tracking where our prospects are in the selling process?

Even better – in their buying process? How are you tracking your pizza?