We turned to these ghost movies to look for a solution for when you’re ghosted by a prospect.

So you were ghosted by a prospect. Now what?

The thing with prospects suddenly disappearing, or “ghosting” you, is that you can usually figure out what happened if you’re observant enough. As movies and shows have shown us, there are lots of different types of ghosts, and lots of different ways to deal with them.

So we turned to these 4 ghost movies to look for a solution for when you’re ghosted by a prospect.

Casper the Friendly Ghost (1995)

Maybe you’re certain your prospect will come back because they’re so friendly about it, like Casper the Friendly Ghost — “I’ll get right on that!” they tell you, when you give them a call. “I’m right on top of that, Rose,” they say oh-so-sweetly, when you send them a follow up email.

Look, they’re not lying. The thing with friendly ghosts is that, well…they’re still ghosts! Even though in Casper he briefly turns human and does everything to help Christina Ricci and her dad, he’s still a ghost. This customer is not worth your time, but they will never come right out and say it. Move on, Christina Ricci, and find a boyfriend — er, customer — who’s corporeal.

Poltergeist (1982)

You haven’t heard from them in ages, but you still see them rooting around in the Journey, still not sure if they want to go for it. Strange things happen in your Journey — comments appear then disappear, people you don’t know take a look-see, and someone’s moved all the furniture and bent all your spoons. The thing with a poltergeist is you can actually guess what it wants, if you pay enough attention: is it in a specific part of the Journey? What gatekeepers are they showing it to? Which spoons are they bending?

Whatever they’re not saying to you directly is being expressed in that Journey. So talk to your coworkers and formulate a plan: email them asking if they want to talk to someone on your side about product, customer success options, and so on. They’ll be extremely grateful that you were the one to figure out what they wanted, and you’ll find them being especially open with you after that.

The Ring (2002)

Something’s gone horribly wrong: every time a customer looks at your Journey, they disappear seven days later. The bad thing is, there’s something wrong with your presentation or your prospects. The good thing is, it’s within your control to fix this. First, you need to look critically at your Journey to figure out where people are getting lost. Second, you need to discuss prospecting with your SDR to make sure you’re on the same page. They might also be able to give you that insight if they take a look at your Journey.

The Sixth Sense (1999)

I hope I’m not spoiling this movie for you — it’s been 23 years! — but yeah, basically Bruce Willis only realizes he’s a ghost at the end of the movie. You might not realize it, but maybe you’re the ghost — your emails are getting buried, your texts and phone calls aren’t being seen, and they’re wondering where you went! There’s a simple solution to this — just send one quick, short email asking if they’re seeing what you’ve been sending them:

Hi [customer’s name],

Just checking to see if you’ve been getting my emails! Don’t want them to get buried in your inbox.

Best, [your name - I assume you know it]

It’s a pretty simple solution to the problem. If only Haley Joel Osment’s ability to see dead people were that easy to fix.

Other ideas

• Scooby Doo Ghost - they don’t like your meddling in their affairs (bc you might solve a problem that makes their job irrelevant)

• Beetlejuice - they didn’t have the ability to hire you / pick the software anyway

• A Christmas Carol - they had a legit problem and had to leave - moral quandary - they had the day off so they didn’t reply

• Ghostbusters - they’re your worst nightmare. You wouldn’t want them as a customer anyway

• Oops! They’re not actually dead. If you follow up enough, they will come (rare) You’ll notice there aren’t any ghost stories on here where the actors ask them nicely to leave.