Boo! Why prospects ghost your MSP’s proposals (and how to stop it)

Halloween is here on Saturday, so I'm going to do something a bit tenuous and talk about the scariest moment in MSP sales.

You send a proposal to a hot prospect. The meetings have gone really well! They seem to like you, the package you put together, and the price. It feels like you're about to win a new client.

And then, just as you're about to break out a bottle of champagne... crickets. For like two or three weeks. Every email and phone call goes unanswered.

You wonder whether the price was actually wrong after all. Maybe they’ve signed with another MSP.

Or perhaps they’re dead (properly dead). What's the etiquette on attending the funeral of a prospect???

I'm sure this has happened to you in the past. If it hasn't, it will. It happened to me when I was doing sales. Hell, it happened to me when I was single a few years back. I got ghosted on Tinder, Hinge and Bumble.

Those were dark, dark days.

But putting my dating disasters aside, let's be blunt about the cause of why prospects ghost you.

The problem is................ 😃 YOU 😃

You’ve let your prospect take control of the sales process. And makes it way too easy for them to ghost you.

There are two changes you can make that will stack the odds dramatically in your favour.

1) Send every proposal 3 different ways to stand out

You probably send it digitally, as a PDF, an email or through a proposal tool that shows you who opened it.

That's a double-edged sword. It's quick and easy to get it to them and they can refer to it whenever they want. BUT anything that’s quick and easy for you to send is quick and easy for them to ignore.

Your prospect’s inbox says (47,312). Your proposal goes into a folder called Read later and stays there until the sun burns out.

They’re also talking to other MSPs, so you need to be 1,000% sure you stand out.

So here are the 3 ways to send the proposal:

Send it digitally: You still do this, primarily because you can track how often they open it.

Also send a personal video: Record 60 seconds to 2 minutes just for them, using Vidyard, Bonjoro or BombBomb. Share your screen and walk them through the main sections. A prospect who gets a video explaining the proposal is much more likely to watch it, read the proposal and stay engaged.

And ship a printed copy to them: Physical stuff stands out in a digital world. You want it sitting on their desk for a week, passed round the office, dragged into meetings and covered in scribbles.

I would upgrade this parcel to a full impact box. Add a printed case study, a buyers guide, a branded mug and some chocolate.

Yes this costs cash and time. But remember you’ve already spent hours, and $£$£$£ of cash getting this prospect into a meeting. Don’t waste all that effort on a PDF.

2) Leave every meeting with the next one in the diary

This is your ultimate weapon against ghosting.

If you walk out of the proposal meeting with no follow up booked, you hand back control to the prospect.

So before you leave, ask how long they need to read it, absorb it and discuss it. Ask who they need to speak to, and which other proposals they’re waiting for. They’re going to compare you anyway, so you may as well talk about it.

Then get everyone’s phones out. “Let’s schedule the follow up meeting. At that meeting you can ask me any outstanding questions, and then tell me we’re going to be working together.”

Say that last bit with a cheeky smile.

Make sure you send a calendar invitation as well. I promise you, if they can't make that meeting, they will move it.

Ghosting doesn't really happen because of something you've done. It's because of something that's happening at their end, normally because they need more time or other projects are getting in the way. If they can move the meeting, that gives you insight into what's happening without creating stress for them.

Do you have questions on this? Let me know. I read and reply to every single email.