It’s an unfortunate truth that sometimes, people simply never engage!.
However, don’t take it personally.
They may just be too busy to engage and are not ignoring you.
There is a really effective approach that works for me in probably 70/ 80% of occasions that I use it – it’s what I call the “goodbye message”. Others call it the Break-up Message!
If your ideal client/ employer contact isn’t responding to your attempts to engage via their posts/ your posts/ messages etc, the goodbye message is one of the most effective follow up techniques you can use.
It works on the principle that when you take a good thing away from someone, it makes them want it more.
Here’s how to make this psychological trick work for you.
An example of a good breakup message;
Hi XYZ
Is this Goodbye?
Just a quick message to let you know that although I’d love to catch up and get a better understanding of the your plans for {Company}, I don’t want to become one of those ‘pain in the backsides’ and keep badgering you.
Hopefully you haven’t thought that with my recent messages but if you have, please accept my apologies – that was not my intention.
Hopefully this isn’t goodbye – please let me know if we can get a date in the diary.
If I don’t hear back from you, I’ll take the hint and wish you well.
Kind Regards
Activity:
Let’s look at how you can develop your ‘Goodbye’ message/ email
It starts with writing an effective subject line. For the goodbey/ breakup email, here are some examples of good subject lines:
- Goodbye from [your name]
- Goodbye from [your company’s name]
- Thank you from [your company’s name]
- Should I stay or should I go now
- It’s not you. It’s me.
The basic structure of an effective goodbye message will include;
- I’ve shared with you a number of articles/ post etc.
- You’ve not been able to engage (maybe because you’re too busy, you’re not interested or you’ve moved on to something else).
- Thus, this is the last email you’ll get from me.
- If at any time, you ever want to [insert desired outcome], I’d be more than happy to speak with you.
- Here are my contact details [phone number, etc.].
The message/ email body should be short and succinct.
Draft at least three version of a message/ email that you can utilise and test each version out, taking note of the level and speed of response.
Mistakes to avoid
Sometimes I get goodbye emails that have an almost accusatory or disappointed tone—that’s not what you should do.
It’s important that you keep the email on the emotionally positive or neutral side.
After all, this isn’t a high school breakup; you’re a professional, this is business. No blame, criticism or disappointment.
What the goodbye message can do: For those people who were somewhat interested but just didn’t have the time, or haven’t made it a priority yet, it might just be the nudge that gets them engaged with you.
What the goodbye message can’t do: It won’t work with people who never had any interest in your offer at all. If they’re completely cold, nothing you write in the goodbye message will get them interested.
If you keep this in mind, this approach can be a powerful tool in your sales arsenal.