Are you Guilty of ghosting?
Updated: Apr 20
Have you heard of the term ghosting before? It's usually used in the dating world to describe someone who cuts all communication without explanation, but it's also quite common in the business world too, and in my opinion, poor business etiquette.
There are some businesses that fully expected to be ghosted, those that offer an online instant quote for example. But when is it the wrong time to ghost someone? For me, it has to be when you've met with a person or business whether that be face to face or online. If a business has taken the time to sit and talk to you, for however long that may be, the least you can do afterward is to let them know where you stand.
Quite often people 'ghost' businesses because they've decided not to buy their services and feel embarrassed to say so, but trust me, any business owner worth their salt would much prefer you to put them out of their misery and to just be honest. In fact, if you can offer feedback, even better.
As yourself how you would feel if you spent time (and we all know that time is money), on a potential client who couldn't be bothered to respond to your emails or answer your calls? It would piss you off, right? The term, don't do to others what you wouldn't want to be done to yourself comes into play here. Responding to someone even if it's bad news, is the right thing to do and will benefit you in the long run. Here's how:
Ever heard of the six degrees of separation? This is the theory that all people are six or fewer social connections away from each other. Trust me, it's true. How embarrassing for you would it be if you unexpectantly had to face the person you ghosted somewhere down the lane?
You won't have to stress about expecting to follow up calls and emails from businesses you met with, knowing you're going to ignore them. If you tell them upfront you are not interested, they will leave you alone much quicker.
You will feel much better! Being honest from the start will leave you feeling relieved and more able to move on.
So, it's really simple. Do the decent thing when it comes to responding and feeding back to a business you've decided not to use. Don't be a ghost.
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