Every October, we lean into the spooky season—pumpkins on porches, foggy mornings, the occasional rubber spider on the office ficus. But there’s one fright we’d all prefer to avoid: getting ghosted by a client.
In professional services, “ghosting” rarely happens overnight. It’s usually a slow fade: replies take longer, meetings push out, new initiatives stall, and then one day a former cornerstone account is suddenly “going in a different direction.” In a down market—or during moments of uncertainty like COVID—silence can be especially costly. And when your firm experiences a leadership transition or a merger, that silence can turn into a permanent goodbye. If you haven’t planned your outreach, you’re relying on inertia—and inertia doesn’t last forever.
This month’s newsletter is a lighthearted nudge with a serious point: don’t wait for the holidays to show up. Show up now. Make yourself meaningfully present before the year-end rush. If you want to avoid getting ghosted, build a rhythm of connection that stands out, fits your clients’ world, and makes it easy for them to choose you again and again.
Why clients “go quiet” (and what to do about it)
Ownership or leadership changes—on either side.
When your firm changes hands or your client’s leadership shifts, the relationship “resets.” The new team will keep the old vendor—until they don’t. Proactive re-introductions, refreshed account plans, and a short “what’s changed/what hasn’t” memo can stabilize the bridge. Schedule those conversations before the announcement email goes out, not after.
Cultural drift after mergers or reorganizations.
Integrations bring new processes, tools, and priorities—which can be great—but clients experience them as friction. Small frictions stack up into disengagement. Appoint a “transition concierge” for top clients: one accountable person who smooths approvals, routes questions, and quarterbacks the first 90 days.
Down markets and decision fatigue.
In difficult conditions, your clients are firefighting. If your outreach only adds tasks (“please review, please decide”), you’ll slide to the bottom of the queue. Flip the script: bring answers, not asks. Draft the options, the likely trade-offs, and your recommendation. Make “yes” the path of least resistance.
Strategies to prevent client ghosting
Visibility: Be present before you’re needed
Quarterly check-ins with a point: Not “just checking in”—bring a two-slide “state of your world” memo: one slide with three metrics that matter to them, one slide with two opportunities and one risk you’re watching.
Patterned presence: Put your name in their calendar now for January, April, July, October—then anchor ad-hoc touches in between. Visibility works best when it’s predictable.
Out-of-season touches: Beat the crowd: Halloween cards, early-spring “pre-budget” coffees, mid-summer site walks. When you’re the only envelope on a desk, you get read.
Relevance: Bring value they actually feel
Client-specific mini-intel: Not a general market blast—one paragraph that names their submarket, asset type, or category, with a single takeaway.
Decision-ready framing: For any recommendation, include the likely cost, the expected upside, the timeline, and who needs to say yes.
Bridge the leadership gap: After leadership or ownership changes, run a 30-minute “continuity call” with three prompts: what you loved about the last chapter, what will be different, and how you’ll protect what matters most.
Rhythm: Make it easy to keep choosing you
90-day cadence: Month 1: a strategic touch. Month 2: a relational touch. Month 3: a delivery touch. Repeat.
One owner, wide bench: Assign a single relationship lead but rotate specialists into the conversation so your client feels the depth of the team. It’s hard to ghost a chorus.
Close every loop: Confirmation emails that say “Here’s what we heard; here’s what we’re doing; here’s when you’ll see it.” Reliable follow-through is the most underrated retention tool on earth.
A quick Halloween story (and a practical lesson)
Early in my career, I worked with a highly successful broker in Seattle. Every December her desk turned into a confectionary mountain—over a hundred cards and boxes of sweets from well-meaning partners and vendors. It was generous…and indistinguishable. I realized that if you want to be remembered, you can’t always arrive at the same moment, saying the same thing, in the same format as everyone else.
So I started sending Halloween cards instead of Christmas cards. They were fun, unexpected, and—most importantly—opened doors for a real conversation. “What are your kids dressing up as?” led naturally to “What’s on your plate for Q4?” and “How can we help?” The card wasn’t the strategy; it was the spark that made the strategy easy to execute. Now, 20 years later, I still have past clients reach out around Halloween saying they remember my cards.
Remember, humor opens doors; competence keeps them open. A playful Halloween card is delightful—but it must usher in the right conversation at the right moment.
Five ways you can creatively maintain contact
The Halloween Card – A light, memorable note.
The One-Pager – “What’s changing in your submarket.”
The “No Homework” Call – You bring a short agenda and leave with one decision made.
The Progress Postcard – A photo from a site walk or milestone with two sentences.
The “Introduce the New Guard” Brief – When leadership changes, send a friendly one-pager.
Metrics that matter so you know it’s working
Touchpoint adherence: Did we hit every strategic account?
Response time: Average hours to first client reply.
Meeting conversion: Percentage of touches that convert to a scheduled conversation.
Next-step clarity: Every client interaction logged with next step and owner.
Retention trend: Rolling 12-month retention for top 20 accounts.
Don’t wait for the knock
This Halloween season, don’t wait for the knock. Clients rarely vanish without leaving clues. In our world, silence is communication. The antidote isn’t louder marketing; it’s better stewardship—clear value, steady rhythm, human connection. Aim for warm + useful on a consistent basis to ensure you and your firm won’t be ghosted in the future.
