Is Customer Silence the New Way to Say No?

Jens P Edgren
Feb 4
3 min read

The brutal truth about why customers ghost us – and what we can do about it

I want to be honest.

I get a lot of inquiries from salespeople – calls, emails, and LinkedIn messages. And more often than I care to admit, this happens:

👉 I ghost them.

I don’t answer. I “plan to reply later.”

I move on.

What surprised me was this realization:

I don’t want to be ghosted by clients myself—yet I do the exact same thing.

Digital illustration for MEDDICC sales training showing a ghost and a phone with 'No Response,' illustrating the risk of poor qualification and customer silence in the B2B decision process.

Why do we ghost?

It’s not because the seller is rude. It’s not because the offer is bad.

It’s because the message doesn’t feel relevant:

It’s not connected to anything important right now.
The relationship is weak or purely transactional.
There is no sense of “this concerns me.”

Then we do what humans always do: save energy and move on.

Silence isn’t disinterest—it’s a lack of relevance

We see it everywhere:

Quotes that never get a response
Cold calls that sound “interesting, but…”
Meetings that feel positive but end in the sand

From a MEDDICC perspective, silence usually means something is missing:

Clear business impact
Real decision-maker
Perceived urgency
Internal driving force

When these are missing, following up becomes pointless. Silence is just logical behavior.

Relationship beats message

People don’t engage with offers—they engage with things that feel personal, relevant, and important.

If the relationship is superficial and the dialogue general, the customer has no reason to:

✗ Respond quickly

✗ Prioritize the dialogue

✗ Push the issue internally

That realization changed the way I sell.

What I’m doing differently today

I focus on:

Creating relevance early – show the impact before talking solutions
Building relationships before quotes – connect with the real people, not just the org chart
Combining multiple contact channels – email, calls, LinkedIn, or in-person touches
Ensuring commitment before the next step – clarity avoids wasted effort

The result?

✓ Fewer ghosted deals

✓ Shorter sales cycles

✓ Better decisions—for both parties

A question that makes a big difference

Before a quote or the next step, I always ask:

“What needs to be true for this to be prioritized?”

That single question reveals more than ten follow-up emails ever could.

Conclusion

Customer silence is rarely a “no.”It’s a sign the deal hasn’t been made relevant, personal, or urgent enough.

And if we’re being honest—it often starts with ourselves.

/Jens Edgren

MEDDICC Coach & Sales Expert

I help B2B salespeople and teams stop guessing and start closing more deals with the MEDDICC method. With 20+ years in complex sales, I’ve seen what works—and what doesn’t.