The art of the turndown

I was commiserating with a colleague the other day on how no one in business seems to know how to turn me down politely any more and I don't know why. Every new business lead starts out the same: I am approached by a potential client about their need for PR, marketing or social media marketing needs; we meet so I can assess those needs; I present a proposal either in person or via email and allow them time to review and consider it.

However when I attempt to follow up with them by phone and/or email, I get no reply at all. It's as if they either are avoiding me or have forgotten completely about our meeting and my proposal. It was frustrating at first but I've since gotten used to this treatment and have come to expect it. I don't know why it's so difficult for people to respond with a simple "No thank you," or "I've changed my mind" or even "I've selected another agency/freelancer." At least that response would immediately let me know where I stand and I would then know not to bother that potential client again.

So why not respond to me at all? Are you afraid if you take my follow-up call or reply to my email that I will get angry and fight with you? Or perhaps you think I will try to convince you that you need my services and that I am the agency to hire. Or maybe you're afraid of the old hard sell like we're so often faced with from sales people. I promise you that I will do none of those things but instead will handle your turn down reply with grace.

The very nature of pursuing new business leads involves the invest of time to meet with them and put a proposal together. Depending on the potential client this could take as little as 2-3 hours of my time or as much as 7-8 hours. So I am prepared to make that investment in order to meet them, get to know them and your business and determine how we can work together.

But since service-oriented my business is centered on my time and talents, the time I spend with them in the hopes of getting them as a client is time spent not doing work for my existing paying clients. Time really is money in my line of work. So I think it's reasonable to expect a polite turn down response to my inquiries in a timely manner. That's all I ask. I know many of my colleagues feel the same way, so I can't be totally wrong on this.

Why do you think so many business professionals have a difficult time with turning down a fellow colleague's proposal when they attempt to follow up with them?