Have you ever been making progress with a prospect only to have him or her “go dark?” Despite your efforts, you just can’t reach the prospect and re-​establish the connection. This can be a very frustrating scenario, but Business 2 Community writer Gillian Sontz urges salespeople to keep trying to connect. “Do not sit around waiting for the prospect to get back to you,” she writes. “Continue to be persistent until you get a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’.”

In her article, she highlights ways that salespeople can re-​engage, including:

Confirm that the prospect is still employed. The reason for the lack of communication may be as simple as a job change. If you find yourself unable to get a hold of a prospect, take a peek at his LinkedIn profile to see if there’s been an update. If his employer is the same, give his company a call for further confirmation of his active employee status.

Try something new. Phone calls and emails are the most common methods of communication. But, if you’re hitting a dead end with these methods, try reaching out via social media.

Switch your strategy. If you always try to make contact with the prospect on a certain day or time, try reaching out at different times. He or she may just be slammed with work during certain hours and unable to chat.

Continue on. If you just can’t re-​engage the prospect, don’t give up on the company itself. “There are often multiple decision-​makers and influencers within an organization,” Sontz explains. “If you connect with another contact at the company, be sure to reference your conversation with the contact identified that is not getting back to you.” There’s still opportunity to make a sale even when one contact gives you the cold shoulder.

There can be many reasons a prospect stops returning calls, and with a bit of sleuthing, you can uncover whether or not there is still genuine interest. In many cases, the lack of communication may just be coincidental.