Lost Opportunities: A Script You Can Use to Revive Deals That Went Dark

Have you ever felt like you missed a fantastic opportunity?

Like you really thought a meeting or conversation would turn into a bigger opportunity but it never did?

Odds are, you have a list of people who’ve interacted with you at some point and then…it went completely dark. They didn’t necessarily give you a hard no, they just never moved forward.

There are several reasons this could have happened - maybe they weren't interested. Maybe they found a different offer that suited their needs more. Or maybe they simply forgot to get back to you.

Whatever the cause, taking some action and doing something about it is the only way to revisit the conversation.

If that list of people hasn’t been touched in a while, use this article as an excuse to reach out and “unfreeze” them with our lost opportunities script.

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Let's take a deeper look at what's going on in this script, why it works, and how you can replicate it for your own needs.

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Step #1) Revisit the conversation.

Remember, we’re reaching out to people who we have a history with. Sure, it might not be a lot of history…but we’re not total strangers.

This makes a huge difference in our approach to having a conversation with them, and it makes this list look like a bunch of low hanging fruit. Your cold calling/emailing skills are fundamental, but your follow up game is just as important.

Think about how your last conversation went and what you could potentially say to remind them who you are and what you offered them.

Creating a personal connection and making sure they remember your previous interactions is key to getting them to listen to you.‍

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Step #2) Reframe from sales to service.

You want to show them that you're not just trying to make another sale - you actually care about doing business with them.

Take a look at the script above and you’ll see that we’re putting on our “customer service” hat. This is important, because the aim is to shift your prospect’s inner voice from:

“Oh no, another sales call?” → “Oh, you’re actually listening to me?”

You're asking for a second chance at doing business with them, so really put an emphasis on their needs and wants, and frame the conversation so that they know that you're here to listen to them, not just pitch them your product.

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Step #3) Request a specific reason.

If you can get the person to identify a specific reason why they went dark in the first place, it’ll make the next steps much, much easier.

It’s almost like getting them to tell you exactly how they want to be sold to.

👉 Was the issue timing?
✅ Great, let’s nail down a timeline that’s good for them.

👉 Was the issue pricing?
✅ Great, let’s walk them through a pricing/value path.

👉 Was the issue that they just forgot?
✅ Great, let’s just pick things up and get on a call.

This could also be a window of opportunity for avoiding lost opportunities with future clients - once you know why it didn't work out the first time with one specific client, you'll be more mindful of it in the future.

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One easy way to remember this is the 3 Re’s:

REVISIT -- REFRAME -- REQUEST
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