Follow Up Like You Mean It
Bad follow-up has a lot in common with a child in the back of the car asking “are we nearly there yet?” Repetitive. Tedious. All about you.
Good follow-up — nurturing, done properly — feels completely different. It doesn’t feel like follow-up at all. It feels like a relationship with someone who pays attention, adds value, and genuinely gives a damn.
Here’s how to do it.
Find out what matters to them — and keep digging
The first conversation gives you the surface. What they’re trying to solve. What’s frustrating them. What success looks like. That’s a start, not a destination.
The mistake most salespeople make is stopping there. They file the notes from the first meeting and recycle the same talking points every time they make contact. Meanwhile, the prospect’s world has moved on.
Good nurturing means going deeper over time. Every conversation is an opportunity to learn more — about their priorities, their pressures, what’s changed, what’s keeping them up at night this month rather than last. As trust builds, they’ll tell you things they’d never have said in the first meeting. That’s when you stop being a supplier and start being someone they actually want to talk to.
The practical implication: take notes. Proper notes. And review them before every contact.
Find out how they like to communicate — then do it that way
Some people want data and detail. Others want the headline and nothing more. Some prefer a call. Others hate the phone and live in their inbox. Some are direct and businesslike. Others appreciate warmth and a bit of chat before getting to the point.
Most salespeople never ask. They just default to whatever they’re comfortable with and wonder why some prospects go cold.
Ask. Directly and early. “How do you prefer to be kept in touch with?” It’s a simple question and it does two things: it gets you the information you need, and it signals that you’re not going to be one of those suppliers who pesters them in the wrong way at the wrong time.
Then actually do it that way. Every time.
Don’t let them set a six-month timer
This one needs care. When a prospect says “give me a call in six months,” it’s tempting to dutifully put a reminder in the diary and disappear until then. Don’t.
Six months is a polite way of saying “not now.” It isn’t a binding contract. If you go completely dark for six months, you’ve handed the relationship to whoever stays visible in the meantime.
By all means respect the fact they’re not ready. But stay gently, usefully present. A relevant article in month two. A short note in month four. Something that says “I’m still here and I’m still thinking about you” — without asking when they’re going to buy.
Always be adding value
This is the engine of good nurturing. Every contact should give them something useful — not a sales pitch with a thin disguise on it.
Build yourself a library of value-add content for each of your products or services. It doesn’t have to be content you’ve created yourself. It could be:
- Blog posts and articles — yours or others’
- Short videos or a YouTube channel
- Podcast episodes relevant to their world
- Industry news or reports
- Case studies and client stories
- E-books, guides, or checklists
- Invitations to events, webinars, or roundtables
- A coffee, if they’re local and the time is right
Newsletters and drip campaigns are fine for the background hum — keeping your name in front of people at low effort and low cost. But they’re not enough on their own. The broadcast content keeps you visible. The personal contact keeps you real.
Which leads to the most important point.
Do the thing nobody else does
Every so often, do something that is unmistakably personal. Not a campaign. Not a template with their name dropped in. Something that could only have been sent to them.
A phone call just to share something relevant. An email that references a specific conversation you had. A document posted to their office with a handwritten Post-it attached. If something happens in their world — they win an award, they’re mentioned in the trade press, they post something significant on LinkedIn — respond to it. Personally, promptly, and without an agenda.
Nobody does this consistently. Which is precisely why it works.
The bottom line
Your competitors are running sequences. You’re building a relationship. That difference is everything — and your prospect will feel it long before they’re ready to buy.
When they finally are ready, there won’t be much of a decision to make.
