The Gentle Follow-Up That Closes Giants
The Sales Code – #21
They said they’d “circle back.”
You smiled, nodded—and disappeared.
Congratulations. You just gifted your deal to someone with more polite persistence than you.
Let me tell you something I learned the hard way pitching a €4M micro-mobility contract in Spain. The decision-maker wasn’t the Mayor (who grinned through every coffee and said all the right things). It was the Chief of Staff—the one who never looked me in the eye and said, “We’ll be in touch.”
Most salespeople drop off after the second ghost.
I sent a handwritten note.
Then a two-line email—no pitch, just a reminder that I was still here.
Then silence. Then a follow-up that simply read:
“We’re both busy. Should I close this on my side?”
She replied in 4 minutes.
Here’s the lesson:
People respect what returns with dignity. Not desperation. Not neediness.
Polite persistence signals conviction, not annoyance. It whispers:
“I’m not going away—because I believe this is good for you.”
This isn’t about chasing. It’s about positioning.
Ziglar said it best: “Timid salespeople have skinny kids.”
But let me add—annoying salespeople have blocked email addresses.
So how do you walk the line?
The Playbook:
Day 1: Send value. Not just a “thanks”—give something useful. A quote, a question, a story that makes them think.
Day 4: Follow up. No fluff. Ask a direct question. Make it easy to answer.
Day 7: Light pressure. “Should I close this on my end?”
Day 14: Final nudge. Not with hope—but with clarity. “If it’s not now, I’ll reconnect in 3 months.”
That’s not being pushy. That’s leadership.
That’s Rockefeller diplomacy.
That’s power without force.
Takeaway:
If you don’t follow up with intention, someone else will.
And they’ll win—not because they’re better. But because they stayed.
Your move:
Audit your last 5 prospects who ghosted you. Reopen one. Today.
Remember, “diamonds can only be made under pressure”
Stay strong, persevere!
- Ruggero