Following up without being pushy

You had a good conversation. The click was there, and so was the interest. And then it went quiet. Now you are stuck with that awkward dilemma: calling feels like pushing, but doing nothing feels like letting an opportunity fade away. So you put it off, and after three weeks the momentum is gone.

Why following up is not pushing

The fear of being pushy paralyses a great many good professionals. But turn it around. If your conversation was honest and your solution genuinely helps, then not following up is the unhelpful thing to do. Your customer is busy, and has simply forgotten in the whirl of the day. A well-timed follow-up is then a service.

Arrange the follow-up in the conversation itself

The key lies in two things. First: arrange the next step during the conversation itself. The best follow-up is one you never have to send, because the next step is already concretely in the diary. Make sure you are in the lead: "Shall we catch up next Thursday about your decision?" That does not feel pushy to anyone.

Make every follow-up worthwhile

Second: make every follow-up worthwhile. Not "I just wanted to check whether you have had a look yet", because that is about you. Instead: a relevant article, an insight that fits their challenge, a customer story that resembles their situation, or an answer to a question that was left open in the conversation. You are always planting seeds, even when you cannot harvest straight away.

Lock the follow-up into your process

And structure it. A good process makes sure no potential fan is lost through poor follow-up. Put every appointment and every point of contact into your system, so your head does not have to remember it and you stay relaxed.

Following up touches on process and on relaxed selling: when you let go of the pressure of the result, you follow up more easily and more naturally. Do it today: pick one customer you have not heard from in a while, and send them something they can actually use. No "just checking in".