Home / Playbook / Lesson 04

Following up without being a pest

Cadence, content, and knowing when to close the loop.

Most people either follow up three times in a week or never follow up at all. Both come from the same place: treating the follow-up as a nag rather than a second favour.

The interval

Three to four weeks between touches is long enough that you are not applying pressure and short enough that they still remember you. For slow-cycle work — coaching, fractional roles — six weeks is better.

What goes in it

Never "just bumping this." Come back with something new: an article that is genuinely relevant to the thing they mentioned, an answer to a question they have since asked, a note that their competitor just did the thing they were considering.

When to stop

Three useful touches with no response means the timing is wrong, not that you need a fourth. Move them to a dormant status and come back in six months. The list is not scarce; your reputation is.

In Leadhabit: set the date when you close the tab, not later. The Due view shows only what is actually due, so the list stays short enough to clear.

Start the habit this week.

Install it, run one search, and save five people. That is the whole first session.