How to Use Follow-Up to Gauge Negotiation Interest

Most seller-experts freeze up at follow-up. Not because they don’t know what to do. Because they're afraid.. "What if I'm bothering them?" That fear has quietly killed more deals than bad pricing ever could. Here’s what I’ve learned after 20+ years: Silence doesn’t feel respectful. It feels like abandonment. When you go quiet, clients often assume: ❌ You found something better ❌ You weren’t that interested ❌ You’ve already moved on Meanwhile, the data reminds us: ➟ 80% of sales need five or more follow-ups ➟ 44% of professionals stop after just one Your competitor? Still showing up. The truth is, being strategically helpful is never annoying. But going dark usually is. Here are 7 follow-up moves that add value instead of noise: 1/ Share a Fresh Insight “Saw how [competitor] tackled [specific challenge]. Three smart ideas you could borrow...” 2/ Ask a Sharp Question “How’s [initiative] progressing since we last spoke?” 3/ Highlight a Win “Just helped [company] cut [metric] by 30%. The surprising unlock? [insightful tactic].” 4/ Offer a No-Pressure Give “I’ve got 15 mins Thursday. Want to see what worked for [peer org]?” 5/ Reconnect Through a Connector “[Mutual contact] mentioned you’re focused on X. I know someone who cracked that. Want an intro?” 6/ Use a Trigger Event “Saw the [trigger] news. 3 competitors noticed too. Here’s what they might miss.” 7/ Close with Clarity and Warmth “Sounds like Q4 is tight. I’ll check back Jan 15 when you’re planning next year. Sound good?” Every follow-up is a choice. Be forgotten. Or be invaluable. Your prospects are juggling more than ever. They need what you have. But they won’t chase you for it. So pick one stalled opportunity. Make one thoughtful move. Today. Because while others are hesitating, you’re building trust. It’s always your move. Share this to help someone in your network.

Business Development has its own Breaking Bad moment. Remember how Walt and Jesse would cook, then wait? That anxious period between production and distribution... BD deals have the same chemistry. Hot activity up front. Explosive results at the end. But that middle stretch? Pure tension and uncertainty. I call this "The Heisenberg Phase" where you're not sure if the deal is cooking or contaminated. And it's where most partnerships are actually won or lost. Nobody prepares you for this part of BD. You nail the intro call. You send the follow-up. Then... silence. Is the partner still interested? Did they find someone else? Should you follow up again or give them space? The discomfort of this uncertainty pushes most BD people into one of two mistakes: 1️⃣ Over-communicating: Bombarding the prospect with "just checking in" messages that reek of desperation 2️⃣ Under-communicating: Waiting so long that momentum dies and the opportunity goes cold Both kill deals. I've learned this the hard way after watching countless partnerships slip away during this silent phase. Here's what I've found actually works: 🔹 Set clear next steps at the end of EVERY interaction Don't end any call without clarity on who does what next. "I'll send over that one-pager and then follow up next Thursday" is more powerful than any sales technique. 🔹 Use the silent period to strengthen your position While waiting, do the internal work. Align your teams. Clarify your value proposition. Understand their business better. When communication resumes, you'll be in a stronger position. 🔹 Follow the 3-7-7 rule for follow-ups Wait 3 days after your initial meeting, then 7 days for your second follow-up and then 7 days for your final attempt. Each follow-up should add new value, an insight, relevant news, or useful resource. 🔹 Read between the lines "We're still discussing internally" usually means they have objections they're not sharing. Instead of just waiting, try: "I understand internal discussions take time. What specific concerns are coming up that I might be able to address?" Stalled deals aren't necessarily dead deals. They're just in the Heisenberg Phase. And just like with Walt and Jesse, how you handle this phase determines if you're building an empire or just another cook. #businessdevelopment #partnerships #strategy #sales

Here's exactly how I structure my follow-ups to stop deals from slipping or ghosting at the last minute. Buyers ask themselves 5 crucial questions before they spend money. So we match our follow ups to each different question of the buying journey. The questions: 1/ "Do we Have a Problem or Goal that we Urgently need help with?" Follow up examples: Thought Leadership emphasizing the size / importance of the problem. Things like articles from Forbes, McKinsey, HBR or an industry specific publication. Screenshots, summations or info-graphics. NOT LINKS. No one reads them. 2/ "What's out there to Solve the Problem? How do Vendors differ?" Follow up examples: Sample RFP templates with pre-filled criteria. Easy to read buying guides. Especially if written by a 3rd party. 3/ "What Exactly do we need this Solution to do? Who do we feel good about?" Follow up examples: 3 bullets of criteria your Buyers commonly use during evaluations (especially differentiators.) Here's example wording I've used at UserGems 💎: "Thought you might find it helpful to see how other companies have evaluated tools to track their past champions. Their criteria are usually: *Data quality & ROI potential *Security (SOC2 type 2 and GDPR) *How easy or hard is it to take action: set up/training, automation, playbooks Cheers!" 4/ "Is the Juice worth the Squeeze - both $$$ & Time?" Follow up examples: Screenshots of emails, texts or DMs from customers talking about easy set up. Love using ones like the Slack pictured here. Feels more organic and authentic than a marketing case study. 5/ "What's next? How will this get done?" Follow up examples: Visual timelines Introductions to the CSM/onboard team Custom/short videos from CSM leadership When we tailor our follow ups to answer the questions our Buyers are asking themselves - Even (especially!) the subconscious ones Our sales cycles can be smoother, faster and easier to forecast. Buyer Experience > Sales Stages What's your best advice for how to follow up? ps - If you liked this breakdown, join 6,000+ other sellers getting value from my newsletter. Details on my website!