Module 5 of 7
Follow-up
The sequence, and where it ends.
Most people either follow up once and give up, or follow up so often that they become the thing being avoided. Both come from treating each message as a decision made in the moment, when the fix is to decide the sequence in advance and then simply run it.
A sequence that is neither pushy nor invisible: a short note a few days after sending, checking they received it and offering to answer anything. Then, about a week later, one that carries something useful rather than only a request — an answer to a question they raised, a relevant example, a note that a price is changing on a date. Then a longer gap and one final message that closes the loop honestly: "I am assuming this is not a priority at the moment, which is completely fine. I will stop chasing — do get in touch if that changes."
That last message is the one people skip and it does more work than the rest combined. It removes the awkwardness for someone who has decided against you and does not want to say so, it frequently produces the actual answer, and it lets you close the file honestly rather than carrying a maybe for six months. Silence is an answer. Three messages without a reply is a no, and treating it as one is a courtesy to both of you.
Decide the sequence in advance, make the middle message useful rather than a chase, and end with a message that lets them off the hook. Three unanswered is a no.