Posted on January 13, 2026

Have you ever sent a great proposal or had a fantastic first meeting with a lead only to hear nothing but crickets afterward? 

You send one email or leave one voicemail and when they do not reply you think they must not be interested. You decide to move on because you do not want to be annoying.

If this sounds like you then you are leaving a massive amount of money on the table. In the world of real estate, mortgage loans, auto loans, and general sales, there is a very specific science to winning. 

That science tells us one clear thing: The fortune is in the fifth follow up.

The Math of Quitting Too Soon

The statistics in the sales world are shocking. Study after study shows that:

• 48 percent of sales people never follow up even once.
• 80 percent of sales happen between the fifth and twelfth contact.

Think about that for a second. If you stop after two or three tries you are quitting right before the finish line.

You are doing all the hard work of finding the lead but you are letting someone else take the profit because they were willing to stay in the game longer than you. This applies whether you are selling a house, a car, a loan, or a software product.

Why Most People Stop (And Why They Are Wrong)

Most professionals stop following up because they are afraid of being a pest. They do not want to be that pushy person who keeps calling. But there is a huge difference between being a pest and being a professional.

A pest asks for things. They say things like "Did you read my email yet?" or "Are you ready to buy?"

A professional provides value. They stay on the radar by being helpful. When you change your approach from "checking in" to "adding value" the fear of being annoying completely disappears.

How to Follow Up Without Being Annoying

To reach that fifth follow up and beyond you need a strategy that makes the client happy to hear from you. Here is how you do it:

1. The Value Add Method Never send a message that only asks for a status update. Instead send something useful.

• For Real Estate: Send a link to a new school report for the neighborhood they liked.
• For Mortgage Loans: Send a quick update on a small shift in interest rates that benefits them.
• For Auto Loans: Send a video showing a cool feature on the specific car they tested.
• For General Sales: Send a case study or a testimonial from a client who had a similar problem.

2. Change the Channel Do not just send five emails. If they do not reply to an email try a text message. If they do not reply to a text try a quick video message or a phone call. People have different preferences for how they communicate. You might find they were just too busy to type an email but are happy to answer a quick text.

3. Use a System Instead of Your MemoryThe biggest reason follow ups fail is not a lack of will but a lack of organization. You cannot rely on your brain to remember to call someone for the seventh time three weeks from now. You must use a calendar or a tracking system. If it is not scheduled it does not exist.

Persistence is a Service

When you follow up you are actually providing a service. Your clients are busy. They have jobs and kids and stress. They might really want to work with you but they simply forgot or got distracted. By staying in touch you are making their life easier by keeping their goals front and center.

If you want to join the top tier of high earners in the sales world you must commit to the long game. Stop quitting at two. Reach for five and watch your business transform.