When should you stop following up?

Have you ever wondered whether to keep following up with a contact?

One of our Accelerator participants shared that they had been talking to one of their contacts for some time. They had interesting conversations, shared valuable thoughts, and always followed up with something relevant. 

But they couldn't see where that relationship was going. 

If you have a contact like that, your instinct might be to stop. But a 2025 analysis from 6sense demands a different conclusion. 

The study covered 18.8 million prospect accounts tracked by 594 companies. Roughly 60% of accounts were dormant. Not dead, just not in a buying window. Another 34% were in consideration, while only 6% were in active decision mode.

The question that comes to mind is: before you decide to stop altogether, how much time does this relationship need from you anyway?

When deprioritizing a relationship, you're not giving up on them. You're just shifting your focus towards contacts with a current need. 

Here is something to try 15 minutes each week this month. Pull up your contact list and sort every one of them into each of these three lists:

• Active: Contacts with an active matter, or a strong relationship access
• Keep warm: Contacts who are a strong fit but have no immediate need
• Stay connected: Contacts worth keeping in your network with quarterly check-ins

And when someone mentions a problem you could help with, reconsider their priority.

The Accelerator is where this becomes a system instead of a one-time-exercise. 

Best, 
Anja Kreutzahler
CEO & Founder of peakleap

P.S. Reconsidering your priorities doesn't mean deleting a contact.