Good Morning. It's December 23rd, the day before Christmas Eve, and if you're actually getting responses from prospects today, consider yourself one of the lucky ones. Most decision-makers checked out last Friday, and the ones still answering emails are probably doing it from their in-laws' couch. Maybe treat yourself to a Starbucks with that $5 gift card you won from the Q3 spiff. We'll be taking Thursday off for Christmas, but we'll be back to our normal schedule next week. Now, let's get into today's Follow Up. (:
How to find the decision gap📩
The December question that keeps deals from stalling 👀
The one-liner that saved 2 deals from being pushed to Q1 🧠
Sales jobs & a meme 😂
Sales Tip of The Day 💡
When a prospect says, “we need to think about it,” clarify what the decision gap is.
❌ “Of course, take your time.”
✅ “What specifically needs to be true for this to become a yes?”
If you don’t know the gap, you don’t know what’s blocking your deal from closing.
Why is your AI so dumb?
Every AI sales tool promises better forecasts, better coaching, better everything.
But here's what they don't mention: AI is only as good as the data it runs on.
If your reps aren't updating your CRM (and let's be honest, they're not), those fancy insights are built on incomplete information. Leaving you to make decisions in the dark.
Forecasting based on hope instead of facts. Coaching on deals that died two weeks ago, while the real ones get ignored. This isn't just inconvenient. It's expensive.
Every day you're flying blind is costing you deals, and the longer you wait, the more revenue you're leaving on the table.
The Follow Up Method That Beats 7 Step Sequences
Picture this… you’ve identified the perfect account to go after, and you've done everything right.
Personalized subject lines. Thoughtful comments on their LinkedIn posts. A perfectly-timed sequence of follow-ups. You even referenced their recent funding round.
And yet, nothing but radio silence.
Your prospect is ignoring you because they've seen you so many times in their inbox that their brain automatically filters you out.
You've become predictable. And in sales, predictable isn’t always a good thing.
The psychology that tells people to ignore you
Back in 1968, a psychologist named Robert Zajonc made a simple discovery. Show people the same face repeatedly, and they start to like it more. Same with songs, brands, and even random shapes.
He called it the mere-exposure effect. The more you see something, the more you like it.
Sales leaders read this research and thought... "You mean if we just keep annoying our prospects, they’ll eventually like us? Brilliant!"
The 7-touch rule was born. Then the 10-touch rule. Entire software platforms built around automated cadences that ping prospects every three days like clockwork.
There's just one problem. They missed the fine print
The mere-exposure effect only works when the repeated exposure is neutral or mildly positive. And when there's some actual interaction happening.
When prospects see your name in their inbox seven times with zero engagement on their end, it’s not building familiarity. It’s training their brain to ignore you.
You've become wallpaper that they’ve learned to tune out.
The 7-touch trap
Here's what actually happens when you follow the standard playbook:
Touch 1: "Hmm, who's this?" Touch 2: "Oh, it's that sales rep." Touch 3-7: Brain activates auto-filter
Every email without a response starts to decrease your chances of breaking through.
Especially when most of those touches provide zero standalone value. "Just bumping this to the top of your inbox." "Circling back on my previous email." "Following up on my follow-up."
These follow ups are just reminders that you want something from them.
The Pattern Interrupt
The fix isn't to stop following up. It's to stop being predictable.
If you've sent three emails, change it up.
Send a handwritten note.
Record a 30-second video.
Find a mutual connection that can introduce you.
Research each prospect, find something genuinely useful, and send it in out-of-the box ways.
Or go completely dark after two emails. Three weeks later, come back with something newsworthy: a relevant case study, a competitive insight, proof you've been paying attention even while silent.
Channel-hop like your pipeline depends on it
Everyone does email → LinkedIn → email → phone → LinkedIn → email.
Prospects these days can tell when you added them to a sequence.
If you really want to stand out, meet them in person first. Grab coffee at a conference. Sit next to them at a panel. Have one real conversation.
Then follow up via email.
Suddenly, you're not a cold outreach. You're "that person I met in Austin."
If in-person isn't possible, find channels no one else is using. A handwritten card. A personalized landing page. A vibecoded game about them and their company. 👀
The specific channel matters less than the fact that you're doing things that others aren’t.
Make every touch worth their time
Ask yourself this before hitting send: Would this be valuable even if they never bought from me?
If the answer is no, delete it.
Send them a report that solves a problem they mentioned. Introduce them to a potential customer. Share a specific insight about their competitor's pricing. Not generic "thought leadership," fluff, but something that directly helps them.
Get them to move a muscle
Once a prospect replies, clicks, answers a question, anything… the psychology flips.
Now the mere-exposure effect starts working for you. You're not a stranger anymore. You're someone they've already interacted with. Their brain files you differently.
So create micro-interactions. Ask a question that takes 10 seconds to answer. Send a poll. Share a resource they can access without commitment.
Get them to do something, even if it's tiny.
What percentage of the prospects you reach out to actually respond?
