How long should we follow up with a lead before giving up?

There is no single right answer, but there is one common mistake: giving up after two attempts.

Set a number and stick to it

Five to eight contact attempts over two to three weeks is a reasonable starting point. The key is to decide on the number in advance rather than having each salesperson guess.

Switch channels along the way

Five emails in a row are less effective than an email, a phone call, LinkedIn, and then another email. Using the same channel over and over comes across as noise.

Don't delete — move

Leads who don't respond now may be relevant in six months. Put them into a slow nurture sequence with marketing content rather than removing them.

Record why

No response is not the same as bad timing or the wrong person. If you distinguish between them, you can adjust your approach. Without a recorded reason, all you have is a number.