This is a 3-part blog series for founders and salespeople:

• Part 1: No Leads

• Part 2: Not Closing

• Part 3: Not Following Up <-- you are here

This is one of the strongest B2B markets we’ve seen in years.

Despite the noise, 2025 is a goldmine for founders who know how to close.

🔥 80% of deals now require 5–12 touchpoints before closing. (Brevet Group)

🔥 Sales teams that follow up consistently outperform others by 47%.(Invesp, 2024)

🔥 57% of buyers say a timely, relevant follow-up influenced their decision to say yes. (HubSpot, 2023 State of Sales)

And yet… here’s the missed opportunity:

❌ 44% of founders give up after just one follow-up. (Salesforce)

Not because they’re lazy.

But because they don’t know how to ask for the sale without sounding pushy.

They don’t have a follow-up script for sales that feels natural.

They don’t know how to get prospects to make a decision without pressure.

And so the deal dies—not in the pitch…

…but in the silence that follows.

He Was 3 Words Away from Breakthrough.

Darren finally made progress.

After fixing his cold outreach and dialing in his pitch, he was getting meetings. The right kind. Decision-makers. Budget holders. Real prospects.

He was pitching with confidence. Explaining his product clearly. Ending every call with a smile.

But then came the part that no one trained him for:

The follow-up.

“What do I say in a follow-up email?”

“I don’t want to sound pushy.”

“What if I ruin it by reaching out too soon?”

So he’d stall.

Then guess.

Then send a short line like:

“Just checking in. Let me know what you think!”

And just like that—ghosted.

(missing revenue targets? this is for you)

In 2025, Ignore is the New Black

Buyers are buried in SaaS tools, AI offers, funding decks, endless choices.

According to Yesware (2024):

• The average cold email reply rate is just 1.2%

• A second email (aka follow-up) gets 4.1x more replies—but only when it’s personal, emotional, and framed with relevance

• Only 24% of sales emails are even opened if they start with “Just checking in”

Translation:

You’re not "annoying" them.

You’re just not breaking through.

Ghosting doesn’t mean they weren’t interested.

It means your message wasn’t clear, urgent, or memorable enough.

This is the startup sales follow-up problem that no one teaches.

Darren almost missed his massive opportunity

Every time a call ended with:

“Sounds good, we’ll sync internally.”

“Let me check with my team.”

“We’ll think about it.”

He froze.

Because he didn’t know how to move them from “maybe” to “let’s do it.”

While most founders are quietly giving up after the first message…

The buyers are still open. Still deciding. Still waiting.

All they need is one founder who knows what to say.

He was one message away from losing a $16K annual deal.

But this time, he didn’t send “Just checking in.”

And in 36 hours, the reply came in:

“Hey Darren—great timing. Let’s move forward.”

🎯 Want some help?

If you want someone to walk through what’s really going on in your revenue problems—and how to shift it

👇 I’ve set time for a few discovery call slots. and on the call we will do 3 things:

🟢 Find your blindspots and get total clarity to remove your confusion

🟢 fix the root cause that's holding you back

🟢 Create a custom step-by-step plan to turn on the "revenue tap" in the next 100 days

👉 Book your discovery call here

🔍 FAQ Summary

Q: Why can’t I close sales?

Most founders assume it’s a pricing or product problem. But in reality, it’s often a sequence issue—especially when the conversation dies right after the pitch. The close doesn’t fail at the end. It fails 3 steps before—when no urgency, no emotion, and no consequence was introduced.

Q: Why your startup isn’t converting leads

It’s not because your offer isn’t valuable. It’s because buyers can’t feel the cost of inaction. Most lead conversion issues come down to unclear risk framing, over-education, and lack of guided decisions during the conversation.

Q: Why do my sales calls end with “I’ll think about it”?

That phrase isn’t indecision—it’s avoidance. Founders often hear this when the buyer doesn’t feel safe enough to say no, or the conversation didn’t surface real stakes. It’s a sign your pitch didn’t create a moment that demanded a decision.

Q: Why can’t I close high ticket clients?

High-ticket buyers need more than logic—they need certainty. If you’re struggling to close big deals, the problem usually isn’t value—it’s authority. When buyers don’t feel led, they delay. Or disappear.

Q: What’s missing from most startup sales closing techniques?

Founders are taught to explain and educate, not to provoke or lead. That’s why many startup closing techniques fall flat: they sound helpful… but don’t create pressure or clarity. Buyers walk away informed—but not committed.

Q: What’s the flaw in my founder sales strategy?

Most founder-led sales strategies rely on product knowledge, not persuasion. If you’re explaining more than you’re guiding, the strategy may be positioning you as a peer—not a trusted leader.

Q: How do follow-up problems kill deals after a great sales call?

The follow-up is where buyers make their real decision—but most founders treat it like an afterthought. Weak or vague follow-ups signal indecision and lower perceived value. Silence isn’t rejection—it’s feedback that the message didn’t land.

Q: What to say in a follow-up email—but never do?

Most follow-ups fail because they’re safe, polite, and vague. Lines like “just checking in” or “circling back” feel invisible in a crowded inbox. The real problem isn’t timing—it’s tone, tension, and clarity.

Q: How to increase close rate without coming across as desperate?

Founders often pull back to avoid being “salesy,” but in doing so, they also avoid clarity. Low close rates don’t come from too much pressure—but from too little leadership. When there’s no clear call to action, buyers delay.