How Many Times You Should Follow Up (and Why Most MSPs Quit Too Soon)

“I tried that. It didn’t work.”

I ran an MSP for years, and I heard that sentence constantly. Honestly, I probably said it myself a few times early on. And I get it because when you send a proposal, follow up once, and hear nothing back, it feels reasonable to move on. But that sentence has killed more MSP growth than bad clients or bad tools ever could.

Most of the time “it didn’t work” actually means “I stopped too soon.”

No Response Doesn’t Mean No

There’s a follow-up myth floating around this industry that sounds completely logical: if they’re interested, they’ll respond. I believed it once too.

No response usually means bad timing, or they’re heads-down on something else, or they’re just human and they forgot. You’re not selling printer paper, you’re asking someone to hand over the keys to their business! That decision takes time. Quitting after one voicemail was never enough.

The Number That Surprises Most MSPs

When I tell MSPs how many touches it actually takes to close a deal, they usually go quiet for a second.

Seven to twelve. Sometimes more. I’ve had MSP clients come back a full year after our first conversation and say “okay, we’re ready now.” Not because I said something different. The timing just finally caught up. The MSP who wins that deal is the one who stayed visible long enough to be there when it did.

The Three Phases (and Where Most MSPs Disappear)

Phase One: Immediate Follow-Up

This is the follow-up after your proposal, within a couple of days. Most MSPs do this part. It’s professional, it confirms a next step, and if you had a real conversation with someone, you BETTER have this follow-up. But it’s not enough on its own.

Phase Two: Weeks Two Through Six

This is where most MSPs go silent. And it’s exactly where a lot of deals actually get decided.

Weeks two through six are for educating, not chasing. Share an insight. Send a relevant case study. Tell them something they didn’t know about their situation. “Just checking in” is what everyone else does, and everyone else gets ignored. Give them a reason to remember you, and you stop being forgettable.

When MSPs vanish during this window, they hand the deal to whoever stayed consistent.

Phase Three: Months Two Through Twelve

Almost no one makes it here!

They haven’t decided yet. They’re still thinking. Your job in this phase is to stay visible without being annoying: keep educating, keep nurturing, keep talking about what’s happening in the world of cybersecurity and cloud and business.

If months of follow-up sounds excessive, you’re underestimating how distracted your prospects are. When they leave your meeting, they walk straight into twelve other problems. They’re human!

Every Follow-Up Needs a Reason to Exist

None of this works if every message sounds the same. “Just checking in” is not a follow-up strategy; it’s a way to teach prospects to ignore you.

Every touch should bring something: a question, a story, a case study, a piece of news that actually applies to their industry. You’re offering information, not asking for permission. They probably won’t reply saying “okay, I’m ready now!” But you will be top of mind when something breaks, when their backups fail, when they get a security scare, or when they grow past what their current IT setup can handle.

Your job is to be the last MSP they talked to before that moment arrives.

What Staying in the Game Actually Looks Like

Picture two MSPs calling the same prospect. One follows up twice and moves on. The other follows up consistently for months. The second one wins: it really is that simple!

Your Challenge for This Week

Pull your pipeline right now. Find five prospects you followed up with fewer than five times. Build a simple follow-up plan for each one, even if it’s just a reminder to send something relevant in two weeks.

At Cloud Services for MSPs, we work with MSPs every day who are trying to grow, and the ones who are winning are almost always the ones who stayed present longer than everyone else. If you want to talk about how we support that kind of growth, reach out anytime.

Today’s quote is from Thomas Edison: “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Have a great week and weekend!