The Key to High-Impact Follow-Ups

You’ve landed on the 73rd edition of The CRE Agents' Weekly. We provide specific and tactical advice for commercial real estate agents, brokers and leaders who are committed to accelerating their revenue and achieving a higher level of motivation.

This is the third in a four-part series of articles covering the topic of prospecting.

The Key to High-Impact Follow-Ups

Follow-ups are the backbone of successful prospecting. But far too often, agents make one or two attempts and then give up, assuming the prospect isn’t interested.

In reality, it can take 7 to 13 touchpoints to break through the noise and get a meaningful response.

This is where building a well-structured cadence comes into play—a sequence of touchpoints that keeps you top-of-mind and positions you as a valuable resource.

What is a Prospecting Cadence?

A cadence is a systematic rhythm of outreach designed to connect with a prospect across multiple channels over time. It gets you beyond just making random follow-ups, creating a deliberate pattern of calls, emails, messages, and social media touches. Each interaction builds on the previous one, driving engagement and fostering trust.

The key to an effective cadence is timing and variety. Different touchpoints at different intervals help to engage with a prospect without overwhelming them. An example might include:

• Day 1: Call + Leave a voicemail (2 touchpoints)
• Day 2: Follow up with an email (1 touchpoint)
• Day 5: Call (1 touchpoint)
• Day 8: Interact with their social media (1 touchpoint)
• Day 10: Call + Leave a voice mail + email (3 touchpoints)

This example contains 8 touchpoints over 10 days. The goal is to progress the relationship step-by-step—not to close the deal immediately, but to open a conversation and move the prospect toward the next stage.

Crafting a Cadence that Works

1. Segment Your Prospects by Type Cadences should vary depending on the type of prospect. A referred contact might receive more personalised touches than a cold lead. Similarly, the cadence for a past client will differ from that of a brand-new prospect. Tailor your outreach to fit the context and relationship level.
2. Balance Persistence with Value Persistence is essential, but it’s not about bombarding people. Instead, each touchpoint should aim to offer value—whether it’s sharing an insight, providing helpful information, or referencing a relevant trigger. This keeps your outreach relevant and positions you as a trusted advisor rather than just another salesperson.
3. Multi-Channel Approach Using multiple communication channels—such as phone, email, social media, and text (if you’ve previously connected with the person)—creates a more comprehensive strategy. Prospects are more likely to engage if they see your outreach – and this is more likely to occur when you reach out across various platforms. For instance, after a phone call, send a follow-up email referencing your conversation. Or, after engaging with a LinkedIn post, send the person a DM.

Persistence Builds Trust

Persistence in follow-ups demonstrates your commitment and reliability. If prospects see that you’re willing to stay engaged over time, they’ll be more inclined to view you as a serious professional worth working with.

It’s also important to overcome the fear of seeming too persistent. In most cases, a lack of follow-up sends the opposite signal—that the opportunity isn’t worth your time or effort. Take the view that the prospect is just busy, and your job is to remind them of the opportunity. It’s their job to tell you if their not interested.

Accelerate Cadences with Back-to-Back Touchpoints

One strategy to speed up the cadence process is to use multiple touchpoints on the same day. For example, after calling and leaving a voicemail, immediately send a follow-up email:

"Hi Chris

I just left you a message about [trigger].

I’ll be available between 3 and 5 PM today if you’d like to chat, or let me know if there’s a better time later this week.

Looking forward to connecting soon.

Best regards

Darren"

This reinforces your effort, reduces the likelihood they’ve missed your attempts, and increases the likelihood of a response. Combining touchpoints—such as a call and voicemail, followed by an email—can reduce the total number of days required to get through the typical 7 to 13 touchpoints.

Track and Adjust Your Cadences

Tracking your cadences using a CRM helps you stay organised and measure effectiveness. Pay attention to what works—whether it’s certain times of day, specific messaging styles, or particular channels.

Over time, you’ll identify patterns that help refine your outreach strategy. Adjust your cadence based on the responses you receive, and don’t be afraid to try new approaches.

Why Cadences Lead to Better Results

At the heart of every successful cadence is the principle of consistency over time. Even when you don’t get immediate responses, staying visible and persistent keeps you top-of-mind when the prospect is ready to engage. Moreover, cadences help you build familiarity and trust—two key elements in turning prospects into clients.

By being intentional with your follow-ups and leveraging multiple channels, you can create a cadence that works for you. This approach increases your chances of connecting with prospects, nurtures existing relationships, and ultimately leads to more meaningful conversations that drive opportunities forward.

Final Thoughts

Building a thoughtful cadence is essential to overcoming the challenges of prospecting. It ensures that your outreach efforts are structured, measured, and effective.

Whether you’re dealing with cold leads, referrals, or past clients, the right cadence keeps you in control and helps you progress toward your goals.

Don’t leave follow-ups to chance. Design a cadence that reflects your strategy, offers value, and demonstrates persistence.

With a well-planned cadence, you can transform your follow-ups into high-impact touchpoints that deliver long-term success.

MAKE PROSPECTING AS SIMPLE AS ABC

If you’re reading this, you’re obviously interested in upleveling your prospecting skills.

In?The A to Z of Commercial Real Estate Prospecting , I’ve summarised some of the long-standing principles of prospecting that remain true to this day.

The guide covers the latest approaches that help modern sales professionals to be nimbler, with greater relevance.

It also contains the actions you need to take, and the attributes you must adopt while taking them.

To up streamline your prospecting process, upskill your approach and increase your conversions, just follow this free guide ...it's been prepared especially for commercial real estate professionals just like you!

And finally…

Stay committed.

Remain committed to your goals. The quickest way to not achieve your goals is to give up on them. Commitment drives success.

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About the author

Darren Krakowiak is the Founder of?CRE Success ?and the author of?The CRE Agents’ Weekly?on LinkedIn. He works closely with commercial real estate principals to accelerate growth in their business. CRE Success has a program for commercial real estate agents who want to invest in their own success. Darren is also the host of?Commercial Real Estate Leadership .