June. A prospect tells me: "Look, now's not a good time, call me back in September." I hang up happy. He didn't say no. September comes, then October. When I finally call, he says: "Oh right… January would be better, actually." I shared that scene on LinkedIn and hundreds of salespeople recognised themselves. Because we all have a graveyard of "call me back later" in our CRM. Here is the method I use today to follow up with a prospect without being pushy, and above all without losing them.
In short
To follow up with a prospect without being pushy, a date is not enough: you need a reason to call back. When they say "call me back in September", ask what happens in September, then write down the exact reason and a specific day. On the day, open your sales follow-up call by quoting what they told you ("you mentioned your budget review at the end of the summer"). Plan 4 to 6 attempts at different times, then close the loop. And if the prospect pushes back a second time with no new reason, it is a polite no: stop chasing and move on to someone with a real project.
Why "call me in September" almost always turns into "January would be better"
When I started out, I thought "call me back later" was worth half a meeting. In reality, it is often the politest way to end a call.
The classic scenario:
The prospect says "September" because it is far away and it ends the call nicely.
I write "Call back in September" in the CRM. Just that.
In September, I pick up 80 contacts with the same note. I no longer know who had a real project.
I call back with no angle: "You told me to call you back in September…"
The prospect, who does not remember me, pushes again: "January would be better."
My mistake: I had accepted a date with no reason attached. And a follow-up with no reason is a pushy follow-up, even when the timing is right.
Before you hang up: decode the "later"
Everything happens on the first call. When the prospect postpones, I ask one question, always the same:
"Sure, happy to. What happens in September?"
Their answer tells you which bucket they are in:
What the prospect says | What it means | What I do |
"We set the budget after the summer" | Real timing, tied to an event | Precise date, call before the event |
"Our current contract ends in December" | Real timing, clear deadline | Call two to three months before the deadline |
"We're hiring a sales manager" | Real timing, but not the right contact tomorrow | Ask who, and when they start |
"I don't know, we'll see" | No project | Qualify now, or close politely |
"My partner handles that" | Wrong contact | Ask for the name and call the partner, without waiting for September |
Then I lock in the date with the prospect instead of letting it happen to me:
"If I call you on Tuesday 8 September, late morning, after your budget meeting, does that work?"
It's concrete, and he knows why I'm calling. Most prospects say yes, because it is concrete. And when they hesitate to commit to anything, I have my answer: there is no project.
Write down the reason and the exact date (the note that saves your September)
The note you write as you hang up is half of your follow-up. Compare:
Useless note | Note that books a meeting |
Call back in September | Tue 8/09, 11 am. Budget review end of August. 4 reps, want 6. Blocker: HubSpot integration. |
Not the right time | Current contract until 31/12. Call back 1/10. Decides with the CFO (Claire). |
Interested, later | Hiring a head of sales, starting in October. Call mid-October, ask for their name. |
The four things I write down every time:
The precise date, with the time if the prospect gave one.
The reason for the delay, in their own words.
What I learned: team size, current tool, objection.
Who decides, if it is not the person I spoke to.
On callback day, that note takes me ten seconds to reread. For the full preparation of a callback (summary, objections, history), I follow the method in our article on calling prospects back.
The follow-up line that works on the phone
On the day, I never say "Just following up" or "Do you remember me?". The first sentence has to prove that I remember, and bring back their reason, not mine.
The callback on the agreed date
"Hi Mr Garnier, Cyriac from Flunter. We spoke in June, you told me the sales budget was being decided at the end of August and you wanted to go from four to six reps. Did it get signed off?"
He answers a question about his project. The conversation picks up where it left off.
When they push back again ("January would be better")
This is where most reps say "fine, I'll call you in January" and start the loop again. I dig once:
"OK, January it is. Just so I understand: in June, it was the budget review. What has changed since then?"
Two possible outcomes. Either there is a genuinely new reason ("we've frozen hiring until January"), and I reschedule with that reason. Or there is none, and I suggest checking together whether the topic is still live:
"Can I ask you straight, so I don't bother you for nothing: is this something for you this year, or should I leave you alone?"
That question feels scary. It works very well though: either the prospect opens up and explains the real blocker, or they say no, and you have just saved yourself time.
To structure the rest of the call once the conversation is back on, our cold call script guide gives the steps word for word.
Between calls: stay present without nagging
Between June and September, I do not leave a three-month gap. But I do not follow up every week "to check in" either. My rule: one touch a month at most, and only if it brings something.
What brings something:
An article or a figure about their problem, with one line of explanation.
A product update that answers the objection they gave me.
A case study from their industry.
What brings nothing:
"Just circling back to see where you are."
"Bumping this up!"
The same follow-up email everyone else gets.
If a message does not give the prospect a reason to be glad they got it, I do not send it. That is the difference between following up and being pushy.
How many follow-ups before you let go?
There is no magic number, but here is what I do, and what I see working for the reps I talk to:
Situation | Number of attempts | Pace |
Callback on an agreed date | 4 to 6 | On the day, then every 2 or 3 working days, at different times |
Prospect asked for information | 3 or 4 | Within 48 hours of sending it, then once a week |
First cold call, never reached | 5 to 6 | Over two to three weeks, mixing morning, lunchtime and late afternoon |
Second postponement with no new reason | 0 active follow-ups | Close the loop and plan a single touch several months later |
Varying the time slots matters more than the number of calls. Someone who never picks up at 10 am sometimes picks up at 6:15 pm. Our article on the best time to call B2B prospects gives benchmarks by day and hour.
When to let go (and how to do it cleanly)
Keeping 200 "maybes" in your active follow-ups: that's the real failure. It stops you from calling the people who actually have a project.
I take a contact out of my active follow-ups when:
They have postponed twice with no new reason.
They no longer pick up after all my attempts, at different times.
They said no, clearly. Then I log the no and I do not call again.
The person I speak to does not decide, and will not tell me who does.
Before letting go, I close the loop with a short text or email, no blame:
"Hi Mr Garnier, I haven't managed to reach you these past few weeks, I guess the topic isn't a priority right now. I won't chase you any further. If it comes back on the table, you have my number. Have a good day. Cyriac"
That message often brings back people who had gone quiet. And when it does not, I log the reason in the CRM with a clear status. No contact left floating.
Never forget a "call me in September" again
This whole method relies on one thing: not depending on your memory. Once you have 300 contacts to chase, your memory won't cut it.
That is where I use Flunter every day:
Tasks and reminders: I create the dated task when I log the call outcome, with the reason in the note.
Callback tasks: the dated task is created when I log the outcome. No more keeping callbacks in my head.
The AI summary of every call gives me June's context back in seconds, without replaying the recording.
The "call back" stage filter in the dialer pulls out exactly the contacts waiting for a callback.
Your CRM stays up to date: outcome, summary and tasks go back to HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Close, Boond Manager or Odoo (see integrations).
And when the day comes, I run my callbacks on the parallel dialer, up to 5 lines at once: I no longer spend my morning listening to September's 80 contacts ring, I only talk to the ones who pick up. It is all included in every plan, from €89 excl. VAT per licence per month, with a 7-day trial and no credit card (see pricing).
Read next: sales voicemail scripts and discovery questions.
Frequently asked questions
How do you follow up with a prospect without being pushy?
Give them a reason to be glad you called. Call back on the agreed date, quote what they told you last time (their project, their deadline, their objection) and bring something new. A content-free "just checking in" is what makes you pushy, not the number of calls.
How many times should you follow up with a prospect?
Usually 4 to 6 attempts after the agreed date, at different times, over three to four weeks. After a second postponement with no new reason, close the loop and take the contact out of your active follow-ups.
What do you say when a prospect says "call me back later"?
Ask what happens on that date: "What happens in September?". Their answer tells you whether there is a real project. Then set a specific day and time slot with them, and write down the reason.
Should you follow up by phone or by email?
By phone when the follow-up needs to move things forward: you get an answer straight away and you can dig. By email or SMS to send useful information between calls, or to close the loop.
How long should you wait between two sales follow-ups?
Whatever the prospect set, first. Without an agreed date, two to three working days between unanswered attempts, changing the time. Between two real conversations, one touch a month at most, and only if it brings something.
My takeaway
"Call me back in September" is neither a yes nor a no. It is a question you have not asked yet.
Ask it before you hang up, write down the real reason with a real date, call back using their words, and know when to let go once there is no reason left. You will follow up with fewer people, and close more of them.
So how many "call me back in September"s are gathering dust in your CRM right now?