Ugh, I'm knee-deep in prepping for two new business growth classes to kick off on Monday and I am S-T-R-E-S-S-E-D!

I'm reliant on others to set up key aspects of the course, including several guest expert sessions.

On the one hand, that's really helpful.

But, on the other, it means I'm not in control of my schedule and don't know what speaker slots are available for the experts I'm reaching out to.

So, it's kind of like being an airplane pilot forced to circle above the tarmac until a gate opens up.

The other thing that's been going on is that several experts I reached out to last week didn't get back to me.

When I followed up with them this week, it turns out they'd missed my original outreach.

Which brings me to an age-old question I'm frequently asked:

When/How do you follow-up without coming off as pushy, aggressive, or like a nudge?

I'll be honest with you. I've agonized over this myself more times than I care to admit, but here are some things that have helped me get over myself and hit that 'send' button anyway:

1. As long as you're giving folks enough time to respond, there's nothing wrong with a little poke to spur someone to action.
2. Frame your follow-up with kindness and humility. I like to assume folks either didn't get my original message or it got lost in their inbox or (perhaps) spam folder.
3. Time the frequency/insistence of your follow-up with the urgency of your message and need for response. This is a delicate balance between how both you and the recipient view these factors.
4. Consider the days and times when your contact might have more capacity to view your message and respond immediately so you maximize the odds of a reply.
5. I often include a 'please let me know either way by [date]' in my original outreach, which gives me a built-in trigger for following up with folks.

The truth is, many people are grateful you're staying on top of things and willing to follow up, even where proposals and potential work is involved.

We're all busy and more distracted than ever. Most people don't mean to drop the ball or ghost others.

And while I'd love to say that I've never been a perpetrator of this kind of behavior, I'd be lying.

Sometimes, our best intentions aren't enough and things do slip through those cracks.

So, if you're wondering whether you should remind someone you're still out here waiting on their reply, the answer is a resounding absolute YES.

You really have nothing to lose.

Until next time,

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P.S. If you missed it, last week I explained why there's no choice between Good, Fast, Cheap.
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