Stop “Just Checking In”

When a prospect says, “Not now,” and we promise that we’ll reconnect in a week or a month or more, it’s so tempting to lead our follow-up communication with “Just checking in.” It’s a simple yet problematic phrase, and there are much better ways to restart your conversation.

To start, the word ‘just’ puts you in a one-down position. It sounds like you're worried about being a pest. You could eliminate the pandering ‘just’ and say, “I’m checking in,” but even that is an easy-to-ignore phrase.

“Just checking in” can also overwhelm. There wasn’t a mutual agreement with your prospect as to when the follow-up would happen; the attempt to reconnect is 100% coming from you, and there’s nothing defined going forward. The open-endedness of “Just checking in” might suggest that you’re going to keep following up over and over, which we typically do when we're not disciplined about direct communication and defining clear next steps.

If your prospect says, “You know, now isn't a good time” as opposed to a schedule-specific response like, “I'll be ready to reconnect in a month,” try to get some sort of engagement or commitment so that when you do follow-up, it's mutually agreed upon. To that end, I like to provide options, e.g., “We can set up a time for 30 days now, then I'll check in as we get closer.”

Another option: I leave it more open with, “I can follow up in 30 days to see where you're at and whether it makes sense to schedule time to talk further.” If they say, “Yes, please reach out to me then, that would be great,” my intro, 30 days later, is, “I’m following up per our last conversation.” It puts some onus on the prospect as opposed to me hounding them.

So, here’s your prompt: remove “just checking in” from your lexicon. If your prospect’s answer is, “No, not right now,” agree to a timeline for your follow-up and reach out accordingly. Always come from a position of strength—stay strong, be clear, don't chase.

Onward.

Tom