More than one, which is where most businesses stop, and fewer than the number that gets you reported as spam. A workable cadence is five to seven attempts across two to three weeks, spread over text, phone and email, each one carrying something new rather than repeating "just checking in."
Why does one attempt lose so much?
Because "no reply" is almost never "no". The person was driving, was at work, was waiting on a spouse, or got three quotes and is comparing them slowly. None of those states is a rejection, and all of them look identical to one from your side of the conversation.
A business that treats silence as a decision is letting the customer's schedule make its sales decisions. The lead was already paid for — the second, third and fourth attempts cost essentially nothing by comparison.
What does a workable cadence look like?
| When | Channel | What it should carry |
|---|---|---|
| Immediately | Text + email + call attempt | Name the business, ask one qualifying question |
| Same day, a few hours later | Text | Offer specific times, not "when suits you" |
| Day 2 | Call | A real attempt at a different hour than the first |
| Day 4 | Something useful — what the job involves, what it typically costs | |
| Day 7 | Text | A direct, easy-to-answer question: still looking, or sorted? |
| Day 14 | Close the loop politely and say the door is open | |
| Day 21+ | Nurture | Occasional, low-frequency, opt-out honoured immediately |
The pattern that matters more than the exact days: decreasing frequency, changing channel, and something new each time.
What should each message actually say?
The rule that does the most work: every follow-up must be answerable in one thumb-tap. "Let me know if you're still interested" asks the customer to compose a reply, weigh it, and choose a tone. "Still need the roof looked at — Thursday 9am or Friday 2pm?" asks them to pick a letter.
Three things separate a follow-up that gets a reply from one that gets ignored:
- It is specific. Name the job and the address you already have. A message that could have been sent to anyone reads as a blast.
- It carries something forward. A time, a price range, what the visit involves, an answer to the question they are probably weighing. Not "checking in."
- It has one obvious next action. One question, one option pair, one link. Two asks in one message halves the reply rate.
And the closing message matters more than people expect. "I'll stop chasing — if it comes back around, we're here" gets replies precisely because it removes the pressure, and it leaves the relationship intact for the next time the problem appears.
When should you stop?
Immediately on a STOP, an unsubscribe, or a clear "not interested" — and that is a permanent, system-wide suppression, not a note on one record. Carriers enforce opt-out on text, and repeat sends to an opted-out number put your whole 10DLC registration at risk, not just that conversation.
Also stop when the message stops carrying anything. The fourth "just checking in" is not persistence; it is noise, and it teaches the person to ignore your number.
Why this has to be automated
Not because people cannot follow up, but because they cannot follow up consistently while doing the actual work. Cadences die in busy weeks — exactly the weeks with the most leads in them.
A sequence that runs on its own does not have busy weeks. GRIFFAIN's Never-Miss-A-Lead includes the follow-up sequence alongside the initial response, and every reply lands back in one thread.
Questions owners actually ask
How many times should you follow up with a lead?
Five to seven attempts across two to three weeks, spread across text, phone and email, with decreasing frequency and something new in each message. One attempt, which is where most businesses stop, is where most pipeline is lost.
Is following up multiple times annoying?
Not if each message carries something new and the frequency decreases. What annoys people is repetition — a fourth "just checking in" with no new information teaches them to ignore your number.
When should I stop following up?
Immediately on a STOP, unsubscribe or clear rejection, applied as a permanent system-wide suppression. Carriers enforce text opt-out, and repeat sends to an opted-out number put your entire 10DLC registration at risk.
Read next: which channel to use · texting compliance.