Following Up Too Much Is Costing You Deals

Hey there,

Kevin here from Astris Partners with something that might surprise you about cold email.

Most people think they're not following up enough. They send 5, 7, sometimes 10+ follow-up emails because they heard persistence wins deals.

The data from cold outreach tells a completely different story.

What Actually Happens in Cold Email

We tracked response patterns across thousands of cold email campaigns. Here's what we found: 87% of all responses come within the first 2 emails.

Not the third email. Not the fifth. The first two.

That means if someone's going to respond to your cold outreach, they almost always do it after your initial email or your first follow-up. Everything after that? You're mostly just annoying people and hurting your deliverability.

The Deliverability Problem

Here's what nobody talks about: longer sequences kill your sender reputation.

When you send 7+ emails to people who clearly aren't interested, you're training email providers that you send unwanted messages. Your spam complaints increase. Future emails start landing in spam, even for people who might actually want to hear from you.

You're destroying tomorrow's results to squeeze a few extra replies today.

The Better Approach for Cold Outreach

Keep sequences short. 2-3 emails maximum.

Email 1: Your initial outreach with clear relevance

Email 2: Short follow-up with different angle or additional context

Email 3 (optional): One-liner like "Is there another colleague who'd be better to have this conversation?"

That's it. If they haven't responded by email 3, move on.

Why Short Follow-Ups Work Better

Your follow-ups need to be brief. One-liners typically perform best.

These work because they're easy to read and easy to respond to. When you write paragraphs explaining value again, it feels pushy and gets ignored.

The Recycling Strategy

Here's where this gets interesting. Short sequences mean you can recycle your list every 6-8 weeks.

The people who didn't respond? Maybe they were busy, dealing with other priorities, or your timing was off.

Wait 6-8 weeks, verify the data is still valid, and start fresh with a completely different angle or approach.

Because you're using multiple mailboxes with proper rotation, they won't even realize it's another sequence from you. It'll look like a fresh, relevant email addressing a different aspect of their business.

What This Means Practically

Stop doing: 7-email sequences that drag on for weeks

Start doing: 2-3 email sequences, then recycle the list every 6-8 weeks with completely different messaging

The benefit: Better deliverability, higher response rates, and you can test multiple messaging approaches on the same prospects over time

A Quick Clarification

I'm talking specifically about cold email outreach here. Once someone responds and you've had a call, that's different. Those leads need consistent follow-up and nurturing.

This advice is purely for the initial cold outreach phase before any real conversation happens.

Why People Resist This

The pushback I always get: "But what if they respond to email 7?"

Sure, occasionally someone responds late. But you're sacrificing deliverability and annoying 99% of your list to catch that 1%.

It's bad math.

Those late responders? You'll catch them when you recycle the list in 6-8 weeks anyway. And your emails will actually land in their inbox because you haven't destroyed your sender reputation with 10 unwanted emails.

The Real Win

Shorter sequences with list recycling give you something long sequences never will: multiple chances to test different messaging.

Instead of hammering the same angle 10 times, you can test 3-4 completely different approaches over a few months. Each time with a clean 2-3 email sequence that protects your deliverability.

You learn faster what resonates. You maintain inbox placement. You don't burn prospects by being the person who won't take a hint.

The Bottom Line

Following up on cold email is important. Following up too much is killing your results.

If someone's going to respond to cold outreach, they'll do it in the first 2 emails. Everything after that is lowering your deliverability and training email providers that you send spam.

Keep sequences short, protect your sender reputation, and recycle lists with fresh angles every 6-8 weeks. That's how you scale cold email without destroying your infrastructure.

Talk soon,

Kevin

P.S. If you're currently running 7+ email sequences in your cold outreach and wondering why deliverability keeps dropping, this is probably why. Book a strategy call with me and I'll show you how to restructure your approach for better results without the spam risk.