Hey,
Quick question:
How many people have said “not right now” to you in the last 6 months?
10? 20? 50?
Those aren’t dead leads. They’re future revenue sitting in your CRM doing nothing.
I’m going to show you exactly how we turned “not right now” into $47,000 in recovered revenue over 4 months.
THE PROBLEM WITH “NOT RIGHT NOW”
When someone says “not right now,” most business owners do one of two things:
Give up immediately (they said no, move on)
Follow up once or twice, then forget
Both are wrong.
“Not right now” is not “no.”
It means:
Bad timing (but timing changes)
Not enough trust yet (but trust can be built)
Not urgent enough (but urgency can be created)
Need to check with someone else (and they forgot)
These people already know you. They already talked to you. They already showed interest.
They’re 10x easier to close than a cold lead.
But you’re ignoring them.
THE NUMBERS
Here’s what we found when we audited one client’s pipeline:
127 “not right now” leads from the past 12 months
Average deal size: $3,500
Zero follow-up after the initial rejection
That’s $444,500 in potential revenue just sitting there.
We built a follow-up sequence. In 4 months:
47 leads re-engaged
13 became clients
Total revenue recovered: $47,200
That’s a 10.6% conversion rate on leads everyone assumed were dead.
THE SEQUENCE
Here’s exactly what we sent:
WEEK 1 (After “not right now”):
Email: “No pressure - just wanted to share this”
Content: Relevant case study or resource
Purpose: Stay helpful, no pitch
WEEK 3:
Email: “Quick question”
Content: Ask about their current situation, offer insight
Purpose: Re-open conversation
WEEK 6:
Email: “Thought of you when I saw this”
Content: Industry news, trend, or tip relevant to their problem
Purpose: Stay top of mind
WEEK 10:
Email: “Still dealing with [problem]?”
Content: Direct question about their pain point.
Purpose: Check if timing has changed
WEEK 14:
Email: “Honest question”
Content: Ask if they solved the problem or still need help.
Purpose: Force a decision
WEEK 20:
Email: “Last one from me on this”
Content: Final check-in, door always open
Purpose: Clean break or re-engagement
WHY IT WORKS
Three reasons:
Timing changes. The thing that wasn’t urgent in June becomes critical in October. If you’re not in their inbox, you’re not in their mind.
Trust compounds. Every helpful email builds a little more trust. By email 4 or 5, they know you’re not just trying to sell them. You’re actually useful.
Persistence signals commitment. When you follow up consistently (not annoyingly), it shows you actually care about helping them. That matters.
THE TECH
You can do this manually (calendar reminders, spreadsheet tracking).
Or you can automate it:
GoHighLevel: Built-in sequences, tag-based triggers
ActiveCampaign: Powerful automation, good for complex sequences
Make.com + your email tool: Custom workflows, full control
The automation version:
Lead marked “not right now” in CRM
Sequence triggers automatically
Each email is sent on schedule
If they reply, sequence pauses
If they book a call, the sequence stops
If they go silent, the sequence completes and tags them for a quarterly check-in
THE CONTENT
The emails need to be good.
Bad follow-up: “Just checking in! Still interested?” Good follow-up: “Saw this case study about [their industry] and thought of your situation with [specific problem they mentioned].”
Every email should:
Reference something specific about them
Provide actual value (not just “checking in”)
Have a soft CTA (reply, not “BOOK NOW”)
Be short (under 150 words)
YOUR HOMEWORK
Export everyone who said “not right now” in the last 12 months
Count them
Multiply by your average deal size
Stare at that number
Then reply and tell me what you found.
I bet it’s bigger than you expected.
WHAT TO DO NEXT
Option 1: Build It Yourself
Use the sequence above. Customize the emails. Set up the automation. Start with manual if you need to.
Option 2: Grab the Template Pack
I put together the complete 6-email sequence with:
All email templates (just fill in the blanks)
Subject lines that actually get opens
Automation setup guide for GoHighLevel, ActiveCampaign, and Make.com
CRM tagging system
$97. Ready to deploy today.
Reply “FOLLOWUP” and I’ll send the link.
Option 3: Strategy Call
Want me to audit your entire lead recovery system? 60 minutes, $500. We’ll map your pipeline, identify the revenue sitting in your CRM, and build a recovery plan.
Reply “RECOVERY” to book.
COMING UP ON SATURDAY
I’m sharing the dashboard I use to track everything.
One screen. All my numbers. Updated automatically.
No more logging into 5 different tools to figure out how your business is doing.
See you Saturday.
-DSG
P.S. The math on this is stupid simple. If you have 50 “not right now” leads and an average deal of $3,000, that’s $150,000 in potential recovery. Even a 5% conversion rate is $7,500. Worth a few automated emails? Um - Yeah….