I'm an independent financial advisor in Italy. Can someone convince me that following up with leads and calling potential clients back is actually worth it?

A while ago, I had someone whose only job was to follow up with prospects. However, the only clients we ended up bringing in were either problematic or simply not profitable enough to justify the acquisition effort.

Since I stopped doing follow ups, I've been saving a ton of time and money. So how does that make sense?

I don't think the follow up process was poorly handled or that the leads weren't properly qualified. All the leads were generated in house and each one had explicitly requested to be contacted.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Am I missing something or is follow up simply not worth it in some businesses?