Personally and philosophically I don't think persistence works in the modern age as it once did.
Persistence and assertiveness was once seen as attractive by women pre 90's, but these days, can often be misconstrued or thought differently in the age of feminism and societal programming in todays world that is different than what once was.
Being persistent back then meant you had drive, balls, guts, commitment, assertiveness, ambition when it came to girls and they were turned on by those traits because it signaled to them that they knew what you wanted and were willing to pursue it like a man, which they knew also crossed over into various things in life. But in today's society, those same things can often be mistaken or understood as being creepy, stalking, thirsty, desperate, aggressive, too direct, etc.
These days, a man has to be sensitive and notice the IOI's and as others said, determine if there is high interest from the girls to proceed.
As many have said above, it boils down to awareness of your situation/dynamics/calibration. It's just more of an art form to dance around to gauge and get what you're seeking more so than before.
It used to be back in the day, that women purposely played hard to get but that didn't mean she didn't like you where as now, any form of low interest should pretty much mean moving on if you don't want to chase as there isn't really anything you can do by being persistent if the other person isn't willing to meet you halfway on things. As it's no longer the man choosing the women in today's society. My $.02
