What is a Sales Automation Sequence?
A Sales Automation Sequence is a series of touchpoints for a specific audience that can include:
- Automated Emails
- Manual Emails
- Phone call reminders
- LinkedIn outreach reminders
- Custom sequence steps
How do I create a Sales Automation Sequence?
- Login to RollWorks and go to 'Sales Automation' > 'Sequences', then click the 'Sequences' tab and click 'New Sequence'
- Name your sequence something specific to that set of emails and the audience you intend on engaging. For example Tech- Leadership Positions.
- Push add sequence step and select from the sequence step options.
Below is an in-depth walkthrough of each sequence step option:
- Automated Email: An automated email will send to contacts automatically based on the timing set in the sequence. Automated emails help you reach more contacts with less effort. We recommend between 6-9 emails per sequence, as this has been proven to result in the highest conversion rate. A Smart Pause will automatically be added between each email template within your sequence. A Smart Pause is the time between each email sent and is dynamically adjusted based on email opens and clicks to optimize each campaign. Smart Pauses are typically 2 to 10 days long.
If you would prefer to set your own email timing, you can click on the gear next to the smart pause and adjust when you'd like the follow-up emails to be sent.
New Email Thread vs Follow up to Previous Email
You'll be able to adjust whether you'd like your email templates to be a new thread or a follow-up to the previous email. If the emails are a part of the same thread, the subject line of those emails will remain the same throughout the sequence.
- Manual Email: Manual email steps are similar to automated email. The main difference between the two touch points is when a manual email step is due, based on the timing in your sequence, an email task appears in your task tab. When a manual email task is due, it will display which contact needs to be manually emailed, along with the email template. You can then choose to further customize the email for that specific contact, and once you’re happy with the messaging click send to deliver the email. This is great for top priority contacts because it enables you to customize each email before sending it.
- Phone Call: When a Phone Call step is due for a contact, a phone task appears in your task tab and reminds you to call the contact. When you create your call task in the sequence, you will have the option to add a call script or notes to be used on the call. Once you complete the call task, you are able to log the outcome of your phone call and add any notes needed before completing the task for a specific contact.
- LinkedIn Request: When a LinkedIn Request step is due, a LinkedIn Request task appears in your task tab reminding you to add a specific contact to LinkedIn. The contact’s LinkedIn URL automatically populates in these tasks so you can easily click on their profile and send a request to connect.
- LinkedIn Message: When a LinkedIn Message step is due, a LinkedIn Message task appears in your task tab and reminds you to send an InMail to your contact. You can add a template message to this sequence step so that when this task appears, it will show you the template you left for yourself. You can then easily copy and paste it into your LinkedIn message to speed up the process.
- Custom Sequence Step: Custom sequence steps can be used as reminders to complete any other actions outside of RollWorks, such as sending a handwritten note or following a prospect on Twitter. When due, custom tasks will appear in your tasks tab with whatever instructions you left for yourself regarding this task. Each touchpoint will need to be completed before the next step can begin. For example, if you set one of the steps to call the contact, you will have to go to your tasks tab and either complete, skip or snooze the task.
What’s Next?
Once you are happy with the sequence you've created, scroll to the bottom of your page and push save. By default, your sequence will be switched 'OFF'. In order for emails to be sent from this sequence, you will need to toggle this email sequence ON and assign contacts to it.
You can assign contacts to a sequence when you redeem a contact or after a contact has been redeemed. You can find your contacts under 'Sales Automation' > 'Contact Data'
Visit these articles for more information on Templates.
Sales Automation Sequences FAQs
How long after a sequence is turned on will it take before emails can send?
If you assign contacts to a sequence between the hours set at the top of your email sequence (the default is Monday - Friday 10 am - 5 pm) emails will be sent out that day as long as the sales rep has not hit their max number of new contacts (which gets set in the sales rep's profile).
If you assign the contacts to a sequence that is turned on outside of the hours set at the top of your email sequence, your emails will be scheduled to send in the next available increment.
Can you edit a sequence after you launch it?
Yes, you are able to edit a sequence at any time. If you edit a live sequence, your contacts will receive these changes moving forward as long as they have not reached that point of the sequence yet.
How many sequences can you save at once?
You can save as many sequences as you’d like!
What is a Smart Pause? How do I know when my follow up emails will get sent?
The Smart Pause refers to the amount of time between emails. Our software dynamically adjusts the time between emails based on contact engagement (e.g. email received, email opens, click through rates) to optimize each campaign. The time in between emails typically varies between 2 and 10 days.
How many email templates can I have in one sequence?
There is not a minimum or a maximum number of templates you can have in a sequence. We recommend between 6-8 templates per sequence. You can start with 1 or 2 and add additional templates at a later time.
Am I able to set when my emails are sent out?
Yes, if you prefer not to leave the timing between each email up to our Smart Pause, you can click on the gear to the right of the Smart Pause and select when you'd like the follow-up emails to send.
Does each email send out start a new email thread?
By default yes, follow-up emails will be sent as a new email thread but you can adjust this using the gear on the right-hand side of the sequence step.
How to pause or stop a sequence?
Go to your Engage tab and toggle the sequence from on to off. This will stop all new and follow-up emails until you turn the sequence back on.
How do I switch what email sequence my contacts are assigned to?
You can easily transfer contacts from one email sequence to another from your Contacts tab. Here is an article that can walk you through how to transfer contacts from one email sequence to another.
How can I A/B test my email sequences?
Here is an article that can walk you through how to A/B test your email sequences.
