Sequences are a very powerful HubSpot tool - a tool that every sales and account management professional within our organization should be using. Here are some best practices and a few ideas to get you going in your sequence journey.
First, an email sequence is a series of emails sent to a prospect, user, or customer sent automatically using automation software based on predetermined criteria such as a time delay or action being met.
In other words, if you build your emails out before hand and set it up with email marketing automation, you can follow up with prospects at scale... without being the one to click the "Send" button over and over. As you plan your sequences, keep in mind these 10 best practice tips.
Tip #1: Know your ideal seller profile and the persona you are targeting
Building a sequence is similar to building a smaller campaign – it starts with knowing your ideal seller profile and the persona you are targeting. Having an audience in mind makes it easier to write the emails in the sequence. It also allows you to segment your sequences so that they’ll only enroll the proper individuals.
For example, target by status, milestone and industry. The way you message a New Prospect within a specific industry will be different than how you contact a SQL in contract negotiations within a specific industry. Use this data to help build your audience!
Please note: if you are sequencing a large list (more than 100), consider breaking up the enrollment to no more than 50-100 per day - especially if you aren't in constant communication with those you're targeting. high bounce rates can harm our email deliverability, so keeping the volume of sends low with high bounce rates is preferred. BONUS: By throttling your sequence with 100/day enrollments, you can see if updates to your content are needed before the remaining users receive the email! It's a win-win!
Tip #2 Build your sequences from proven templates
Know your content. This goes beyond knowing what content exists on your site; you also need to be aware of what content is available to you to use in sequences. Knowing which email templates are performing well and which ones aren’t will help you understand how to begin your conversation. High-performing templates in sequences are essential so you're not reinventing the wheel each time.
Tip #3 Add tasks to your sequences
You should never rely solely on email to connect with your contacts. Creating tasks to call the contact during the sequence provides another opportunity to connect with them. It's also a good idea to create a task at the end of each sequence telling you the individual has completed the sequence so you know to schedule the next outreach task and evaluate their interactions.
Tip #4 Know when to sequence
Just because you have the ability to sequence, doesn't mean every communication fits into a sequence. Remember, these are for a series of activities!
Often, depending on where they are in the funnel, it’s better to pick up the phone and call your leads, because they are to speak with you. If you can’t initially connect, then a sequence is good second option, but it isn’t always the best first move. Sequences are also good to use when a lead has gone dark and you’re looking to reconnect. Having the sequence staggered over several weeks allows for automatic connection to the lead without having to lift a finger!
Tip #5 Personalize the messages within each sequence
This cannot be stressed enough: when you are scheduling a sequence, you have the ability to go through each email and personalize your outreach. Without personalizing your message to the individual, you risk becoming noise with a bland and generic email that is easily ignored. By addressing the individual directly, you can make a better case for your value.
For example, one way to achieve this is to have a personalized opening paragraph written specifically for the individual. After that, keep the same base information and body in each sequence template – but check and see if there is any other opportunity for personalization.
When researching prospects and leads, a few places to look are the company website, the company LinkedIn page, the individual’s LinkedIn page, and the individual’s Twitter account. Building off the information found, you can personally address that individual and show how you can help them solve their problems.
Tip #6 Use different sequences for different stages in the seller's journey
Not everyone is ready to sell right away. Identifying where the prospect is in their journey is crucial to getting the right information. You’re going to address someone who is just becoming aware differently than someone who is making a decision. So, set up separate sequences to address these individual stages for each persona. (i.e. Status and milestones!)
Identifying where a prospect is in their journey is especially important, because you don’t want to overwhelm someone who is in the qualified stage. For these individuals, sequences should primarily be purposed for building trust and using content to give the individual the information he or she needs.
Tip #7 Schedule your sequences appropriately
Scheduling is often easier said than done; you want to make sure that your activities in each sequence are spaced properly. This can vary by persona and where a prospect is at in their journey. Sometimes, you want to make sure you’re following up with the individual quickly, but other times you may want to allow time for the prospect to absorb the information you’ve sent them. Give them this time, especially if you've sent them a lot!
Tip #8 When prospecting, target by sequence
Sequences are fantastic for prospecting! By having sequences ready for different personas, you can find the persona that fits an individual and schedule multiple outreach attempts within a few minutes. This process saves time and allows you to address more warm prospects, because the foundation of information is already in the sequence – you only have to write that initial personalization paragraph.
9 Check your stats
HubSpot provides some great data to tell you how well your templates and sequences are performing. You can also see which step each individual enrolled in a sequence is at. But seeing how each sequence is performing informs me about whether I need to make changes to the content I’m offering, the content in the emails, or even if I should change the subject line. The key metrics that I usually check are open rate, click rate, and responses.
These stats should also help you formulate any and all next steps in contacting a prospect. For example, if you see that a lead has opened one email significantly more often than others and is clicking a specific link more often, use that information to identify a potential pain point – even if the lead hasn’t replied yet. Also track the activity of your emails with prospects in real time by using the Activity Stream.
Tip #10 Follow up after the sequence
While it might seem like common sense, after a prospect completes a sequence without responding, you will want to make sure you determine the next step. For some, if there’s no response, you will take no immediate action, but for others, you might enroll them in another sequence. Sometimes, you might decide to completely personalize another approach.
To make sure no one slips through the cracks, create a task at the end of each sequence to notify you that the prospect has completed the sequence and that you need to address next steps. Having this built in to the end of sequence ensures you're always ready to follow up with each prospect.