Setting up email sequences in Sell

Note: You need to enable the Reach add-on to use email sequences in Sell. Also, each Sell user that enrolls in a sequence must have integrated their email account into Sell (see Integrating email with Zendesk Sell).

You can set up an email sequence to engage leads (prospects) by automatically sending them emails at intervals. A sequence is a series of actions that specify how and when sales reps contact new leads.

Sequence emails are created using a template, so you need to have specified a number of suitable lead email templates before setting up an email sequence.

You need admin rights to set up email sequences in Sell.

This article covers the following topics:

• Creating an email sequence
• Monitoring email sequence usage
• Changing an email sequence
• Deleting an email sequence

Creating an email sequence

To use an email sequence, you need to specify the frequency of contact, and the steps involved, including the type of correspondence, (for example automated email or steps in a task). You can also name each task in the steps of the sequence, (it could be something specific, for example: Call Lead, or Connect on LinkedIn, or it could be something as generic as Research Lead).

For the steps that have tasks, the sequence automatically progresses to the next step when the task for the previous step has been marked as completed.

To set up an email sequence

1. Click the Settings icon (), then select Business Rules > Lead sequences.

   You'll see the lead sequences page, with any existing lead sequences that you have configured.

   

2. Click Add sequence.
3. Give your new lead sequence a name.
   Note: Use a meaningful name as this will be used by sales reps to find the correct email sequence, when they add leads.
4. Read the preset rules for sending out emails in the sequence:
   • Any user can enroll leads to a sequence. Emails are sent to leads on behalf of the user who enrolled them.
   • Emails are sent on week days (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday). Weekends (Saturday and Sunday) are ignored.
   • When a lead replies to an email, or is converted to a contact, the sequence stops and the lead receives no more emails.
5. Click Add step.

   Your automated emails will be sent in the order that you define in your steps (although you can reorder the steps before you save the sequence).

6. Choose the email template that you want to use for this step, or create a new template.

   

7. Specify when you want this email to be delivered.

   For the first step, you may want to send the email immediately, so the email is sent as soon as a lead is enrolled in the sequence. If this is a follow-up step, specify a wait time.

   The first step doesn't have to happen immediately upon enrollment as it depends on the sequence. The first action starts immediately when the lead is enrolled in a sequence and the next step goes out precisely at the cadence that you've set it to. For example, if it is set to go out one day after, then the second step will go out 24 hours after the first one.

   Note: The wait time for a task is specified in weekdays (Monday to Friday), because weekends (Saturday and Sunday), are ignored when calculating the wait time. You can also set the time, in hours, that an email will be sent, or that tasks in a step are to be completed.
8. Preview the email template that will be sent in this step to ensure all information is correct.

   

   Note: Shared email templates are available for everyone in your team to use, also for one-off emails, and you can share a template by editing it (see Setting up a shared email template in Sell).
9. Click Add step to include another step, and repeat the process for each step in your sequence. For follow-up steps, you can choose if you want the email to be sent as a reply to the previous step or to start a new email thread.

   

   You can also add a task as a step at any point and define when the task is due, (for example after the previous step has been completed). Drag and drop the steps to change the sequence order.

10. Click Save sequence to save your email sequence.

    You'll see your new sequence on the lead sequences page, including information about the number of steps, any enrolled leads, and the creator of the sequence.

    

    After you've created an email sequence, it's ready to be used by any Sell user in your account to engage with their leads (see Sending an email sequence to leads in Sell).

Monitoring email sequence usage

You can view usage and performance statistics for each sequence.

To view email sequence statistics

1. Click the Settings icon (), then select Business Rules > Lead sequences.

   You'll see the Lead sequences page, displaying any existing lead sequences you have configured.

   

2. Hover over the sequence you want to edit, and click the name of the sequence to open it.
3. You can see usage statistics for this sequence:

   

   • Active: How many leads are currently active in the sequence.
   • Completed: How many leads have already completed this sequence.
   • Reply rate: What percent of leads who completed the sequence have replied to any of the sequence emails. Move your mouse cursor over the reply rate to see the exact count of leads who replied.

Changing an email sequence

You can edit an existing email sequence if you need to change some of the details.

To edit or change an email sequence

1. Click the Settings icon (), then select Business Rules > Lead sequences.

   You'll see the lead sequences page, displaying any existing lead sequences that you have configured.

   

2. Hover over the sequence you want to edit, and click the name of the sequence to open it.

   If the sequence is in use (it has active leads enrolled in the sequence) then you'll receive a warning specifying the number of leads that'll be affected if you edit the sequence. As a Sell admin, if you don't want existing leads to be affected by changes in a sequence, you must create a new sequence. When you edit the sequence, any enrolled leads will follow the changes from the next step after the one that is scheduled.

3. From the lead sequence editing page you can:
   • Change the sequence name: Click the sequence name to change it. This doesn't affect the sequenced leads.
   • Reorder the email sequence steps: Drag and drop the steps to change their order.
   • Add a step: Click Add step to add a new step to the sequence, specify an email template, and time delay for the step.
   • Change a step: Click Edit on a specific step to open the dialog to change the email template and time delay for the step.
   • Remove a step: Click Edit on a specific step and click delete to remove the step.

   Any new leads that start this sequence after the changes follow the new email sequence. All active leads that have started the sequence before your edits will continue their existing sequences without your changes applied.

   Note: Changes you make to email template content are immediately applied to all sequences in which the edited template is used.
4. Click Save to save your edited email sequence.

   You'll see your edited sequence on the lead sequences page, including information about the number of steps and the creator of the sequence.

Deleting an email sequence

You can delete an email sequence from the lead sequences page. When you delete a sequence, it is permanently removed.

To delete an email sequence

1. Click the Settings icon (), then select Business Rules > Lead sequences.

   You'll see the lead sequences page, displaying any existing lead sequences that you have configured.

   

2. Click the Trashcan icon () to delete the sequence.

   If the sequence is currently in use (that is, it has active leads enrolled in the sequence), you'll see a warning specifying the number of leads that will be affected if you delete the sequence. When you delete the sequence, it is deleted immediately and the enrolled leads will not receive any new emails as part of that sequence.

3. Click Delete to confirm.

   Your sequence is permanently deleted and no longer appears on the lead sequences page.