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.
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
- 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.
- Click Add sequence.
- 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.
- Read the preset rules for sending out emails in the sequence:
- Any user can enrol leads to a sequence. Emails are sent to leads on behalf of the user who enrolled them.
- Emails are sent on weekdays, (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and 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.
- 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).
- Choose the email template that you want to use for this step, or create a new template.
- 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, then you must specify a wait time.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. - 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 for one-off emails as well. You can share a template by editing it. For more information, see Setting up a shared email template in Sell.
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- Hover over the sequence you want to edit, and click the name of the sequence to open it.
- 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
- 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.
- Hover over the sequence you want to edit, and click the name of the sequence to open it.
- 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, and 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 starts 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. - 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
- 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.
- Click the Delete 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.
- Click Delete to confirm.
Your sequence is permanently deleted and no longer appears on the lead sequences page.
5 Comments
How do you configure it so a sequence automatically starts for an incoming lead?
Is there a way to configure a sequence with a task instead of email (Phone/SMS etc.) so the actions are mixed up?
Ryo Ogochi,
Thank you for reaching out!
At this time, an agent must add an incoming lead to an email sequence manually. Additionally, the email sequence feature is just for outgoing emails (not tasks or text messages), but I will be sure to pass along both of your suggestions to our Product Team! I will let you know if there is an available API or Zapier option for this feature!
Depending on your plan level, we have a feature called Automated Actions for Tasks. This feature allows an Admin to automatically create a standard workflow task for Sell users whenever a new lead, contact, or deal is added.
Additionally, many accounts use Zapier's Zendesk Sell integration to automate a text message sequence to new prospects or leads.
Katie Dougherty thanks. Another issue for me is that I cant have my team create/edit sequences if they dont have full on admin rights. Would be great if i can give them access to this.
Hi Ryo,
Thanks for this feedback, however, this is a by-design behavior implemented on purpose, to limit the possibility of clutter in the Sequences section.
As for the other functions and configuration available to Admin only, this particular one should also be limited in our opinion, as well as the Admin privilege itself should be granted to a limited number of key users in the account.
Nevertheless, rest assured that our Product Team will take this feedback into account and we'll be looking forward to hearing more about this feature from other customers as well.
Thanks for your understanding and best regards!
Grzegorz Pogwizd
Technical Support Engineer | Zendesk Sell
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Dropping out of a nurture sequence shouldn't be automatic. While I may still be communicating with a lead or contact directly, I wouldn't want the standard nurture messages to stop just because the lead replied to a message. Maybe they wanted something explained, but that shouldn't cancel the next several messages bringing them to an educated buyer state they would otherwise have gotten if they stayed in the sequence.
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