We’ve all been there earlier than: Firing out emails into the void, and watching most of them disappear soundlessly into… the void.
Perhaps the prospect’s ignored your messages as a result of the timing was off. Or possibly the content material got here on too robust for his or her tastes.
At Outreach, our most profitable clients leverage nurture sequences to remain in contact with their clients and guarantee they’re top-of-mind when the time is true.
🎬 Watch: Episode 33: This Might Have Been a Sequence (15 minutes)
This collection of emails “drips” related and useful content material over an prolonged interval. It’s a extra long-term, conversational, value-add method.
By sustaining a light-weight degree of contact over time you’re constructing rapport together with your buyer. When the prospect reconsiders their wants, you’re positioned to be the primary alternative.
Bonus: On the finish of this text I’ll cowl easy methods to robotically route prospects into your nurture sequence utilizing triggers.
So how do you write a nurture sequence?
I like to recommend designing your content material round core segments, comparable to persona and business. Study extra on this subject right here.
Just a few core concerns for nurture sequences are:
Be conversational. The large distinction between the everyday gross sales and advertising and marketing method is the you — the human being who’s personally reaching out to the prospect. When you can totally automate your sequence, the content material ought to nonetheless sound conversational, as in the event you’re reaching out manually.
Permit for longer gaps. Most profitable nurture sequences span an prolonged interval. This may be wherever from 60-90 days or longer, relying in your gross sales cycle.
Add worth. Sharing relevant content material not solely provides worth to your prospect’s day-to-day however showcases your potential to be a resourceful associate. Sharing free (non-gated!) white papers, helpful business data, and even “checking in” throughout impactful present occasions are all methods so as to add worth.
📚 Get extra ideas: Methods to Write Observe-Up Emails Consumers Can’t Wait to Share
Instance sequence
At Outreach, we’re always experimenting and adjusting our strategies. Right here’s an instance of considered one of our sequence constructions so that you can use.
(Take into accout, that is only a basis — you’ll customise it to your wants.)
KEY POINTS:
- This sequence begins 21 days after the top of an intro sequence. Discover how a lot time we’re permitting between messages — we don’t need to drive opt-outs or unsubscribes.
- The sources we reference are usually not from our personal weblog, however third events that corroborate our method. This acts as a reference and permits advertising and marketing to personal branded content material supply.
- We don’t begin with CTAs to reconnect till effectively after 90 days. We need to ship the message that our aim isn’t to promote our product however to assist our clients.
SEQUENCE STRUCTURE
1. Auto Electronic mail – Day 21
A brief message that acknowledges that it isn’t the fitting time however that you just need to keep on their radar.
2. Auto Electronic mail – Day 51
An e-mail exhibiting off some latest firm information (a profile of Outreach in Forbes), together with some key highlights in the event that they don’t need to click on by.
3. Auto Electronic mail – Day 86
A price-add message with an article on the habits of profitable gross sales reps and the way Outreach can assist develop these habits with the prospect’s crew.
4. Generic Activity – Day 96
A check-in level for the rep to find out if they need to be re-prospected or proceed within the nurture sequence. The rep might want to full this job manually, however it ensures somebody does a evaluate.
5. Auto Electronic mail – Day 138
One other value-add message with an article about “strategic dialing” together with an Outreach case examine showcasing a buyer’s success utilizing this technique.
6. Auto Electronic mail – Day 172 – That is the primary time we embrace a real CTA
One other value-add message, this time with a CTA. Share an article about how gross sales course of touchpoints are altering after which finish with a CTA: “It’s been a number of months, is now an excellent time to re-connect?”
7. Auto Electronic mail – Day 200
An e-mail sharing an article about easy methods to write an awesome gross sales e-mail. Shut with one other CTA: “It’s been 6+ months, is now a greater time?”
8. Generic Activity – Day 203
One other check-in level for the rep to evaluate and decide if the prospect ought to keep within the nurture sequence.
9. Auto Electronic mail – Day 213
An e-mail highlighting a well-liked Outreach integration and the way it provides worth to the gross sales course of.
10. Auto Electronic mail – Day 221
A message recapping the knowledge you’ve shared over the previous few months and methods Outreach can resolve main ache factors for purchasers. Embody a hyperlink to a video demo and shut with a powerful CTA to restart the dialog.
11. Generic Activity – Day 225
When workload permits, we often advocate ending sequences with a generic job as a ultimate check-in for the rep. This enables the rep to determine what to do subsequent with the prospect – whether or not re-prospecting, disqualifying, or one other tactic.
TECHNICAL SETUP FOR ADMINS:
- Guarantee you may have levels in Outreach (and your CRM) for prospects who end a sequence with out replying. “Unresponsive” is a standard alternative and the instance we use.
- Likewise, we advocate having a stage like “nurturing” so reps know which of their prospects are actively being nurtured.
- Guarantee your intro sequence ruleset(s) replace the stage to “unresponsive” when the prospect finishes with out replying.
- Create a novel ruleset on your nurture sequence (you possibly can have a number of rulesets):
- Applies the “Nurturing” stage when the prospect is added to sequence
- Has “Ought to Energetic Prospects be Unique to This Sequence?” set to “Sure”
- Set “Marked as Completed, No Reply” to “No Replace”
- “Prospect might be added to this Sequence” to “Solely As soon as”
- Guarantee “Unresponsive” will not be a Stage Change choice – this may trigger set off looping.
Pattern set off: Robotically Add Prospects to Sequence – Unresponsive
Triggers permit you to outline guidelines in order that Outreach will robotically carry out particular actions for you. This characteristic is nice for routing prospects from one sequence to a different.
It’s not unusual for a possible purchaser to go silent or fail to answer your preliminary engagement efforts throughout a prospecting movement. Here’s a step-by-step instance of how you should utilize triggers to robotically add them to a nurture sequence:
Identify: Add Prospect to Nurture Sequence
Occasion: “Prospect Up to date”
We’re specifying “up to date” as a result of no net-new prospects ought to be put within the nurture sequence.
Goal: Prospect
We don’t have to replace the account.
Set off solely as soon as per goal: Unchecked
We would like the ruleset to find out if a prospect can enter the sequence once more – see admin setup part above.
Prospect Situations: Stage = “Unresponsive”
This ought to be custom-made to your configuration. Further situations could also be related to your segmentation technique.
Account Situations: None
Customise if relevant.
Set off Actions: Add to “nurture sequence”
Pattern set off: Robotically Add Prospects to Sequence – Alternative Date
You may create a chance shut date set off so as to add prospects right into a sequence robotically. That is particularly helpful for cases the place you want to nurture a closed-loss alternative or use a renewal sequence based mostly on a buyer’s renewal date.
Please observe this requires Alternative Syncing to be lively and a major prospect to be assigned.
Identify: Add Prospect to Nurture Sequence
Occasion: “Alternative Shut Date”
Set off Date Offset: Customise to your technique
For instance, add the prospect to sequence 7 days after the shut date to permit them time to vary their minds. Or use the beginning of the renewals cycle.
Goal: Main Prospect or Prospect Roles
This is dependent upon how you may have arrange alternative prospects and may align together with your segmentation technique.
Set off solely as soon as per goal: Unchecked
We possible need the ruleset to find out if a prospect can enter the sequence once more – see admin setup part above
(Non-compulsory) Alternative Kind: Customise to your Setup
When you have a number of kinds of alternatives, ensure to specify the set off to solely fireplace in opposition to the suitable kind – i.e., “Renewal,” “New Brand,” “Enlargement,” and many others.
(Non-compulsory) Account Situation: Customise to your Setup
When you have a number of account segments or want to goal a sure kind of account, full this as wanted, exclude “Cancelled Clients,” and many others.
Set off Actions: Add to Sequence
As applicable to the technique
I hope this text was useful and, most of all, tremendous actionable. It may be intimidating to grasp all of the expertise in your stack — so wherever we will lighten the load, we’re glad to.
Have you ever received favourite ideas and methods for nurtures, in Outreach or in any other case? Remark beneath!