If you spend more time chasing people than actually selling, you’re not alone. Following up is half the job—and half the headache—for most sales reps. The trouble is, manual follow-ups eat up hours, lead to mistakes, and let good prospects slip through the cracks. If you’re sick of sticky notes and “Did I already email her?” moments, it’s time to automate.
This guide is for sales reps who want to get their follow-up game on autopilot, using Heypoplar workflows. I’ll break down what works, what’s just noise, and how you can get started without drowning in setup. No fluff—just practical steps you can actually use.
Why Automate Follow-Ups? (And What to Ignore)
You don’t need a stat to tell you that sales is a follow-up sport. But here’s the thing: Not every “automation” actually saves you time. A lot of sales tools promise AI magic; most deliver more admin work.
Here’s what actually works when you automate follow-ups:
- Never miss a touchpoint: It’s easy to forget to send a reminder or check in after a call—workflows make it automatic.
- Consistent process: Every prospect gets the same treatment, no matter how busy you are.
- Less busywork, more selling: The best automation tools take care of the grunt work, not just add dashboards.
What doesn’t work:
- Over-personalization: Fully automated, “personalized” messages usually sound like spam. Use templates, but don’t go overboard with merge tags.
- Set-it-and-forget-it: Automation helps, but you still need to check in and tweak things. Don’t trust robots to build relationships.
What is Heypoplar (and How Do Workflows Help)?
Heypoplar is a workflow tool built for sales teams. Unlike a lot of “sales automation” platforms, it doesn’t try to be your whole CRM or bombard you with analytics. Instead, it focuses on making repetitive, follow-up tasks fire off automatically—emails, reminders, task assignments, and more.
Workflows in Heypoplar are like recipe cards: “If THIS happens, do THAT.” You set the trigger (say, a meeting gets booked), and Heypoplar handles the next steps. The goal: less clicking, more closing.
If you’re thinking, “Great, another tool to learn,” don’t worry. Heypoplar is built to be dead-simple. You don’t need to code or map out a whole sales process to get started.
Step 1: Map Your Follow-Up Touchpoints (Don’t Overthink It)
Before you fire up any tool, sketch out what “follow-up” actually means for you. Most sales reps need just a few key touchpoints:
- Post-demo follow-up (email or call)
- Reminder if no reply after X days
- LinkedIn nudge or call after another week
- Task to check in before end of month/quarter
Don’t try to automate every possible scenario. Pick the top 2-3 follow-up actions you do all the time. Write them down. That’s your starter workflow.
Pro Tip: If you’re not sure what steps to automate, look at your sent folder. What emails or messages do you copy-paste the most? That’s your starting point.
Step 2: Set Up Heypoplar and Connect Your Tools
Getting started with Heypoplar is pretty painless:
- Sign up and log in. (No need to migrate your entire sales life.)
- Connect your email and calendar. Heypoplar works best if it can see your meetings and send emails on your behalf.
- (Optional) Connect your CRM. If you use Salesforce, HubSpot, or something else, Heypoplar can pull in contacts and deals. But you don’t have to start here.
What to skip: Don’t get bogged down importing every list or contact you have. Start with one workflow and a handful of prospects. You can always expand later.
Step 3: Build Your First Follow-Up Workflow
Let’s make a simple workflow that sends a follow-up email after a meeting—and reminds you to check in if there’s no reply.
Example: “Post-Meeting Follow-Up”
- Trigger: Meeting with a prospect ends (from your calendar).
- Action 1: Send a follow-up email template (customizable, but keep it short).
- Wait: 3 days.
- Condition: If they haven’t replied,
- Action 2: Send a reminder email or create a task for you to call.
How to do it in Heypoplar: - Go to the “Workflows” tab. - Click “Create Workflow.” - Set the trigger (e.g., “Meeting ends with contact”). - Add the first action: send an email. (Use your own template, not the robot-speak default.) - Add a delay (“Wait 3 days”). - Add a condition: “If no reply,” then send your next action (email or task). - Save and test with yourself or a colleague first.
Pro Tip: Don’t set up more than one or two workflows at a time. You’ll just confuse yourself and your prospects. Get one working, then build from there.
Step 4: Templates—Use Them, Don’t Abuse Them
Heypoplar lets you create and save email templates. This is a lifesaver, but don’t let your messages sound like they were written by a robot. Here’s what to keep in mind:
- Keep it short: Nobody wants a wall of text. Two or three lines is enough.
- Personalize the first line: If you can, mention something specific from the call or meeting.
- Skip the fake cheer: “Hope you’re crushing it!” reads as insincere, especially in automated follow-ups.
Example template:
Subject: Quick follow-up after our call
Hi {{first_name}},
Thanks again for your time today. Let me know if you have any questions about [brief topic].
Talk soon,
[Your Name]
Tweak this for your actual voice. And always send yourself a test email before rolling it out—typos and weird formatting look even worse when they’re automated.
Step 5: Add Reminders and Tasks—Don’t Rely on Just Email
Not every follow-up should be another email. Sometimes a call, a LinkedIn nudge, or even a handwritten note does the trick. Heypoplar lets you build these steps in, so you don’t forget.
- Add “create task” actions: For example, “If no reply after 7 days, remind me to call.”
- Mix channels: Alternate emails with calls or LinkedIn messages to avoid the spam folder.
- Set deadlines: A task that sits in your to-do list forever is just digital clutter. Add due dates.
What to ignore: Don’t bother with every notification type. Push notifications, SMS reminders, and popups can pile up and just get ignored. Stick to what you’ll actually act on.
Step 6: Test and Tweak—Automation Isn’t “Set and Forget”
The first version of your workflow won’t be perfect. That’s normal. Here’s what to look for:
- Are prospects replying, or ghosting you?
- Are your emails going to spam? (If yes, your template may be too generic or trigger spam filters.)
- Are you getting too many reminders? If you start ignoring them, dial it back.
Heypoplar gives you basic stats, like open rates and reply rates. But don’t obsess. The real test: Are you spending less time on busywork and more time talking to real people?
Step 7: When (and When Not) to Automate More
It’s tempting to automate everything once you get started. Resist. Here’s when to expand:
Good times to add more workflows: - You’re doing the same follow-up for every new inbound lead. - You want to automate outreach for specific campaigns (e.g., events, webinars). - Your team all uses the same process and wants to standardize it.
When to stop: - You’re getting “unsubscribe” or “stop emailing me” replies. - Your pipeline feels robotic and you’re losing touch with what’s working. - You’re spending more time fixing workflows than actually selling.
Real Talk: What Works Best (and What’s Overhyped)
- Automate the boring stuff: Scheduling, reminders, and basic emails—yes.
- Keep real conversations personal: Don’t let automation replace genuine outreach.
- Start simple, iterate fast: The perfect workflow doesn’t exist. Your needs will change.
- Ignore the hype: You don’t need “AI-powered sales cadences” or “360-degree engagement” to close more deals. You just need fewer dropped balls.
Wrap-Up: Keep It Simple, Tweak as You Go
Automation is about making your life easier, not adding another layer of tech to manage. Start with one or two follow-up workflows in Heypoplar. Test them. Adjust. Add more only when it actually helps.
Don’t let anyone sell you the idea that automation will do your job for you. But if it frees up an hour a day to actually sell—or just grab a coffee—that’s a win. Keep it simple, stay skeptical, and let the robots handle the boring stuff.