If you’re tired of chasing prospects and watching your inbox collect tumbleweeds, this guide’s for you. Automating follow-up emails can help you get more replies—but only if you do it right. I’ll show you how to set up effective, human-sounding follow-ups in Salesloft, avoid the pitfalls that make people hit “spam,” and focus on what actually moves the needle.
Let’s skip the fluff and get your follow-ups working for you.
Why Automate Follow-Up Emails at All?
If you’re reading this, you already know sales is a numbers game. But even the best-written first email often gets ignored. Following up is where deals are made—but doing it manually is a slog and prone to error.
Automating follow-ups in Salesloft lets you:
- Stay top of mind without nagging yourself
- Reach more people, more consistently
- Free up time to actually sell (or just breathe)
- Spot patterns in what works and what doesn’t
But here’s the thing: automation can also backfire. If your emails sound robotic or you keep pestering the wrong people, you’ll kill your response rate. So let’s do this the right way.
Step 1: Get Your List and Messaging Right (Don’t Skip This)
Before you touch a single setting in Salesloft, get clear on two things:
1. Who are you emailing? - Segment your contacts. Don’t just blast your whole CRM. - Make sure your list is clean—no broken addresses, no obvious “do not contacts.” - If you’re emailing cold, double-check compliance (GDPR, CAN-SPAM, etc). Spam complaints will tank your deliverability.
2. What’s your message? - Don’t just “check in.” Every follow-up should have a purpose: new info, a short question, or value to add. - Write like a human. If you wouldn’t say it out loud, don’t send it.
Pro tip: Write your follow-ups before you automate. You’ll spot weird phrasing or mistakes that don’t show up in a one-off email.
Step 2: Map Out Your Follow-Up Sequence
Salesloft calls these “Cadences.” You don’t need a 10-step novella—usually 3-5 touchpoints are plenty.
Typical (and effective) sequence: 1. Initial email: Short, specific, and relevant. 2. First follow-up (2-3 days later): “Just wanted to bump this up,” or offer a new angle. 3. Second follow-up (another 3-4 days): Add value—share a resource, offer insight, or ask a different question. 4. Final nudge (about a week later): Quick check-in, give them an easy out (“Should I close your file?”).
What not to do: - Don’t send daily emails. You’ll annoy people. - Don’t rehash the same message. Each follow-up should look and sound different. - Don’t pretend to “just be circling back” five times. It’s obvious.
Step 3: Build Your Cadence in Salesloft
Now the hands-on bit. Here’s how to set up your automated follow-ups in Salesloft:
1. Create a New Cadence
- Click Cadences in the sidebar.
- Hit Create Cadence. Name it something obvious—"Q2 Outbound - SaaS Prospects" beats "Cadence 17."
2. Add Steps to Your Cadence
For each step: - Choose Email (manual or automated). - Set the delay (e.g., 2 days after last step). - Paste your message (use those templates you wrote earlier). - Add personalization tokens (like first name, company)—but don’t overdo it. “Hi {{first_name}}” is plenty; don’t go wild with job titles or city names unless you know your data is clean.
Manual vs. Automated Steps: - Automated emails: Sent without you lifting a finger. Good for simple, non-sensitive follow-ups. - Manual emails: Salesloft reminds you to review/send. Use these if you want to double-check before hitting send.
Honestly, the first follow-up can be automated. The last one, especially if you’re offering a call or asking a tough question, might be better manual.
3. Preview and Test
- Use the Preview tool to see how your emails look with real contact data.
- Send a few test emails to yourself or a coworker. Catch weird formatting or “Hi ,” mistakes before prospects do.
Step 4: Enroll People Carefully
Don’t just add your whole list to the cadence and pray. Instead:
- Double-check each contact. Are they the right fit? Is their email valid?
- Add contacts in small batches. This helps you spot issues before they snowball.
- Make sure there’s some buffer between batches—Salesloft can throttle sends, but don’t push your luck. Too many emails at once = higher chance of landing in spam.
Step 5: Monitor Replies and Adjust
Automation isn’t “set it and forget it.” Here’s what to watch for:
- Reply rates: If nobody’s answering, your message or timing is off.
- Bounce/spam rates: Lots of bounces mean your list is messy. Spam complaints? Rethink your content or frequency.
- Unsubscribes: Some are normal, but a spike means you’re overdoing it.
Tweak as you go: - Try different subject lines. Boring, salesy subject lines kill open rates. - Adjust timing. Maybe a 2-day delay is too short/long. - Drop steps that don’t work. More isn’t always better.
What Works (and What Doesn’t)
Works: - Personalization (but only where it counts) - Short, clear, and human messages - Spacing out your touchpoints—don’t crowd their inbox - Offering value in every follow-up (a resource, insight, or even just empathy)
Doesn’t Work: - Over-automating (“Hi {{first_name}}, I noticed you’re the {{job_title}} in {{city}}…”—cringe) - Generic “just checking in” emails, repeated ad nauseam - Long-winded pitches—nobody’s reading your block of text - Ignoring replies—if someone answers, stop the sequence and actually respond
Pro Tips for Not Sounding Like a Robot
- Use your real signature—not just “-The Team.”
- Ask short questions. “Is this still relevant?” works better than “Do you have 30 minutes for a call?”
- Keep it conversational. Write like you’d talk to a real person, not like you’re reciting a script.
- Mix up your timing. Don’t always email at 9am Monday—try different days and times.
- Don’t be afraid to end it. Sometimes “Let me know if you’re not interested, and I’ll stop bugging you” gets a response (and at least you know where you stand).
Keep It Simple and Iterate
You don’t need a 12-step email saga. Start with a short, focused sequence, see what works, and tweak from there. The best follow-up automation is the kind you rarely have to think about—because it’s getting you real replies, not just clogging up inboxes.
So set up your cadence, hit send, and spend the time you save actually talking to the people who write back. That’s where the deals are.