If you’re tired of forgetting to follow up with leads (or just sick of sending the same “just checking in” email for the hundredth time), you’re not alone. This guide is for salespeople, business owners, and anyone using Prospeo who wants to automate follow-up emails—without making a mess or sounding like a robot. We’ll walk through setting up workflow rules that actually work, flag the gotchas, and show you how to keep things from getting out of hand.
Why bother automating follow-ups at all?
Let’s be honest: most deals die because someone forgets to nudge things along. People don’t reply, you get busy, and the thread goes cold. Automating follow-ups in Prospeo isn’t about spamming people. It’s about making sure you don’t drop the ball—and, ideally, freeing up your brain to focus on real conversations.
Prospeo’s workflow rules make this pretty straightforward, but there are a few quirks you should know about before you start.
What you’ll need
- Access to Prospeo with permissions to create workflow rules.
- Your follow-up email templates (write these ahead of time, trust me).
- A clear sense of when you want to trigger a follow-up (after X days, when a deal moves, etc.).
Step 1: Map out your follow-up logic before touching Prospeo
Don’t skip this. It’s tempting to jump in and start clicking, but you’ll save headaches if you sketch out what you actually want to happen. Ask yourself:
- Who should get follow-ups? (All leads? Only deals in a certain stage?)
- When should the follow-up be sent? (2 days after no reply? After a quote is sent?)
- What should the email say? (Keep it short; don’t sound like a bot.)
Pro tip: If you have more than 2–3 “if/then” scenarios, write them down. Complex rules are where things fall apart.
Step 2: Write your email templates
You’ll need the actual text for your follow-ups. It’s tempting to be clever or pushy, but simple works best:
- Keep the subject line honest: “Quick follow-up,” “Still interested?”
- Reference your previous email or the specific topic.
- Make it easy for them to reply (yes/no questions work well).
- Don’t include three paragraphs of your company’s history. No one cares.
Example follow-up email:
Subject: Quick follow-up
Hi {{FirstName}},
Just checking in to see if you had a chance to look at my last email. Let me know if you have any questions or want to set up a call.
Thanks, {{YourName}}
Watch out: Personalization tokens (like {{FirstName}}) only work if your data is clean. Spot-check your contacts for missing fields, or your follow-ups will look sloppy.
Step 3: Create your workflow rule in Prospeo
Here’s where you actually set up the automation:
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Go to Workflow Rules:
In Prospeo, click on “Settings” (usually top right), then find “Workflow Rules.”
If you don’t see it, you probably don’t have admin rights—ask whoever does. -
Create a New Rule:
Click the “Create Rule” or “Add Workflow” button. -
Set the Trigger:
Decide what kicks off your follow-up. - Common options: “No reply after X days,” “Deal moved to stage Y,” “Task marked complete.”
- For basic follow-ups, “No reply after X days” is usually the best bet.
Pro tip: Start simple. You can always add complexity later.
- Define the Condition(s):
- Who should this apply to? (e.g., leads assigned to you, deals above a certain value)
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Add filters to avoid spamming your whole pipeline.
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Choose the Action:
- Select “Send Email.”
- Choose your email template (or paste the text you wrote earlier).
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Double-check the sender address—don’t send from a generic “noreply” if you want replies.
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Set Timing:
- Specify when the follow-up should go out (e.g., 2 days after no reply).
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Prospeo lets you set delays in hours or days—pick what feels human.
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Review and Test:
- Use Prospeo’s “Test Rule” feature if available, or try it on a dummy lead first.
- Make sure your personalization tokens work—send a test to yourself.
What to ignore:
Don’t overthink the advanced options (like branching logic or custom webhooks) unless you have a very specific need. Most people just need a simple rule: “If no reply, send follow-up.”
Step 4: Activate the rule and monitor what happens
- Turn the rule on.
- Check your sent emails after the first day or two. Are they going out? Are there formatting issues?
- If you’re getting a bunch of out-of-office replies or angry “unsubscribe me” emails, your timing or message may need tweaking.
Pro tip: Start with a small batch of leads. See what happens before rolling it out company-wide.
Step 5: Refine (or kill) what isn’t working
Automation isn’t “set it and forget it.” Here’s what to watch out for:
- Low reply rates? Try a different subject line or tweak your message.
- Getting flagged as spam? Slow down the cadence; use less salesy language.
- Duplicate emails? You may have overlapping rules—double-check your triggers and conditions.
What doesn’t work:
Don’t try to automate every single touchpoint. People can smell canned emails a mile away. Use automation to handle the boring stuff, not replace real conversations.
Step 6: Make unsubscribing easy (seriously)
If you’re sending automated emails, you need to make it easy for people to opt out. Not only is it good manners, it keeps you out of spam folders.
- Add a clear “Let me know if you’re not interested, and I’ll stop following up” line.
- If Prospeo supports an unsubscribe link, use it.
Step 7: Keep your workflow rules organized
Things get messy fast if you don’t label your rules clearly. Use names like “Deal follow-up after 3 days – Sales Team” instead of “Workflow 1.” Write a one-line description for each rule in Prospeo so you remember what it does.
Pro tip: Review your rules every couple of months. Kill or update anything that isn’t pulling its weight.
Final thoughts: Don’t overcomplicate it
Email automation in Prospeo is a lifesaver when used right, but it’s easy to get carried away. Start with one or two simple rules. Test them. Tweak them. Skip the fancy setups until you know what actually gets replies.
The goal isn’t to automate everything—it’s to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. Keep it simple, stay human, and iterate as you go. You’ll spend less time chasing leads and more time closing deals.