You’ve got leads. You’ve even got some replies. But most deals stall because the follow-up just doesn’t happen—at least, not when it should. If your team is still cobbling together reminders in spreadsheets or, worse, sending “just checking in again” emails by hand, you’re leaving money on the table. This guide is for sales reps, founders, and anyone who wants to actually close more deals using Contactbird by automating what should’ve been automated years ago: the follow-up sequence.
Let’s get straight to it.
Why Automated Follow-Ups Actually Work
Before diving into the how-to, let’s get real: Most prospects aren’t ignoring you because they hate you. They’re busy. They forget. Or maybe your first email just didn’t hit the mark. Following up (politely, and more than once) is proven to get more replies—if you do it right.
Manual follow-ups? They’re inconsistent and easy to forget, even if you mean well. Automating your sequences means every lead gets the right nudge at the right time, no excuses.
But here’s the catch: Automation isn’t magic. If your sequence is awkward, spammy, or annoying, you’ll just annoy more people, more efficiently. So, let’s do it the right way.
Step 1: Map Out Your Follow-Up Goals
Don’t start with the tools—start with your customers. Ask yourself:
- What’s the real point of your follow-up? Is it to book a call, get a reply, or something else?
- How many touchpoints make sense? (Hint: For most B2B, 3–5 is the sweet spot. More than 7 and you’re probably just pestering people.)
- What channels will you use? Email, SMS, maybe even a LinkedIn nudge?
Pro tip: Write out your sequence on paper first. Don’t let a tool dictate your process—use the tool to run your process.
Step 2: Clean Up Your Contact Data
Automation is only as good as your inputs. Garbage in, garbage out.
- Make sure your contact records are up to date. If you’re importing from CSV, check for missing names, bad emails, and duplicates.
- Tag or segment your contacts. You’ll want to send different sequences to, say, cold leads vs. warm prospects.
- If possible, add any key info (like company size or deal stage) now. You can use these fields to personalize later.
What to skip: Don’t waste hours obsessing over every data field. Get the basics right: name, email, maybe company. You can clean up more later.
Step 3: Build Your Sequence in Contactbird
Now, fire up Contactbird and get into the automation.
a) Create a New Sequence
- Head to the Sequences or Automation tab (exact name depends on your Contactbird plan).
- Click “Create New Sequence” or similar.
- Give it a clear name—something you’ll recognize in a month, like “2024 Q2 Inbound Demo Follow-Up.”
b) Add Your Steps
For each step, you’ll define:
- Timing: How many days after the last email?
- Channel: Email, SMS, or something else?
- Message Template: The actual content.
Example:
- Day 0: Immediate reply (thanks for your interest, here’s what happens next)
- Day 2: Quick check-in (friendly nudge, maybe add a value prop)
- Day 5: Share a case study or testimonial
- Day 10: Last attempt (polite break-up email)
What works: Keep emails short, conversational, and relevant. Personalize at least the first line. Avoid “just circling back.”
c) Personalize Where It Matters
Contactbird supports variables—stuff like {{FirstName}} and {{Company}}. Use them, but don’t overdo it. A little personalization goes a long way, but fake personalization (“Saw you’re at {{Company}}...”) is easy to spot.
Real talk: It’s better to write a genuinely good message than rely on tricking someone with merge fields.
Step 4: Set Triggers and Conditions
This is where automation gets smart.
- Entry triggers: When should a contact enter this sequence? (e.g., when they fill out a form, get added to a list, or move to a certain deal stage)
- Exit conditions: When should they stop getting emails? Usually if they reply, book a meeting, or unsubscribe.
- Branching: If Contactbird supports it, you can add logic (e.g., if no reply after 2nd email, send SMS instead). Don’t get lost here—start simple.
What to ignore: Don’t bother with overly complex branches at first. Most teams overcomplicate and then never debug their flows. Start with linear, simple sequences. You can add sophistication later.
Step 5: Test Your Sequence (Don’t Skip This)
Never trust what you haven’t tested. Here’s what to do:
- Add yourself (or a teammate) as a test contact.
- Run through the full sequence. Check for typos, broken variables, and weird delays.
- Make sure opt-out/unsubscribe works. No one likes being trapped in a sequence.
- Check deliverability: Do your messages end up in spam? If so, tweak subject lines and content.
Pro tip: Actually reply to your own sequence. Make sure the automation stops as promised.
Step 6: Launch and Monitor
Once you’re happy with your test, go live—but keep an eye on things.
- Start with a small batch of leads. Don’t dump your entire database in at once.
- Monitor replies, bounce rates, unsubscribes, and (most importantly) booked meetings or demos.
- If you’re getting lots of “please remove me” replies, your messaging needs work. If you’re getting nothing, your sequence is probably too bland or too infrequent.
What to watch: Open rates are nice, but replies and meetings are your north stars. Don’t get distracted by vanity metrics.
Step 7: Tweak, Simplify, Repeat
No automation setup is perfect out of the box. Every audience is different.
- Review which steps get responses and which get ignored. Trim what doesn’t work.
- Refresh your content every few months. Stale sequences get ignored.
- Don’t over-automate. It’s tempting to build giant, branching trees, but most high-performing teams keep things simple and focus on quality over quantity.
Pro tip: Ask a real human (not just your team) to read your sequence and give you honest feedback. If they’d cringe at getting your email, rewrite it.
A Few Pitfalls to Avoid
- The “Set and Forget” Trap: Automation means you don’t have to send every email by hand, but it doesn’t mean you never check in. Review your results regularly.
- Sounding like a robot: If your emails read like they were written by a CRM, people will ignore them. Write like a person.
- Ignoring replies: Make sure someone’s actually following up on responses. Automation is great, but deals close with real conversations.
Keep It Simple, Keep It Real
Automated follow-ups in Contactbird can make your team faster and more consistent, but don’t let the tech get in the way of treating people like people. Start with a simple, honest sequence. Test it. Watch how people respond. Iterate, but don’t overcomplicate things.
Remember: The best sequence is the one you actually use—and improve over time.