How to automate lead follow up sequences in Reply step by step

If you’re tired of leads slipping through the cracks, or just sick of spending your day copying and pasting follow-ups, this one’s for you. We’re walking through how to set up automated lead follow-up sequences in Reply—step by step, no fluff. Whether you’re on a sales team or running your own shop, this’ll help you make sure your leads get the attention they need (without you babysitting every email).

Let’s get straight to it.

Step 1: Get Your Accounts and Data Ready

Before you even log into Reply, make sure you’ve got the basics sorted. This isn’t the “fun” part, but skip it and you’ll waste time fixing stuff later.

What you’ll need:

  • A Reply account (obvious, but don’t wait until the last minute to set it up)
  • Access to your email (Gmail, Outlook, or whatever you use for outreach)
  • A clean list of leads, ideally in CSV format with at least the basics: first name, last name, email, company

Pro tips: - Double-check your CSV for weird formatting, missing headers, or junk data. Reply will choke on a messy file. - If you’re grabbing leads from LinkedIn or another source, try to standardize fields before uploading. It’ll save you headaches later.

Step 2: Connect Your Email Account

Reply sends emails from your real inbox—not some random server. This is good for deliverability, but it means you’ll need to connect your email first.

How to do it:

  1. Go to Settings in Reply.
  2. Find the Email Accounts section.
  3. Click Add Email Account and follow the prompts.
  4. If you’re on Gmail or Outlook, it’s mostly clicking “Allow.” For custom domains, you might need SMTP/IMAP settings—check with your IT person if you get stuck.

What to watch out for:

  • Email limits: Google, Microsoft, and others have daily sending caps. Don’t blast out 500 emails on day one—Reply has throttling options, but start small.
  • Warm up: If it’s a brand-new inbox, “warm it up” by sending a few real emails per day before launching big campaigns. Otherwise, you risk landing in spam.

Step 3: Import and Organize Your Leads

Now, get your leads into Reply so you can actually do something with them.

Steps:

  1. In Reply, go to the People tab.
  2. Click Import, then upload your CSV.
  3. Map the columns from your CSV to Reply’s fields (e.g., First Name, Email, Company).
  4. Double-check the import preview. If something looks off, fix your file and try again.
  5. Assign leads to a list (optional, but makes life easier if you plan to run multiple campaigns).

Pro tips:

  • Tag leads by segment (“warm,” “cold,” “event X,” etc.) now, not later. You’ll thank yourself when it’s time to filter or pause certain groups.
  • Don’t be tempted to dump 10,000 leads in at once. Start with a smaller batch to catch mistakes early.

Step 4: Build Your Sequence (The Right Way)

This is where most people get stuck—either overthinking it or just copying someone else’s bland template. Here’s what works:

1. Go to the Sequences tab in Reply.

Click Create Sequence.

2. Set up your first step—a real email.

  • Short and personal beats long and salesy.
  • Use merge fields (like {{FirstName}}) but don’t go nuts. If your email looks like a robot wrote it, people ignore it.
  • Don’t hide your intent. “Just checking in” doesn’t fool anyone.

Example first email:

Subject: Quick question, {{FirstName}}

Hi {{FirstName}},

Saw you’re at {{Company}}—wondering if you’re the right person to talk to about [your offer]. If not, can you point me in the right direction?

Thanks, [Your Name]

3. Add follow-ups

  • Make each follow-up a new step in the sequence.
  • Change up the copy—don’t just resend the same message.
  • Vary timing. Typical intervals are 2-4 days, then 5-7 days.
  • Keep them short and to the point.

Example follow-up sequence:

  1. Day 2: “Just wanted to make sure you saw my note below. Would love your thoughts.”
  2. Day 5: “If you’re not the right person, no worries—just let me know who is.”
  3. Day 10: “I’ll stop bugging you after this, promise. Just wanted to check one last time.”

4. Mix in other channels (optional)

Reply lets you add LinkedIn steps, calls, or tasks. If your leads respond to LinkedIn, add a connection request or message as a step. If not, don’t bother.

What to skip:
Don’t create 10+ follow-ups. If someone hasn’t replied after 3–5 honest tries, you’re probably just annoying them.

Step 5: Set Up Triggers and Rules

Automation’s great, but only if it stops when it should. Set up rules so you don’t keep emailing people who reply or bounce.

Key things to automate:

  • Auto-stop on reply: Reply will automatically stop the sequence when someone responds. Double-check this setting is on.
  • Auto-remove on bounce: If an email bounces, Reply can pull that lead from your sequence.
  • Custom triggers: You can set rules to move leads to another list, assign tasks, or trigger another sequence based on actions (like clicking a link).

What matters:

  • You don’t NEED to automate every edge case. Focus on stopping emails to people who reply, bounce, or unsubscribe.
  • Don’t overcomplicate with endless triggers—simple is better, especially when you’re starting out.

Step 6: Test Your Sequence (Don’t Skip This)

Nobody wants their first impression to be “Hi {{FirstName}},” or to send 100 emails with broken links.

How to test:

  • Add yourself and a teammate as test leads.
  • Run the full sequence. Check for typos, broken merge fields, weird formatting.
  • Send to a Gmail and Outlook address—see what it looks like across inboxes.

Troubleshooting tips:

  • If merge fields aren’t working, double-check your CSV headers and field mapping.
  • If your emails land in spam, try shortening your copy, removing links, and warming up your inbox.

Step 7: Launch—But Start Small

Ready to go? Resist the urge to blast everyone at once.

  • Start with 25-50 leads. Watch for issues.
  • Reply will throttle emails automatically, but you still need to monitor your inbox for problems (out-of-office replies, angry responses, etc.).
  • After a few days, check your stats: open rates, reply rates, bounces.

What to watch:

  • If your reply rate is under 3%, your subject line or copy probably needs work.
  • Lots of bounces? Your list isn’t clean enough.
  • Getting “unsubscribe” or “stop emailing me” notes? Scale back the number of follow-ups.

Step 8: Iterate and Improve

Automation isn’t “set it and forget it.” The best sequences are tweaked over time.

  • Test new subject lines every few weeks.
  • Swap out follow-up copy that’s not getting replies.
  • Remove steps that have zero engagement.
  • Look at the data, but don’t obsess—if you’re getting meetings or replies, you’re on the right track.

Ignore: - Shiny new “AI copywriting” tools that promise perfect emails. Most spit out boring, generic junk. - Endless “best practices” lists. What works for you in your industry and audience is what matters.

Keep It Simple

Setting up automated lead follow-up in Reply isn’t rocket science. Start small, use real language, and don’t let fancy features distract you from the basics: send helpful emails, follow up a few times, and stop when people reply. Make it better as you go. That’s how you actually win more replies (and your sanity) back.