If you’re on a sales or outbound team, chances are you’ve got at least a couple of people juggling prospects, campaigns, and follow-ups. Keeping everyone in sync? That’s the actual hard part—not firing off cold emails. If your team uses Outplayhq, you’ve probably noticed it’s built to help with outreach, but making collaboration feel less like herding cats takes some know-how. This guide is for anyone who’s tired of dropped balls, lost leads, and endless Slack threads about “who’s got this account.”
Let’s walk through how real teams actually work together in Outplayhq, where it helps, and where you’ll want to keep things old-school (like, say, talking to each other).
Step 1: Set Up Roles and Permissions (Don’t Skip This)
Before anyone starts blasting emails or building sequences, get your house in order. Outplayhq lets you define roles—think Admin, Manager, Sales Rep. If everyone’s an admin, nothing’s secure and things get messy fast.
How to do it: - Go to Settings > Team Management. - Assign roles based on what people actually need to do. - Admin: Full access; only a couple of trusted folks. - Manager: Can see reporting, manage sequences, assign leads. - Sales Rep: Can run campaigns and manage their own leads, but not mess with everyone else’s stuff.
Pro tip: Be stingy with admin rights. It’s tempting to “just give everyone everything,” but you’ll regret it the first time someone accidentally wipes a campaign.
Step 2: Build Shared Sequences (But Don’t Overcomplicate Them)
Everyone loves a shiny new sequence, but if your team has ten versions of “Initial Outreach,” you’re just making it harder to track what works.
How to do it: - In the Sequences tab, create a new sequence. Name it clearly—e.g., “Q2 SaaS Outbound.” - Set who can view/edit the sequence. For shared campaigns, make sure everyone who needs access is added. - Use folders to group sequences by use case or team (e.g., SDRs vs. AEs).
What works: - Keep sequences simple and universal wherever possible. Tweak for vertical or persona, but don’t let every rep create their own flavor unless you’re okay with chaos.
What to ignore: - Fancy branching logic for every possible reply unless you have a dedicated ops person. It’s overkill for most teams.
Step 3: Assign Leads Without Losing Track
This is where most teams trip up—“Wait, who’s working on Acme Corp?” Outplayhq lets you assign leads to team members, but only if you actually use the feature.
How to do it: - Upload leads (CSV, CRM sync, whatever works). - Use the bulk assign tool to divvy up leads. You can filter by territory, vertical, whatever matters to you. - Set up notifications so reps know when they’ve got new leads.
Pro tip: - Don’t just assign and forget. Set a recurring check-in to reassign stale leads or cover for PTO.
Honest take: - Outplayhq’s assignment is solid, but it’s not magic. If people ignore notifications, you’ll still need to nudge them or have a quick stand-up.
Step 4: Use Comments and @Mentions (But Not as a Substitute for Real Conversation)
You can add comments on leads, sequences, and activities. This is handy for quick context—“This guy asked for a demo, loop in Sarah”—but don’t expect it to replace Slack or real meetings.
How to do it: - On any contact or sequence, look for the comment bubble or activity feed. - Use @mentions to tag teammates. They’ll get notified in-app and (optionally) by email.
What works: - Quick handoffs, logging context, or leaving reminders. - Tagging managers for approvals or tricky situations.
What doesn’t: - Complex discussions, strategy planning, or venting. Take that elsewhere.
Step 5: Share Templates and Best Practices
Everyone’s got that one rep who writes amazing emails. Don’t keep those templates locked away.
How to do it: - In Templates, create team-wide templates for common scenarios (first touch, follow-up, break-up). - Let reps suggest edits, but have one person (usually a manager) approve changes.
Pro tip: - Review templates quarterly. Outbound gets stale fast, and what worked last quarter might be getting filtered now.
What to ignore: - Endless A/B testing on tiny audiences. Focus on templates that get used most.
Step 6: Sync Calendars and Track Meetings
If you’re booking demos or calls, connect your calendar (Google or Outlook). This way, meetings get logged to the right contact, and everyone sees what’s scheduled.
How to do it: - Go to Settings > Integrations > Calendar. - Connect your account and set visibility (private, team-wide, etc.).
What works: - Auto-logging meetings cuts down on manual updates. - Visibility helps avoid double-booking or awkward handoffs.
What doesn’t: - Relying on this alone for follow-up. You’ll still need to check in with each other if a meeting goes sideways.
Step 7: Use Reporting to Keep Everyone Honest
Outplayhq shows you who’s sending what, reply rates, and more. Use this data to run real retros—what’s working, who needs help, which sequences are duds.
How to do it: - Head to the Reports tab for team-wide and individual stats. - Export or screenshot highlights for your next team meeting.
Honest take: - Don’t obsess over vanity metrics (opens, clicks). Pay attention to actual replies and meetings booked. - If someone’s numbers are way off, check if it’s process, not just effort.
Step 8: Integrate with Your CRM (But Don’t Expect Perfection)
You can sync Outplayhq with Salesforce, HubSpot, and a few others. This helps keep your outreach and main CRM in sync, so everyone’s on the same page.
How to do it: - Go to Settings > Integrations. - Follow the prompts for your CRM—usually OAuth or API keys. - Set rules for what syncs (contacts, activities, notes).
Caution: - Expect hiccups. Field mismatches, duplicate data, or missed syncs are common. Double-check early and often.
What works: - Push meeting outcomes and replies back to the CRM, so marketing and leadership see the full picture.
What to ignore: - Overcomplicating field mapping. Start basic, then improve as needed.
Step 9: Regularly Clean Up and Review
Every tool turns into a junk drawer if you let it. Once a month, do a quick clean-up: - Archive old sequences. - Reassign orphaned leads. - Delete unused templates. - Check for outdated permissions.
Pro tip: Block an hour on the calendar—it won’t happen otherwise.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple, Talk to Each Other
Outplayhq can make collaborating on outreach way easier, but it won’t fix broken processes or people who don’t communicate. Use the features that actually help your team, ignore the bells and whistles you don’t need, and—most importantly—keep talking to each other. The best tech in the world can’t replace a five-minute conversation.
Start with the basics, iterate as you go, and don’t be afraid to ditch what isn’t working. That’s how real teams succeed—no magic required.