If you’re running B2B sales and tired of juggling spreadsheets, emails, and reminders just to push a campaign out the door, you’re not alone. This guide is for sales teams who want to automate their go-to-market (GTM) campaigns using Ring without getting lost in the weeds—or buying into buzzwords. I’ll walk you through what works, what’s just noise, and how to actually get campaigns moving without needing an IT degree.
Why Automate GTM Campaigns in the First Place?
Let’s be blunt: Manual outreach is slow, error-prone, and soul-sucking. Automating your GTM campaigns frees up your sales team to do what they’re good at—talking to prospects and closing deals. Automation isn’t a silver bullet, but if you use it right, you can:
- Consistently hit the right prospects at the right time
- Cut down on mistakes and missed steps
- Spend less time on grunt work and more time selling
Of course, automation won’t fix a broken process or bad messaging. But if you’ve got your basics sorted, it’ll help you scale your efforts without scaling your headaches.
Step 1: Get Your Foundations in Order
Before you even open Ring, do yourself a favor and get these basics right:
- Clean up your contact list. Garbage in, garbage out. Make sure your data is up to date and segmented (by industry, size, persona, etc.).
- Clarify your GTM goal. Are you booking demos? Pushing a new feature? Something else? Be specific.
- Draft your messaging. Don’t rely on AI to write your cold emails—have a real human check your copy.
Pro tip: If your team is fighting about what counts as a “qualified” lead, sort that out now. Automation only amplifies confusion if you don’t have consensus.
Step 2: Understand What Ring Actually Does (and Doesn’t)
Ring promises automation for B2B sales teams, but here’s what you should know:
What it’s good at: - Multi-channel sequences (email, LinkedIn, calls) you can set up and forget (mostly) - Trigger-based workflows (e.g., if no reply in 3 days, send follow-up) - Tracking engagement and surfacing hot leads
What to ignore: - “AI-powered” messaging. It’s fine for placeholders, but don’t rely on it for final copy. - Overly complex branching. Start simple—Ring can do crazy things, but that doesn’t mean you should.
What it can’t do: - Fix your list quality or make bad offers appealing. - Replace real discovery calls. Automation gets you in the door, not over the finish line.
Step 3: Map Out Your Campaign (On Paper First)
Skip the temptation to build in the app right away. Sketch your campaign on paper (or a whiteboard):
- Entry point: Who gets added? (e.g., new leads from last week)
- Touchpoints: What happens, and when? (e.g., Email 1 → wait 2 days → LinkedIn message → wait 3 days → Call)
- Exit criteria: When does someone drop out? (e.g., replies, books a call, unsubscribes)
Why bother? You’ll save hours of backtracking if you know your flow before you click anything.
Step 4: Set Up Your Campaign in Ring
Now, finally, get into Ring:
- Create a New Campaign
- Give it a clear, specific name (e.g., “Q2 Demo Push – Chicago SaaS”).
- Import Your Contact List
- Use Ring’s import tool to upload your cleaned segment.
- Double-check mapping—Ring’s import isn’t always perfect.
- Build Your Sequence
- Add your first touch (usually email).
- Set delays between steps (don’t stack them too tight—nobody likes spam).
- Layer in other channels if it makes sense (LinkedIn, phone).
- Define Triggers and Branches
- At a minimum: If reply, stop sequence.
- Optionally: If no open, resend with new subject. (Only if you’re not annoying people—use with care.)
- Personalize Where It Matters
- Use merge tags for company, first name, etc.
- Add custom fields sparingly—overcustomization slows you down.
- Set Exit Criteria
- E.g., remove from campaign if booked a meeting or replied with “not interested.”
- Preview and Test
- Send test emails/calls to yourself or a teammate.
- Check for awkward merge tags or broken links.
Heads up: Don’t be seduced by every feature. Start basic and layer on complexity as you get comfortable.
Step 5: Automate Adding New Leads
Manual entry kills momentum. To automate new leads:
- Connect your CRM: If you use Salesforce, HubSpot, or similar, set up Ring’s integration so leads flow in automatically.
- Set Rules: For example, “Add all leads tagged ‘webinar attendee’ to Campaign X.”
- Review Regularly: Automation isn’t “set it and forget it” forever. Check weekly to make sure leads are actually syncing.
Pro tip: Watch for duplicate contacts. Ring’s deduplication is decent, but not foolproof.
Step 6: Monitor and Adjust
You’re not done once the campaign goes live. Here’s what to actually pay attention to:
- Open and reply rates: If you’re under 10% reply, something’s off—usually list quality or messaging.
- Drop-off points: Where are people ghosting you? Tweak timing or touchpoint order.
- Spam reports/unsubscribes: If these spike, back off on frequency or rethink your approach.
Don’t obsess over “AI scoring” or vanity metrics. Focus on what drives conversations and pipeline.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
Works: - Simple, multi-touch sequences - Personalization (but not too much—don’t fake being a close friend) - Timely follow-ups
Doesn’t: - Overly clever “breakup emails” (they’re played out) - Sending 8+ touches to cold prospects—stop before you annoy everyone - Blindly trusting “best time to send” features
Ignore: - Buzzword-heavy analytics dashboards. If it doesn’t help you book meetings, move on. - Automation for automation’s sake. If it’s not saving you real time, skip it.
Pro Tips for B2B Sales Teams Using Ring
- Keep it human. Automation can make you efficient, but don’t sound like a robot.
- Iterate, don’t over-engineer. Launch a simple campaign, see what works, and improve from there.
- Document as you go. Take two minutes to jot down what you changed—it’ll save you headaches next time.
Wrapping Up: Start Simple, Then Improve
Automating GTM campaigns in Ring isn’t magic, but it does make life easier—if you keep things simple and stay focused on what actually matters. Don’t chase every new feature. Nail the basics: clean list, tight messaging, clear steps, and regular tweaks. You’ll move faster, annoy fewer prospects, and probably close more deals.
Good luck—and don’t forget: iterate, don’t overcomplicate.