If you're in B2B sales or marketing, you already know that manually following up with leads is a slog. Automated email sequences are supposed to make this easier, but setting them up can feel like a maze of menus, confusing settings, and vague promises. This guide is for anyone who wants to actually get results with automated outreach—specifically using Reachout. I’ll walk you through setting up a sequence, point out what matters (and what doesn’t), and help you avoid time-wasting mistakes.
Let’s get into it.
1. Get Your List Together (Don’t Skip This)
Before you even open Reachout, you need a clean list. I mean it—don’t try to automate garbage. Here’s what you need:
- A CSV with accurate emails and (ideally) first names, company, job title.
- No duplicates. No catchall or generic addresses (like info@ or sales@).
- If your data’s old or sketchy, use a tool to verify emails first. Bad data = spam folder.
Pro tip: Only reach out to people who are likely to care. Spraying emails at random companies is a quick way to get ignored—or worse, flagged as spam.
2. Set Up Your Reachout Account
Obvious, but worth mentioning: make sure your Reachout account is ready.
- Connect your sending email. Use a real domain, not a throwaway Gmail. This helps with deliverability.
- Warm up your email address if it’s new. Don’t send 200 emails on day one. Services like Mailwarm or Lemwarm can help. If you skip this, your emails will just vanish into spam.
What about deliverability settings?
- Authenticate your domain. Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC (your IT person will know what these are). Skip this and your open rate will tank.
- Don’t use links or lots of images in your first emails. Keep it plain and personal.
3. Create Your Email Sequence
Here’s where most folks overcomplicate things. Don’t. You want a simple, short sequence that feels like a human wrote it.
Step-by-step:
- Go to “Sequences” in Reachout and click “New Sequence.”
- Name your sequence something clear. (“Q2 SaaS Outreach” beats “test123.”)
- Add your first email.
- Keep it short. 3-5 sentences.
- Personalize with merge tags like {{First Name}} and {{Company}}.
- No fake “Re:” or misleading subject lines. This works for about a week, then gets you blocked.
- Avoid attachments, images, or links in the first email.
- Write 2-3 follow-ups.
- Space them out—2-5 days apart.
- Each should look like a real person following up, not a robot.
- “Hey {{First Name}}, just making sure you saw my last note. Is this relevant for {{Company}}?” works better than a long pitch.
- Stop after 3-4 total emails. More than that is just annoying.
- Don’t use “bump” or “just checking in” for every follow-up. Add a new angle, share something useful, or just be direct.
What to ignore: Templates that promise “10x higher response rates.” If it sounds too good to be true, it is. The best emails sound like you wrote them yourself.
4. Import Your Leads
Once your sequence is done, it’s time to load your list.
- Go to “Contacts” in Reachout and click “Import.”
- Map your CSV columns (first name, email, company, etc.) to the right fields.
- Tag your list with a campaign name, so you can track results later.
Heads up: If you have more than 500 contacts, break them into smaller batches. Sending too many at once is a red flag to spam filters.
5. Assign Leads to Your Sequence
Now, connect your list to your email sequence:
- Select your imported contacts.
- Click “Add to Sequence” and pick the right one.
- Double-check the preview. Make sure merge tags work. (Nobody wants “Hi {{First Name}}.”)
Safety check:
- Set sending limits. Don’t blast 500 emails a day. Start with 25-50 per day if your domain is new, increase slowly.
- Pause and review. Send a test email to yourself. Check formatting, links, and that the message doesn’t land in spam.
6. Schedule and Launch
- Choose your sending window. Stick to business hours in your recipients’ time zone.
- Enable tracking for opens and replies (but don’t obsess over opens—replies are what matters).
- Hit “Start.” Congrats, you’re live.
Pro tip: Don’t panic if your first batch gets a low reply rate. Iterate. Sometimes it’s the message, sometimes it’s the list.
7. Monitor and Adjust
Here’s the honest truth: No sequence is perfect out of the gate. Watch your results, then adjust.
- Replies are gold. Focus on what gets real conversations started, not just opens.
- If you get a lot of bounces or spam complaints, STOP. Something’s wrong with your list or domain setup.
- Test new subject lines and body text—but change one thing at a time.
- Don’t over-automate. If someone replies, take them out of the sequence and handle it personally.
What to ignore: Vanity metrics like open rates or click tracking. They’re nice, but replies are the real goal.
FAQ: Common Mistakes (And How to Dodge Them)
Q: Should I use fancy HTML emails?
A: No. Plain text wins in B2B. Looks more personal and lands in more inboxes.
Q: Can I buy a big list and blast it?
A: Technically, yes. Realistically, it’ll wreck your sender reputation and get you nowhere. Build or vet your list.
Q: How many follow-ups is too many?
A: More than four is pushing it. If they haven’t responded by then, move on.
Q: What about AI-generated emails?
A: They’re getting better, but most are still easy to spot. Use them to brainstorm, not to send as-is.
Keep It Simple—and Keep Going
Automated email sequences are powerful, but only if you keep things simple and stay human. Don’t get lost in endless features or “growth hacks.” Start with a clean list, write like a person, review your results, and tweak as you go. The best campaigns don’t look automated at all.
Stick with it, adjust as you learn, and remember: quality beats quantity every time.