If your sales team is still chasing prospects with endless “just checking in” emails, you’re not alone. Most sales reps hate follow-ups, and buyers ignore them. But if you automate it right, you’ll save hours and actually close more deals. This guide is for anyone tired of manual follow-up hell and ready to get real about what works (and what doesn’t) with automation. We’ll use Flowla as our tool, but the advice applies to any decent sales automation platform.
Why Bother Automating Follow-Ups?
Let’s get real: most deals don’t die because of a bad demo or a missing feature. They die because someone drops the ball on follow-up. If you’re stuck sending reminders, you’re wasting time you could use to actually sell. Automation does the boring stuff for you — but only if you set it up to sound like a human, not a robot.
What Automation Can Do (and What It Can’t)
Good for: - Nudging prospects who’ve gone quiet - Personalizing at scale (if you’re careful) - Keeping deals moving without micromanaging your pipeline
Not so good for: - Complex, one-off negotiations - Fixing a broken sales pitch - Building rapport from scratch
Automation is a tool, not a magic wand. If your pitch is weak or you don’t know your audience, no amount of automated emails will save you.
Step 1: Map Your Sales Follow-Up Process
Before you touch any software, get clear on your process. Otherwise, you’ll automate chaos.
- List your key follow-up points. Is it after a demo? A proposal? A pricing discussion?
- Decide on timing. How long do you wait before following up? One day? Three days? (Hint: Sooner is usually better, but don’t be a pest.)
- Define your messages. What’s the goal of each follow-up? Reminder, education, nudge, or closing?
Pro tip: If your sales cycle is complex, start simple. You can always tweak later.
Step 2: Set Up Your Flowla Account
If you haven’t already, sign up for Flowla. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Once you’re in: - Walk through the onboarding (skip their “product tour” if you’re impatient; most of it is obvious). - Connect your email and CRM if you use one. It’s worth it for tracking, even if you hate integrations.
Don’t: Import your entire contact list just to “see what happens.” Start with a few test prospects.
Step 3: Build Your First Automated Follow-Up Sequence
This is where the magic (or disaster) happens. Flowla calls these “flows,” but it’s just a fancy word for a set of automated messages.
1. Create a New Flow
- Go to your dashboard, hit “Create New Flow.”
- Name it something you’ll recognize, like “Demo Follow-Ups.”
2. Add Steps to the Sequence
Think through the touchpoints you mapped out earlier. Maybe: 1. Immediately after the call: “Thanks for your time, here’s the recap.” 2. 2 days later: “Any questions? Here’s a case study.” 3. 5 days later: “Still interested? Let’s schedule next steps.”
In Flowla, you can: - Set triggers (e.g., after email opened, after X days) - Personalize with variables (like first name, company) - Mix in LinkedIn or SMS if that fits your workflow
3. Write Messages That Don’t Sound Automated
Nobody wants to get a “Hope this finds you well” email from a bot. Use templates, but tweak them:
- Keep it short. Two or three sentences.
- Reference something specific about your last interaction.
- Add a question or call to action. (“Should I circle back next week?” works better than “Let me know.”)
What to ignore: Overly complicated branching logic. Unless you’re running a massive sales team, keep your flows linear and simple.
Step 4: Test Your Flow (Don’t Skip This)
This is the step most people rush, and then they wonder why prospects ghost them.
- Send the flow to yourself first. Check for typos, broken links, or weird formatting.
- Test personalization. Make sure placeholders actually work. Sending “Hi {FirstName},” is an easy way to look clueless.
- Verify timing. Are the delays between steps reasonable? Or are you spamming people twice in a day?
If you can, get a teammate to review your messages. Fresh eyes catch dumb mistakes.
Step 5: Launch With Real Prospects
Now, pick a handful of live deals — not your hottest leads, but not dead-ends either.
- Enroll them in your first flow.
- Watch how they respond. Do open rates go up? Do you get more replies?
- Be ready to jump in manually if someone replies or goes off-script.
Don’t: Blast your entire pipeline until you know your flow doesn’t backfire.
Step 6: Track Results and Adjust (This Matters)
Automation is never “set it and forget it.” Once your flow is live: - Check your open and reply rates in Flowla’s dashboard. - Notice which steps get ignored — maybe that third follow-up isn’t needed. - Tweak your timing or messaging based on real data.
Signs your automation is working: - You’re booking more meetings without chasing people. - Prospects actually reply (even if it’s “not interested,” at least you know). - You spend less time on admin, more on real conversations.
Red flags: - Unsubscribes spike or prospects complain about spam. - Replies drop off after automation starts. - You get flagged by email providers (watch your sender reputation).
If that happens, dial back the frequency, rewrite the messages, or just pause and ask yourself if you’d reply to your own emails.
Step 7: Layer on Smart Personalization (But Don’t Overdo It)
Once you’ve got the basics down, you can add more polish:
- Use dynamic fields for things like company name, last meeting date, or pain points.
- Drop in a quick Loom or video if you can swing it — it stands out.
- Reference specific questions or objections from your last call.
But don’t get sucked into endless customization. A good-enough personalized message beats an over-engineered flow every time.
Step 8: Avoid the Common Pitfalls
A few things I’ve seen trip up even experienced sales teams:
- Automating too much. If every interaction is automated, you’ll sound like a robot. Step in for high-value deals.
- Ignoring replies. Automation should free you up to respond faster, not ignore prospects who actually engage.
- Not updating your flows. Sales cycles change. Update your templates and timing every few months.
Step 9: Keep Things Simple and Iterate
It’s tempting to chase every new feature, but most teams get the best results by starting small. One or two follow-up flows, tested and tweaked, will beat a complicated mess every time.
- Review what’s working monthly.
- Kill what isn’t.
- Improve as you go.
Bottom line: Automating your sales follow-ups with Flowla isn’t rocket science, but it’s not magic either. Get your basics right, sound like a human, and let the software handle the grunt work. Stay curious, keep it simple, and don’t be afraid to hit pause and rethink if something feels off. That’s how you actually move the needle on conversion rates — without losing your sanity.