69: A Complete Breakdown of My Outbound Sequence

Read time: 5min

Agenda

1. The 3 Steps to Sequence Prep

2. The Sequence Framework I use

3. 3 Sequence Tips (+ bonus resources)

If you aren’t using AI, you’re falling behind.

Whether you’re comfortable writing outbound sequences or not, Generative AI will ensure you’re writing relevant messaging at scale.

I like Regie because it’s the Generative AI tool specifically designed for sales.

Stay tuned for my upcoming newsletter where I’ll share exactly how I use AI tools like Regie in my process.

Also, if you’re like me and want to wrap your head around how and why you should use AI, check out The Official Guide to Generative AI in Sales.

The 3 Steps to Sequence Prep

Before creating a sequence ask yourself 3 things:

1. Who’s the target?

2. What’s the message?

3. What’s the goal?

(1) Who’s the target

Last newsletter was all about this: narrowing your ICP.

Each sequence should be hyper-focused on one persona.

For example, “Marketing Leaders” is too broad. “Director of Marketing Ops” is more specific.

Narrowing who your target makes your messaging feel more personal to them.

(2) What’s the message

Your sequence messaging should be based on the problem(s) you solve for that persona.

If you can describe the problem to your buyer clearer than they can, you’re on to something.

Here’s the exercise I do for this:

1. Pick one specific persona

2. Research their problems: demo recordings, G2 Crowd reviews, talk to others in your org, etc.

3. List out all the problems and narrow it to the top 2 or 3

4. Re-write those problems how your prospect would say it

Now find 3 pieces of supporting content for these problems:

1. One case study

2. One 3rd party resource (see here for more details - topic #2)

3. One image, gif, or video that shows how your product solves that problem

(3) What’s the goal

It’s important to define the goal of your sequence because it will dictate how aggressive it is, how long it is, and what sort of steps you’ll be using.

My sequence goal is simple: get a yes or no as soon as possible.

A “no” is better than no response.

Most of my market is not in a buying stage (likely the same for you). So if I get a no, I just want to stay top of mind until that time comes.

For that reason, my sequence framework is aggressive and short.

The Sequence Framework I Use

Day 1 - Steps 1-3:

• LinkedIn connection request (I a/b test with & without a message)

  • Hey [name] sending over an email shortly and wanted to put a face to the name!

  • Hey [name] mind if I send a 1min video re: an unconventional method for getting 7%+ reply rates?

• Email

  • I still use the same framework:

    • Sentence #1: context

    • Sentence #2: value prop w/ social proof

    • Sentence #3: call to action

  • When personalizing emails, I go down my list of buying triggers until I find one that matches, then I plug in the template that matches that buying trigger (hiring, using X tech stack, recent job change, etc.).

• Phone call + voicemail

  • My opener always references the email I just sent as well as the buying trigger I noticed.

  • My voicemail is “Hey it’s Jed with Mailshake. Sending over an email. Subject line is “XYZ”. Let me know your thoughts, thanks.”

Day 2 - Steps 4-5:

• Bump email (same thread)

  • This is where I’ll add that image, gif, or video we talked about

• Phone call (no voicemail)

• Side note: if they accept my connection request now I’ll start to message them. If not, I may try to engage with recent content if they have any. If they don’t, I stop using LinkedIn at this point (sorry, not a fan of In-mails). That’s why it’s SO important to get connected.

Day 5 - Steps 6-7:

• Bump email (same thread)

  • Go for the referral: “Would it make more sense to chat with [colleague] about this?”

• Phone call (no voicemail)

It’s been a full week at this point. I’ve hit them from 3 different channels several times a day talking about one specific problem.

It’s time to give them a break and move on to a new problem we solve for them.

I also have a step at this point in the sequence where I will check for engagement.

If they haven’t opened any of my emails and/or their number goes straight to voicemail every time, I’ll swap them out with someone else from that org.

Day 9 - Steps 8-9:

• Email (new thread)

  • Same framework from before but focusing on a new problem.

• Phone call (no voicemail)

Day 10 - Steps 10-11:

• Bump email (same thread)

  • This is where I’ll add that supporting case study we talked about.

• Phone call (only if they’re engaging)

Day 13 - Step 12:

• Bump email (same thread)

  • This is my breakup email. I’ll use that 3rd party resource we talked about earlier as a value add.

3 Sequence Tips (+ bonus resources)

(1) Last year we added a manual step at the end of our sequences: “Add engaged leads to nurture sequence”. Engaged = they opened/clicked more than 50% of emails.

This is a 90-day sequence. No asks, just helpful resources related to the problem we solve. Our SDRs are booking at least 2 meetings per month from it.

If you are a paid subscriber and want to see what it looks like, respond to this email and I will send it!

(2) Use triple taps. Any time you send an email, always execute at least one or two other touch points at the same time (phone call + voicemail or phone call + LinkedIn message).

I never knew how impactful this was until I became a buyer. The reps that do this to me stand out.

(3) Use Regie.ai’s free plan for email content ideas. I started using Regie last month and am going DEEP into AI. So stay tuned for my next newsletter where I’ll share exactly how I use AI in my process :)

Thanks for reading,

Jed

P.S. Here are some more helpful resources:

1. Get paid $10-100 instantly by giving feedback on B2B Messaging. Powered by Wynter (my team at Mailshake used Wynter last year - highly recommend it).

2. Become a Sales Navigator expert in <15min with my free course

3. Prefer audio? Check out The Practical Prospecting podcast!