We'll focus on outbound sales sequences that will help you conquer lead generation. We've already shared the best cold emails, copywriting tips, follow-ups, and cool templates from our clients. But today I'd love to show you full email sequences examples.
An email sequence is a chain of emails sent based on pre-set time intervals or trigger-based automations (or both).
In simpler terms, you get to send X amount of emails to your prospect on autopilot, without having to do it manually.
There are 2 major categories in which we can divide them:
Obviously, we'll focus on sales email sequences in this article...
So without further ado, let's talk examples now.
This a great cold email sequence by Nadja that generated 80+ leads for our team.
Here's the first email in her sequence:
Let's highlight the key things that brought Nadja success:
Although this is a cool first cold email, you want to add follow-ups to the mix.
The first follow-up was sent with the same subject line so it appeared under the same thread:
Pro tip: In lemlist, keep your follow-up subject lines empty if you want to send all the emails under the same thread.
Points to highlight:
The second follow-up was sent 5 days after the second email... if they didn't respond to any of the first two emails, of course.
In this follow-up, she sends our case study featuring Zendesk that could potentially inspire the prospect's next campaign.
Finally, the last message in this sequence. It was sent one day after the previous follow-up:
And again:
This email sequence not only generated leads for lemlist, but also helped Nadja to build warm relationships with prospects.
This is a sharp campaign by Zelie which gave her 40 demo calls from 130 people that were contacted in total.
Before sending this email sequence, Zelie contacted them via LinkedIn in order to warm up the audience with this template:
After that's done, Zelie sends two follow-up emails.
When people click on the image, they'll be redirected to a dynamic landing page with a personalized text and logo. Plus, there was an easy option to book a call too.
In the video, Zelie explains why it's cool to have a quick coffee chat about sales... in 17 seconds. Short and sweet.
Recommended read: Make personalized videos in your emails
Points to highlight:
The next email was too cool for school.
Zelie followed up with a personalized image. For those who don't know French, the text on the image means: "gin for FirstName".
Points to highlight:
Last but not least, a cold email sequence example that generated 50 leads. It's the 3-step email sequence by Anaëlle.
Let's dive deeper into templates:
The {{icebreaker}} tag puts a unique text for every prospect. Anaëlle did her homework and wrote sentences that are unique for each individual. This is what moves personalization to the next level. 🔥
People want to read tailored-made emails just for them.
Here are a few cool things to highlight:
First follow-up email that fires off 3 days after the initial email... of course, if people didn't reply to it.
The tone of these emails is different and makes you feel good after reading it. Which is the whole point anyway.
And let's come to the final message in this email sequence example:
That's just a kind and friendly follow-up, a way to close your sequence. All emails performed really well:
You saw cool email sequence examples and it's time to create your own campaign!
To help you create your cold email sequence both efficiently and effectively, we've prepared this quick checklist to guide you through the process... should you need it of course.
Step 1: Prepare your email account
In order to avoid SPAM, you need to lay out the groundwork. This means setting up these:
Step 2: Identify your target audience and their emails
Now we need to find people you'd reach out to:
Step 3: Start creating your outbound sales sequence
And if you need inspiration, you will enjoy these cold email templates.
We've seen three real examples, with all the steps Nadja, Zelie and Anaëlle used to schedule calls.
Our advice?
Don't just copy them, but borrow the winning formula. Adapt it to the way you and your audience speak and think, and keep testing until you find what works and what doesn't.
Authenticity is the only thing nobody can ever take away from you!Â
G2 Rating | Price | Best for | Standout feature | Con | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.9 star star star star star | $30/mo $75/mo $2,999/mo | Large, distributed sales teams | AI evaluation precision, gamified KPIs | Lack of tracking system | |
4.6 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Sales operations and finance teams | Powerful configurability | Limited training resources and complex to navigate | |
4.4 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Mid-market and enterprise businesses | Comprehensive incentive management | Potentially high cost and steep learning curve | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | $15/user/mo $40/user/mo Enterprise: custom price | Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes | Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes | Steep learning curve | |
4.6 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Collaborative teams | Connected planning | Complexity and steep learning curve | |
4.6 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies with complex sales structures | Complex incentive compensation management (ICM) with high efficiency and accuracy | Complexity for smaller teams and potentially high costs | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies who want to automate commission calculations and payouts | Simplicity and ease of use | Lack of features like redirection | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | $30/user/mo $35/user/mo Custom: upon request | Businesses that need a comprehensive and user-friendly sales compensation management software | Ease of use and adoption | Lack of ability to configure the product based on user needs | |
4.8 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies with modern sales culture and businesses who want real-time insights | A built-in dispute management and real-time visibility | Users say it works slowly, customer support is slow | |
4.9 star star star star star | $30/user/mo $50/user/mo | Smaller sales teams | Powerful automation | Lesser user base and average user interface | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies with scalable needs | Automated Commission Calculations | Lack of filtering by date, no mobile app |
PRM Tool | Rating | Feature | Pro | Con | Mobile App | Integrations | Free Plan | Pricing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.65 star star star star star-half | Org-wide alignment | User-friendly layout and database | Suboptimal as a personal CRM | square-check | Lack of tracking system | square-check | Team: $20/month Business: $45/month | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Social Media Integration | Easy contact data collection | No marketing/sales features | square-check | Lack of tracking system | square-xmark 7-day trial | $12/month | |
4.75 star star star star star-half | Block Functions | High customization capability | Not a dedicated CRM | square-check | Limited | square-check | Plus: €7.50/month Business: €14/month | |
N/A | Open-source | Open-source flexibility | Requires extensive manual input | square-xmark | Limited | square-check Self-hosted | $9/month or $90/year | |
3.1 star star star | Simple iOS app | Ideal for non-tech-savvy users | iPhone only | square-check iOSÂ only | Limited | square-xmark 1-month trial | $1.49/month or $14.99/month | |
3.6 star star star star-half | Smart Contact Management | Feature-rich and flexible | Reported bugs | square-check | Rich | square-xmark 7-day trial | Premium: $13.99/month Teams: $17.99/month | |
4.4 star star star star star-half | Customizable Interface | Customizable for teamwork | Pricey for personal use | square-check | Rich | square-xmark | Standard: $24/member Premium: $39/member | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Integrated Calling | Integrated Calling | Too sales-oriented & pricey | square-check | Rich | square-xmark 14-day trial | Startup: $59/user/month Professional: $329/user/month | |
4.8 star star star star star | Business Card Scanning | Business Card Scanning | Mobile only | square-check | Limited | square-check | $9.99/month | |
4.45 star star star star star-half | 160+ app integrations | Comprehensive integrations | No free app version | square-check | Rich | square-xmark 14-day trial | $29.90/month or $24.90/month (billed annually) |
Capterra Rating | Free Trial | Free Plan | Starting Price (excluding the free plan) | Maximum Price (for the most expensive plan) | Best for | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.5 star star star star star-half | square-check 14-day | square-check | €15/month/seat billed annually | €792/month/3 seats billed annually + €45/month for each extra seat | Versatility and free plan | |
4.2 star star star star | square-check 30-day | square-xmark But it offers reduced price to authorised nonprofit organisations | €25/user/month | €500/user/month billed annually (includes Einstein AI) | Best overall operational CRM | |
4.3 star star star star star-half | square-xmark | square-check Limited to 3 users | Comprehensive incentive management | €52/user/month billed annually | Small-medium businesses and automation | |
4.5 star star star star star-half | square-check 14-day | square-xmark | €14/seat/month billed annually | €99/seat/month billed annually | Sales teams and ease of use | |
4.1 star star star star | square-xmark | square-check Limited 10 users | $9.99/user/month billed annually | $64.99/user/month billed annually | Free plan for very small teams up to 10 |
CRM goal | Increase the sales conversion rate for qualified leads from marketing automation campaigns by 10% in the next 6 months. | ||||
SMART Breakdown | 1. Specific: It targets a specific area (conversion rate) for a defined segment (qualified leads from marketing automation). | 2. Measurable: The desired increase (10%) is a clear metric, and the timeframe (6 months) allows for progress tracking. | 3. Achievable: A 10% increase is possible based on historical data and potential improvements. | 4. Relevant: Boosting sales from marketing efforts aligns with overall business objectives. | 5. Time-bound: The 6-month timeframe creates urgency and a clear target date. |
Actions | Step 1: Refine lead qualification criteria to ensure high-quality leads are nurtured through marketing automation. | Step 2: Personalize marketing automation campaigns based on lead demographics, interests, and behavior. | Step 3: Develop targeted landing pages with clear calls to action for qualified leads. | Step 4: Implement lead scoring to prioritize high-potential leads for sales follow-up. | Step 5: Track and analyze campaign performance to identify areas for optimization. |
Outcomes | Increased sales and revenue | Improved marketing automation ROI | Marketing and sales alignment | Data-driven marketing optimization |