Exclude previously enrolled contacts from different sequences

[JPhillips0]

 We are looking to ensure that a sequence excludes contacts we have previously enrolled into another sequence. Essentially we are trying to prevent contacts that may overlap on lists being sent duplicate email. What is the best way to set up a rule for this?

[karstenkoehler · Accepted solution]

Hi @JPhillips0,

I see two aspects of your question, preventing contacts from being enrolled in multiple sequences at the same time and contacts experiencing similar sequences over time.

HubSpot is taking care of contacts not being in enrolled in multiple sequences at the same time: Each contact can only be enrolled in one sequence at a time, see here.

That means that we only have to look into previous sequences. One way to approach this would be in very broad strokes, using the Now in sequence property. If you want to exclude contacts who have ever been in any sequence, you could create a contact list that looks like this:

If you want to exclude contacts from enrolling into new sequences when they have been enrolled in a specific sequence before, you could do so via this list filter:

Unfortunately, you'll have to pull-up the sequence ID, HubSpot doesn't let you filter by sequence name. (The sequence ID is the number that you see when you navigate to Menu > Automation > Sequences > Manage and click on a sequence. Your URL should look like this: https://app.hubspot.com/sequences/PORTAL_ID/sequence/SEQUENCE_ID/edit. From this URL, you can copy the sequence ID.)

Once you have created the first or the second list, I'd recommend creating a filtered contact view on the contact index page (Menu > Contacts > Contacts > All filters > List membership > Contact is not a member of list created above). Your sales reps should then always use this filtered view when enrolling contacts into a sequence or exclude this list from their own filtered views that they're using.

Unfortunately there isn't an option to set a global exclusion list for sequences in HubSpot. (Other users have requsted this before.)

Best regards!

[danmoyle]

I'll be saving these instructions @karstenkoehler 😂 I was thinking of how to do this and saw you had it all laid out. Boom.

[karstenkoehler]

@danmoyle 🙏 glad to hear! 🙂

[Jnix284]

@karstenkoehler it is no wonder you're a hall of famer, thanks for all you do! 😉
as @danmoyle said, I too will be keeping this for reference! 

[Jnix284]

@JPhillips0 There is a property called Now in Sequence that you can use to exclude from your lists, learn more about managing contacts enrolled in a sequence.

Hope this helps get you started, please share if you run into other questions getting this implemented.

[kvlschaefer]

Hi @JPhillips0,

Thanks for reaching out!

I would like to invite our subject matter experts to this conversation to see if they have advice.

Hi @Jnix284, @danmoyle, @Olivia_Bagnall - Do you have any recommendations for @JPhillips0? 

Thank you!

Best,

Kristen