How do you maximize value from the Sequences tool?

[Proposable]

Here at Proposable, we've moved to the Hubspot CRM because of its ease of use and clean UI. We also created a seamless integration (that anyone can use: https://proposable.com/hubspot-crm), but we're looking to maximize the Sequence functionality for our sales procurement process. Does anyone have any advice on Do's and Don'ts?

We've used several tools, but we like the fact that Sequence is fully integrated into Hubspot. Would love some feedback, past experience and ideas. 

[aliciaw]

One of the things I like best about the sequences and templates is the customization and the personalization that's available. 

Using contact and company tokens is hugely helpful for filling in small, personal details like contact name, company name, and location. We also use custom propeties for dates so we can format emails to look something like:

"I'll be in the :city: area on :traveldates: if you have some availability to meet at that time"

We've also seen an improvemnt in response rate by personalizing further, something I picked up from the Inbound Sales Certification available on the HubSpot academy. For example, at the end of each first email, we make sure to include something relevant about an event the contact has recently attended. This leads to a much more natural conversation when we do get a response. 

I found this guide on the community to be really helpful when we started our sequence strategy: https://community.hubspot.com/t5/Best-Practices-Tips-Tricks/HubSpot-Sales-Templates-vs-Mail-Merge/m-...

Have you learned anything else interesting in your early testing? I'd love to hear more about what you've tried! 

[nicolebrenner]

Hey @aliciaw, thanks for sharing my post - I'm glad you've found it useful! 

@Proposable you can find a link to our HubSpot Sales Certification here: https://academy.hubspot.com/certification I would definitely recommend this resource as a great place to start. 

@Josh @Pablo @kcooper do you all have any advice here?

@KyleJepson @cstetter @BeccaMoore Any other good HubSpot resources you know of that might help? 

[Josh · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the mention @nicolebrenner.

For sequences, the 2 most important things are personalization and value.

Using tokens, I want to be able to personalize as much as possible and still have it make sense. This will require different sequences for different situations.

Second, each email in a sequence should provide some sort of value or purpose. If a person receives one of these emails and they have to say, "why the heck did I get this" it becomes more annoying than anything. 

Added tip...love the breakup email. I include one at the end of every sequence. It's shocking how many people respond to that in comparison to the other emails in a sequence.

Hope that helps!

[nicolebrenner]

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Added tip...love the breakup email. I include one at the end of every sequence. It's shocking how many people respond to that in comparison to the other emails in a sequence.

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This is great insight, love hearing about surprising discoveries like this. Thanks for sharing @Josh

cc: @roisinkirby

[KyleJepson]

A couple useful resources:

Training on sequences: https://academy.hubspot.com/modules/hubspot-sequences 

Training on email templates: https://academy.hubspot.com/modules/creating-sales-email-templates

Let me know if you have more questions!

Kyle