Nimble CRM for Solopreneurs

Using Nimble CRM to Create a Sales Outreach Cadence

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I was reading an article on LinkedIn recently about the importance of developing sales outreach cadences. While I am aware of these, having been in sales for over 45 years, I confess that I have never formally deployed one. My outreach was always very targeted and I worked largely on referrals. A topic for another time.

For those not familiar with sales cadences, this practice is based on statistics that would suggest that it takes up to  “X” number of attempted cold outreaches in order to maximize your chances of successfully making a connection that will potentially lead to an opportunity. Most commonly, the number I see ranges from 7 to 10 before abandoning the attempt.

Now then, how might we configure Nimble CRM to assist in this process? I see 3 elements that we can put into play …

  1. Workflows
  2. Workflow Automations
  3. Email Message Sequences (drip campaigns)

The challenge is … how can we manage these outreaches and how can we ensure that we stay on track and on schedule? Here’s one way …

Workflows

Workflows are stages within a process. For our purposes, we will set 4 stages and each stage represents one outreach attempt in our cadence. A 5th stage will be used to move them to a sequence (read on). Feel free to set as many stages as you wish. We can also specify how long each contact should stay in a stage, without moving, before they are marked as being stuck.

We’ll use this stuck feature as a reminder to perform our next outreach. For example, we will set 5 days between each stage although you can choose any number that works best for you and these numbers can be different for each stage if you wish. 

See the stuck notice? Here’s a reminder to complete the task and to move them to the next stage. If they reply, remove them from the workflow.

Workflow Automations

We can also deploy automations in our workflows. An automation is based on a trigger creating an action. Our trigger will be moving the contact from one stage, our previous outreach, to the next stage, our next outreach.

The actions that we will use will be to either …

  1. Send a template email or …
  2. Create a task, for example, a phone call or …
  3. Move this contact out of the workflow and into a message sequence

If you are using an automation to create a task, you will be reminded to complete that task. Our 5th stage workflow automation will move this contact out of the workflow and into a sequence.

Email Sequences

Our message sequence will be composed of 3 messages which will give us 7 outreach attempts in total. These messages will be set to be sent on a specific schedule unless we see that a desirable action has been taken by the recipient. 

Nimble will automatically monitor for these actions. I am looking for a reply to my message. If you reply, you will be removed from receiving further messages and, if not, you will get the next one. If we never get a reply, and you have completed the sequence, you will be removed and we still have several options. We might move you to a new workflow or even to a new sequence.

You may be asking yourself, why can’t I just place them directly into an 7 email message sequence? The simple answer is that you could. However, if your inbox looks anything like mine, everybody these days is relying on a drip email campaign. Why not choose to be different?

This process mixes up the outreach channels and makes it more authentic. With workflow automations, we can send emails or create a variety of outreach tasks such as make a phone call, send a text message, direct message on LinkedIn, or even schedule a personal visit. We are warming them up, if needed, for a final email push.

For those of you who are more experienced with sales cadences than I … your thoughts would be appreciated!

Please be sure to check out these top 100 sales blogs on Feedspot. I am honored to be one of them!

Are you thinking about a CRM? If you would like to explore whether or not Nimble CRM might be right for you, please book a free 30-minute Zoom consultation with me by going to my calendar. To learn more about our Nimble training and implementation services, please visit our Nimble CRM training services page.  

In addition to Nimble CRM, I also offer sales training and training on LinkedIn as well as getting started with AI (Artificial Intelligence). I can even assist with hiring new salespeople with initial interviews and pre-hire DISC personality assessments.  

I would also be happy to connect you to a marketing professional who I know and trust or to an automated yet personalized and human-to-human LinkedIn prospecting system. Please reach out to me at craig@adaptive-business.com for an introduction!

Craig M. Jamieson

Craig M. Jamieson

Managing Member at Adaptive Business Services
Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. Adaptive Business Services provides solutions related to the sales professional. We are a Nimble CRM Solution Partner. Craig also conducts training and workshops primarily in social selling and communication skills. Craig is also the author of "The Small Business' Guide to Social CRM", now available on Amazon!
Craig M. Jamieson

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