Switch on automatic lead follow-ups

Most leads go quiet, and it's easy to forget to chase them. With follow-ups switched on, if you email a lead and they don't reply, Couchwork prepares a polite nudge after a few days, and a second one a few days after that. It stops as soon as they reply.

Switch it on

1. Click Leads.
2. Next to the pipeline tabs near the top, click the small cog (the tooltip says *Rename or delete this pipeline*). This opens Pipeline settings.
3. Make sure Counts towards sales statistics is ticked. Follow-ups only work on pipelines that count as sales, so they don't chase your support requests.
4. Tick Follow up automatically. More options appear below it.
5. Choose your settings (see below), then click Save.

The settings

• First follow-up after: how many days of silence before the first nudge (3 to begin with).
• Second follow-up after: how many *more* days before the second (7 to begin with).
• Send from / Send until: the hours of the day follow-ups are allowed to go out (9:00 to 17:00 to begin with), so nobody gets one at midnight.
• Weekdays only: keeps follow-ups to Monday to Friday.
• Who writes them: choose The AI, based on the conversation, or My templates. The AI reads the email thread so each follow-up fits what was actually said. If the AI isn't available, your templates are used instead.
• Extra guidance for the AI: optional, for example Mention our 2-year guarantee. Keep it very short.
• Templates: your own wording for the first and second follow-up. You can use {{contact.firstName}}, {{assignee.name}} and {{email.subject}} and Couchwork fills them in.

Review first, or send automatically?

At the bottom is Send automatically.

• Off (the safe default): each follow-up is left on the lead as a draft. You look at it, change it if you want, and send it yourself.
• On: follow-ups go to customers with nobody checking them first.

How it starts

A lead's follow-up clock starts when you email that lead's contact. The simplest way is to open the lead and click Email customer. You can also open an existing email in Email and choose Link to lead. The emails go out from the pipeline's chosen mailbox if there is one (the Send emails from setting in the same window), or from your own mailbox if not.

When a follow-up is ready

The lead's card on the board shows a Follow-up ready badge. Open the lead and look at the Follow-ups section. You can:

• Review & send: open it as an email, edit it and send.
• Send now: send it as it is.
• Skip: don't send this one.
• Pause follow-ups on that lead, and Turn follow-ups back on later.

When it stops by itself

• The customer replies. The card shows Customer replied and the follow-ups stop.
• The lead is moved to a Won or Lost stage.
• Someone pauses follow-ups on that lead.
• Both follow-ups have been sent. There are never more than two.