Sequence template · 4 steps over 14 days

Design-partner outreach for a pre-launch B2B product

For founders who need five to ten design partners before launch: a four-step sequence that asks for a problem conversation, not a purchase.

Goal. Five to ten design partners who have the problem and will test early builds

Step 1Day 0, campaign start

Subject Building something for {{problem_area}} at {{company}}

Hi {{first_name|there}},

I am building a product for teams that deal with {{problem_area}}, and I am not launching until I have worked closely with a handful of companies that live with the problem every week.

{{company}} came up because of how your team handles {{problem_area}} today. I would like to hear how it actually works for you, what breaks, and what you have already tried.

There is nothing to buy. If it fits, you get early access and a say in what we build. If it does not, you have given me twenty minutes and I will send you what we learn.

Would a short call next week work?

The first message sells a conversation, not a product. Name the problem in their words, say plainly that there is nothing to buy, and keep the ask to one call.

Step 2Day 3

Subject Re: Building something for {{problem_area}} at {{company}}

Hi {{first_name|there}},

One thing I should have said up front: I am not looking for feedback on a mock-up. I am looking for the people whose week gets worse when {{problem_area}} goes wrong, so the first version solves a real problem rather than a guessed one.

If that is someone else at {{company}}, a name would help me more than a reply from you.

If it is you, twenty minutes at a time you pick is all I am asking.

Adds a new angle (who the right person is) and gives a cheap way out: a name instead of a meeting.

Step 3Day 7

Subject What early access would mean for {{company}}

Hi {{first_name|there}},

To make the ask concrete, this is what a design partner gets from us: a working version before anyone else, a direct line to the people building it, and terms that stay fixed for the first year once we launch.

What we ask in return is honest use and honest feedback, roughly one conversation a month.

We are keeping the group small so each partner shapes the product. If {{company}} would rather watch from the outside, that is fine too. Either way, a one-line answer helps me plan.

Fresh subject, fresh reason: the terms of the deal. Change the promise about pricing to whatever you can actually keep.

Step 4Day 14

Subject Closing the loop

Hi {{first_name|there}},

I will stop here. If {{problem_area}} is not a priority at {{company}} right now, that is a useful answer and I take it as a no for this round.

If timing is the only issue, reply with a month and I will come back then, no reminders in between.

Thank you for reading this far.

A polite close. It gives the reader a way to say not now without writing a paragraph.

Use this sequence when the product does not exist yet, or exists only as a rough build, and you need a small group of companies to shape it with you. It is not a sales sequence. The moment it starts to read like one, the people you want most will stop replying, because they have no budget line for something that is not launched.

Who to put in it

Aim for the person who owns the problem day to day, not the executive who signs for it. In a company of fifty to five hundred people that is usually a team lead or a head of function. Put two or three people from the same company in the campaign only if they sit in different teams that each feel the problem; otherwise one person per company is enough at this stage. The reasoning is covered in how many people to contact in one company.

Keep the list short. Thirty to sixty companies is plenty for a round, because you can only hold so many partner conversations a month.

What to change before sending

The problem_area field carries the whole sequence. Write it in the words the reader would use, not your product’s words, and check it in the To check queue before the first send so nobody receives a blank. Rewrite the third step’s promise (early access, fixed terms) to match what you can actually offer. If you cannot promise anything yet, say so and offer a summary of what you learn instead. More on fields and fallbacks in personalisation with snippets and custom fields.

How to read the replies and when to stop

A reply that describes the problem in detail, even without agreeing to a call, is a design-partner candidate. Reply personally and take them out of the sequence. A “send me more information” is usually a soft no from someone who does not feel the pain; answer once and move on. A referral to a colleague is a good outcome: start that colleague on step one with a line about who pointed you to them.

Stop after step four. If the round fills before the sequence ends, pause the campaign rather than letting the remaining steps ask for a place you no longer have.