Sequence template · 5 steps over 20 days

First paying customers in one vertical, founder-led

For founders selling the first paid version to one vertical: a five-step sequence built around a specific problem, a short demo and an early price conversation.

Goal. First paying customers in a single vertical, sold by the founder

Step 1Day 0, campaign start

Subject {{pain_point}} at {{company}}

Hi {{first_name|there}},

We launched a few weeks ago and we are working only with {{vertical}} companies this year, so every conversation is with someone who has the same problem as you: {{pain_point}}.

From what I can see, {{company}} handles this with {{current_way}}. That usually works until volume grows, and then it takes someone's afternoon every week.

I would like to show you what we built, in fifteen minutes, on your own example rather than a demo account. If it does not fit, you will know quickly.

Is there a slot this week or next?

Focus on one vertical says you understand their world. The current_way field shows you did your homework; leave it blank rather than guess.

Step 2Day 3

Subject Re: {{pain_point}} at {{company}}

Hi {{first_name|there}},

Rather than list features, here is what changes in a {{vertical}} team that uses us: the person who owns {{pain_point}} today stops doing it by hand, and the rest of the team sees the result without asking.

If that is not a problem worth fifteen minutes at {{company}}, tell me and I will stop. If it is, send me one real example and I will prepare the call around it.

Outcome instead of features, and a smaller ask: one example instead of a meeting.

Step 3Day 7

Subject A question about {{current_way}}

Hi {{first_name|there}},

A genuine question rather than a pitch: when {{current_way}} goes wrong at {{company}}, who finds out first, and how long after?

I ask because the answer decides whether we are useful to you. If nobody notices for a week, we save you real trouble. If you catch it the same day, we save you an hour, and that may not be worth a change.

Either answer is fine. I would rather know than guess.

A qualifying question that is easy to answer and tells you whether to keep going. Some replies will be a no, which is the point.

Step 4Day 12

Subject Re: A question about {{current_way}}

Hi {{first_name|there}},

Since we are early, pricing is straightforward and I am happy to talk about it before a demo rather than after. There is a trial, and the price you start on stays where it is for the first year.

I mention this because founders often tell me the price conversation is the part they want out of the way first.

If you want the number in writing, reply with "price" and I will send the page.

Pricing up front removes the usual reason to stall. Replace the trial and first-year sentence with the terms you really offer.

Step 5Day 20

Subject Last one from me

Hi {{first_name|there}},

I will close this thread here. If {{pain_point}} moves up the list at {{company}} later, my earlier messages have everything you need and a reply to any of them reaches me.

If someone else at {{company}} owns this now, I would be grateful for a name.

Thanks for your time.

Closes politely and asks for the one thing that costs the reader nothing: a name.

Use this sequence once the product is live, priced, and you have decided to sell it to one vertical first. Founder-led sales works because the founder can answer any question on the spot and change the product after the call. The sequence is written to get those calls, not to close by email.

Who to put in it

Pick companies in the one vertical you have chosen and, inside each, the person who owns the pain in practice. In a smaller company that may be the founder or operations lead; in a larger one, a department head. Two people per company is a reasonable maximum here, and if both reply the company card in the company view shows you the whole conversation in one place, so you do not run two parallel threads without knowing it.

What to change before sending

Three fields do the work: vertical, pain_point and current_way. The last one is the most valuable and the easiest to get wrong. If you do not know how a company handles the problem today, leave the field empty and let the fallback drop the sentence, rather than inventing something the reader will spot. The mechanics of fallbacks are in personalisation with snippets and custom fields. Step four makes promises about a trial and pricing; rewrite them so they match your actual terms, or delete the step.

How to read the replies and when to stop

Step three is a filter on purpose. A reply that says “we catch it the same day” is a polite no; thank them and mark them Not interested so nothing else sends. A reply that describes a real delay is an Interested reply even if it does not mention a call; propose two times in your answer. The classifier will sort most of these for you, and the sorting guide explains what to do with the Maybe later pile, which in early sales is usually the biggest.

Stop after step five. Do not restart the sequence for the same person for at least a quarter; add them to a later campaign with a new reason instead. When you have as many first customers as you can serve well, pause the campaign, because a customer you cannot look after is worse than none at this stage.