Outbound Workflows
An Outbound Workflow is a goal-driven outreach cadence. You define the goal and targeting criteria. AI then proposes a multitouch cadence and writes personalized email content for each prospect. Before you activate the cadence, review and approve each email.
An Outbound Workflow connects four elements:
- Goal—The outcome you want from the outreach, such as booking a discovery call or increasing event registration.
- Targeting filters—Conditions that determine which prospects are eligible.
- Touchpoint cadence—The ordered sequence of email, phone call, and LinkedIn InMail steps.
- Personalized email content—AI-generated content based on the prospect profile, account context, engagement history, and recent news.
The AI uses the goal to suggest targeting filters, design the cadence, draft touchpoint prompts, and personalize every generated email.
Key concepts
The following sections explain how to create an Outbound Workflow, review generated emails, approve prospects, and manage Outbound Workflows.
Create an Outbound Workflow
The Outbound Workflow wizard has five steps: Goal, Targeting, Generate touchpoints, Settings, and Add prospects. Your goal shapes the remaining steps.
- In the left navigation, select Outbound Workflows.
- On the Browse tab, select + Create Outbound Workflow in the upper-right corner.
Step 1: Define your goal
The goal defines the intended outcome and guides targeting, cadence, and email generation.
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Select Start from scratch to write your own goal, or select Start from template to use a saved template.
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Select one of the Recommended goals matched to your company. Each recommendation includes a short explanation of why it fits. Select a recommendation to fill in the goal, select View all to browse the full set of recommendations, or enter your own goal. You can also choose from the Popular goals list.
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Select Next: Targeting.
State a specific outcome in the goal. For example, enter Book a 15-minute discovery call with marketing leaders evaluating campaign automation instead of Promote campaign automation.
Step 2: Configure targeting filters
Targeting filters define which prospects are eligible. When you add prospects later, only those prospects who match these filters appear in the selection list.
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Select the down arrow to open the Add a filter list, then select a filter.
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Set values for the filter.
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Add more filters if you need to narrow the audience.
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Select Next: Generate touchpoints.
Step 3: Generate and review touchpoints
After you configure targeting, AI analyzes the goal and targeting criteria, defines the cadence, and writes a prompt for each touchpoint. The cadence can include email, phone call, and LinkedIn InMail steps.
Expand an email touchpoint to read its prompt. The prompt guides the AI as it writes each prospect’s email, including the tone, length, focus, and call to action.
Typing a forward slash / brings up the list of defined tokens you can use to personalize the email.
Regenerate the cadence
If the cadence is not what you want, select Regenerate and enter a refinement instruction. For example:
Use three touchpoints across two weeksLead with an executive briefing offer in the first emailAdd a nurture touch focused on a relevant case study
AI rewrites the full cadence based on your instruction. To adjust one email touchpoint, edit its prompt instead of regenerating the entire cadence.
Set a touchpoint delay in days, hours, and minutes. Set the days, hours, and minutes to 0 to send the touchpoint with no wait after enrollment or completion of the preceding touchpoint. Use a longer delay to space later touchpoints within the cadence.
Use the Knowledge Center in prompts
If your organization has built a Knowledge Center playbook, refer to it in the prompt. Name the document and describe the context to use. For example, enter Use the ABC positioning guide from the Knowledge Center and focus on the security value proposition.
When the cadence and prompts are ready, select Next: Settings.
Refine the touchpoint prompts before generating prospect emails. AI uses these prompts for every selected prospect.
Step 4: Configure Outbound Workflow settings
The Settings step controls how the Outbound Workflow runs.
- Review the Outbound Workflow name and change it if needed.
- In Max prospects per Outbound Workflow, confirm the maximum number of prospects that the Outbound Workflow can manage at once.
- Set the Send window for the hours when outbound emails are allowed to send.
- Select the days of the week when emails can send. To avoid weekend sends, select only the weekdays instead of using a separate Skip Weekends setting.
- Choose whether to send during each prospect’s most active hours.
- To stop follow-up touchpoints automatically once a prospect books a meeting, turn on Meeting Booking Pause.
- Choose whether to use each prospect’s time zone or the Outbound Workflow Timezone for send timing. If you use the Outbound Workflow time zone, confirm that it matches your audience.
- Under Permissions, keep Private (the default) or select Shared with everyone. For details, see Share an Outbound Workflow.
- Select Save and add prospects.
The opt-out footer is configured globally by an administrator and applies to outbound emails independently of the Outbound Workflow settings. See Configure global email opt-out.
Step 5: Add prospects and start email generation
Saving opens the prospect selection view with the targeting filters from step 2 applied.
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Review the list.
Rows typically include prospect name, account, email, job title, engagement status, and prospect status.
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Adjust filters here if you need to expand or narrow the list.
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Select prospects using the checkboxes.
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Select Next: Review touchpoints to start per-prospect email generation.
AI generates a personalized email for each selected prospect and email touchpoint. Phone and LinkedIn InMail touchpoints remain scheduled steps. To continue working during generation, select Notify when ready.
For each prospect, the AI combines the touchpoint prompt with person and account data, engagement history, and recent news to produce a subject line and body.
Review and refine generated emails
When generation finishes, the Outbound Workflow detail view prompts you to review the drafts. Sales Qualifier does not send email until you approve it.
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In the Outbound Workflow detail view, select Review drafts in the banner.
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The Review touchpoints step has two tabs:
- Ready for Review—Emails that have finished generating.
- Generating—Emails that are still being written.
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In the prospect list on the left, select a name to load that prospect’s touchpoints on the right.
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Use the chevron (>) on a touchpoint to expand and read the full subject line and body.
Read the AI reasoning
For each generated email, Reasoning explains how the AI crafted that message, including signals, attributes, and sources that shaped the content and call to action. Review this information and validate personalization before you approve.
Edit emails directly
For small wording or tone changes:
- On the expanded touchpoint, select the Edit icon to open the editor.
- Edit the subject line or body.
- Select Save.
Refine emails with AI
For structural or emphasis changes, use Generate with AI. AI rewrites the email while retaining its personalization context.
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In the email editor, select Generate with AI.
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Enter a clear instruction, for example:
Make it shorter and more direct. Keep it under 100 words.Focus more on the prospect's role and how the solution helps them specifically.Change the call-to-action to suggest a 15-minute introductory call instead.
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Review the revision and edit it if needed.
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Select Save.
Approve and enroll prospects
Approval activates the cadence for a prospect. The system does not send emails to a prospect until you approve and enroll them.
- In the left prospect list, select the prospects whose emails you have reviewed and are ready to send.
- Select Approve and enroll prospects in the lower-right corner.
Approved emails are sent according to the Outbound Workflow’s selected days, send window, active-hours option, and time-zone setting. A touchpoint with a zero delay sends with no wait; each other touchpoint follows its configured delay. Unapproved prospects remain in Ready for Review.
Share an Outbound Workflow
Each Outbound Workflow has a Permissions setting. Outbound Workflows are Private by default. The owner can select Shared with everyone to make an Outbound Workflow available to the team.
On a shared Outbound Workflow, teammates can enroll their own prospects. Each person can manage or pause only the prospects that they enrolled, including when using bulk actions. The Outbound Workflow owner alone can edit plan-level settings, including the schedule, time zone, cadence, and other settings. These settings are read-only for teammates.
Use these filters to keep shared Outbound Workflows and results focused:
- On Engaged Prospects and Performance, use Enrolled by to filter prospects by the person who enrolled them. The filter defaults to prospects that you enrolled.
- On the Browse tab, use the sharing filter to select Shared by me, Shared with me, Private, or All.
Out-of-office reply handling
When a prospect replies with an out-of-office message, the Outbound Workflow handles it automatically.
- Automatic resume: On by default. If the out-of-office reply includes a return date, the Outbound Workflow resumes the cadence on that date. If no return date is given, the Outbound Workflow resumes after a resume-after buffer that your team can configure.
- Manual options: A rep can still select Resume now or schedule a specific resume date. See Manage existing Outbound Workflows.
Manage existing Outbound Workflows
On the Outbound Workflows page, the Browse tab lists every Outbound Workflow available to you. Each card shows the goal, configured touchpoints, and performance metrics. Use this view to monitor Outbound Workflows, review drafts, or add prospects.
Email outbox
The Email Outbox lists the automated emails sent on your behalf and any replies.
Meeting booking
When you connect your calendar, Sales Qualifier generates a personal booking link that prospects can use to schedule time with you.
- Booking links—Configure your calendar connection and availability in Profile settings. Add the booking link to your email signature so that it appears in outbound emails.
- Cadence placement—Sales Qualifier inserts your booking link at relevant points in a cadence. You can change its placement.
- Booking pause—When a prospect books a meeting, Meeting Booking Pause stops further follow-ups. See Step 4: Configure Outbound Workflow settings.
Track booking outcomes on the Outbound performance page.
Outbound Workflow best practices
- Define a specific goal. Targeting, cadence, and emails all derive from the goal. State the outcome that you want the Outbound Workflow to achieve.
- Finalize touchpoint prompts before per-prospect generation. After bulk generation, changes are typically made one prospect at a time.
- Use Reasoning as a quality check. If the wrong signal is emphasized or a relevant signal is missing, edit the email or revise the touchpoint prompt and regenerate the cadence.
- Match the editing tool to the change. Use direct edits for wording and tone. Use Generate with AI for restructuring or reframing.
- Approve only what you have reviewed. Expand touchpoints, read the content, and refine where needed before enrollment.