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F3 — Outbound Sequencer

Multi-step cold email cadences that send from YOUR connected Gmail/Outlook (OAuth) — not from a shared CRMown sender. Each sequence has 1–8 steps with configurable delays between them; Resend bounce + reply detection auto-pauses contacts when they engage. Every address is verified before it enters the cadence (Outbound Deliverability F1) so invalid mailboxes never burn your sender reputation.

Open in CRMown →

Steps

  1. Go to Tools > Lead Generation > Outbound (or /dashboard/leadgen/outbound).
  2. Click "+ New sequence". Pick name, step count, and the mailbox(es) the sequence sends from (must be a creator-owned Gmail/Outlook OAuth connection — see Settings > Communications).
  3. For each step, write subject + body. Use {{firstName}}, {{company}}, {{title}} merge fields. Set delay-after-previous-step in days.
  4. Optional: enable "AI personalization" per step — the AI rewrites the body using each contact's known signals before send. Or generate the entire sequence from a value-prop description.
  5. Set send window (default 9–5 in your tz, weekdays only) and daily send cap (default 30/day per mailbox).
  6. Enroll contacts: from the sequence detail page, pick a segment, individual contacts, or import a CSV. Each enrollment gets a unique mailbox round-robin assignment so the sender stays consistent across the sequence.
  7. Pre-send verification (F1): as you enroll, CRMown verifies each address BEFORE it joins the cadence. Invalid addresses (no MX record, hard-rejected mailbox, disposable inbox) are skipped automatically. "Risky" (role inboxes like info@/sales@) and "catch-all" domains are skipped too unless you tick "Include risky addresses". Use the "Verify selected" button in the enroll dialog to pre-check addresses and see a Valid/Invalid/Risky/Catch-all chip on each before you commit.

Good to know

  • Why verification matters: sending to dead or trap mailboxes spikes your bounce rate, which mailbox providers read as a spammer signal — it tanks deliverability for your GOOD sends too. The F1 gate keeps your bounce rate low so the rest of your cadence actually lands. Verdicts cache for 30 days, so re-enrolling the same people is instant and free.
  • Verification statuses: Valid = deliverable, send freely. Invalid = never enrolled (hard-bounce risk). Risky = role inbox or low confidence, skipped unless you opt in. Catch-all = the domain accepts everything so we can't confirm the specific mailbox, skipped unless you opt in. Unknown = the mailbox server blocked our probe (common with Google/Microsoft) — treated as a soft pass and enrolled.
  • Bring your own verification key (optional): connect a NeverBounce or ZeroBounce API key under Settings > Privacy to use that provider instead of the built-in MX/SMTP probe — higher accuracy plus unlimited verifications (BYOK bypasses the monthly cap). Without a key, verification uses the built-in probe and counts against your plan's monthly verification cap (Starter 250 · Pro 1,000 · Max 5,000).
  • Rollback switch: an org owner can turn the gate off entirely under Settings > Privacy (outbound verification) if it's ever filtering too aggressively — enrollments then behave exactly as they did before F1.
  • Mailbox policy: Sequences send from the SEQUENCE CREATOR's connected mailboxes only — not from teammate mailboxes. Connect Gmail/Outlook under Settings > Communications before creating a sequence. If the OAuth fails or expires mid-cadence, Resend takes over (Reply-To stays on the original mailbox so threading works).
  • Bounce + reply detection: Resend webhook auto-marks contacts as "bounced" or "replied" — both states pause the sequence for that contact. The sequence resumes for everyone else.
  • Compliance footer: Every cold email gets a CAN-SPAM-compliant footer with a one-click unsubscribe link + your physical address (pulled from Org settings). You can't turn it off.
  • Daily send cap: enforced per-mailbox to keep Gmail/Outlook deliverability healthy. The worker queues remaining sends for tomorrow when the cap is hit.
  • Send window respects each contact's timezone if set on the contact record; otherwise falls back to the sequence's windowTimezone.
Example: A founder selling to law firm partners builds a 4-step sequence: subject line A/B variants on step 1, a value-prop with case study link on step 3, a "should I close your file?" breakup email on step 4. Sends from the founder's own Gmail (so replies thread back to her inbox, not a no-reply). 240 contacts enrolled over 3 weeks → 12% reply rate → 18 booked demos. No one mistook it for spam because it came from a real person.

Troubleshooting

"No mailbox connected" error when creating a sequence
No active Gmail or Outlook OAuth connection on your user account.
Fix: Settings > Communications > Connected Accounts > Connect Gmail or Connect Microsoft 365. Then return to Outbound and create the sequence.
Sequence stalled — sends paused
Daily send cap hit, mailbox OAuth expired, or every active enrollment has been bounced/replied/unsubscribed.
Fix: Check the sequence stats card: a yellow "Mailbox needs reconnect" badge means OAuth is expired. Otherwise, look at the Daily sent counter — if it equals the cap, sends resume tomorrow.
A contact replied but the sequence kept sending
Resend webhook missed the reply event, or the reply landed in the mailbox's spam folder (which we don't scan).
Fix: Manually pause the contact from the sequence enrollment list. Reply-detection generally works within 60 seconds of the reply landing in the inbox proper.
Contacts were skipped at enroll with "email failed verification"
The F1 pre-send gate found the address invalid (no MX record, hard-rejected mailbox, or a disposable domain) and skipped it to protect your sender reputation.
Fix: Working as designed — those addresses would have bounced. Fix or remove the email on the contact record. If they were skipped as "risky" or "catch-all" (not "invalid") and you still want to send, re-open the enroll dialog and tick "Include risky addresses".
"You've used N of N email verifications this month" when enrolling or verifying
You hit your plan's monthly verification cap (Starter 250 · Pro 1,000 · Max 5,000) on the built-in verifier.
Fix: Wait for the monthly reset, upgrade your plan, or connect your own NeverBounce/ZeroBounce key under Settings > Privacy — BYOK verifications are unlimited.

Related

  • F2 Prospecting (source contacts to enroll)
  • F8 AI SDR (auto-creates and runs sequences on autopilot)
  • F9 Referrals (uses the same outbound mailbox for referral asks)
  • Workspace Sync (mailbox connection lives here)

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