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From Replies → Pipeline: Routing & Next-Step SOP
Wins die in inboxes. Standardise the handoff so interest becomes pipeline—fast.
Alexander Shartsis
September 02, 2025
A positive reply is perishable. Every hour that passes increases the odds your champion gets busy, loses context, or loops in a new stakeholder who resets the convo. The fix isn’t “work harder”—it’s a tiny system: clear labels, owners, SLAs, and pre-written next steps anyone can send without rewriting the wheel.
Health Checks (At a Glance)
Zero ambiguity: every reply gets a label, an owner, and a time-to-action.
Fast first move: meetings get scheduled within hours, not days.
Consistent tone: short, human snippets—same voice, different details.
Tight loop: a weekly 20-minute review that kills friction and scales what worked.
Use these labels as the single source of truth. SLAs vary because some replies decay faster than others.
Label | Definition | SLA | Owner | Default Next Step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Positive – Meeting | Explicit interest + time | 2h | SDR | Send scheduler link + propose 2 slots |
Positive – Resource | Curious, asks for info | 4h | SDR | Send 1-pager or 60-sec Loom; book follow-up |
Referral / Not-Me | Points to the right person | 4h | SDR | Ask for intro; create new contact & re-send |
Objection – Pricing/Timing/Tooling | Pushback but engaged | 4h | SDR → AE if needed | Use A-R-A reply + soft ask |
Not Now / Later | Ask to revisit | Same week | SDR | Schedule nudge date + add to “Later” list |
OOO / Bounce | Auto-replies or failures | 24h | SDR | Update contact; re-try on return date |
Unsubscribe | Opt-out | Immediate | System | Suppress & log reason |
Rule of thumb: high-intent within 2h, medium within 4h, admin within 24h, “Later” gets a specific date.
Routing Rules (turn into automations)
Wire these once so nothing slips through cracks:
Any labeled open thread → create task with SLA + owner.
Positive – Meeting → auto-insert scheduler; if no pick in 48h, send nudge.
Referral → create new contact, move original to Waiting-Intro, reminder in 3 days.
Not Now → add to Later with date; auto-surface every Monday.
OOO → set re-send for return date; if undated, re-try in 7 days.
“Next Step” Playbook Snippets
Short, specific, and easy to personalize with tokens.
Book the meeting (45–55 words)
Great—here are two options: Tue 10:30 or Wed 3:00 {timezone}. If neither works, this link finds a slot. We’ll cover {X,Y,Z} and keep it to 20 minutes.
Send resource + follow-up
Sharing the 1-pager you asked for. If useful, I can show the 8-minute walkthrough next week—worth pencilling Tuesday?
Referral
Appreciate the pointer—would you mind a quick intro to {name}? Happy to send a blurb you can forward.
Not now → nudge
Makes sense. I’ll circle back the week of {date}—or shout if priorities change sooner.
Objection (A-R-A)
Totally hear you on {objection}. Teams like {peer} tackled that by {reframe}. Worth 10 minutes to see if the math works for you?
Minimal Dashboard (Tuesday ritual)
Track by campaign and owner:
Opens, Positive Replies, Meetings Booked, Show/No-Show
Later bucket size
Median response time & SLA breach rate
Decide based on the last 2 weeks, not single-day noise: kill slow branches, double the winners.
1-Day Rollout Plan
AM — Map & labels (45 min): adopt the taxonomy, set owners, define SLAs.
Late AM — Automations (45 min): create tasks on label, meeting nudges, Later resurfacing.
PM — Snippet rehearsal (30 min): role-play each snippet once; tweak phrasing.
End of day — Go live (15 min): sanity-check, then start labeling every reply.
Ready to go live?
Run reply labels and next-step snippets without breaking flow. Launch a campaign in under 10 minutes, keep messages one-of-one per lead (no regurgitated templates), and standardise handoffs with shared templates.
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