Someone downloads a guide, asks a question, or has a good call with you – and then goes quiet. Nothing has gone wrong. Their project slipped, the budget moved to next quarter, the person driving it went on leave. Six months later they will buy from whoever is still in mind.
A nurture sequence is simply how you make sure that is you, without anyone having to remember to chase.
What a nurture sequence is not
It is not a newsletter. A newsletter goes to everyone at the same time about whatever is current. A nurture sequence is triggered by something a specific person did, and runs on their clock rather than yours.
It is also not a drip of sales emails with the word “just” in front of them. Four variations of “just following up” is not nurture. It is pestering with a schedule.
The structure that works
A good sequence earns the right to ask. The simplest version that consistently works has five emails over roughly six weeks.
1. Deliver and set expectations
Immediately. Give them what they asked for, say who you are in two lines, and tell them what they will receive and how often. Honesty here dramatically reduces unsubscribes later.
2. The problem behind the problem
Three days later. Not about you. Take the thing they were researching and explain what usually causes it. You are demonstrating that you understand their situation better than the competitor who sent a brochure.
3. Proof
A week later. A short, specific account of a business like theirs with the same problem, what was done, and what changed. Specific beats impressive – one real number is worth a page of adjectives. Our guide on writing case studies that win clients covers the format.
4. The objection you always get
Ten days later. Every business has one – price, timescale, disruption, “we tried this before”. Name it and answer it straight. Prospects are already thinking it; addressing it first builds more trust than avoiding it.
5. A clear, low-friction ask
Two weeks later. One specific invitation: a short call, an audit, a question they can reply to. One ask, one link, no menu of options.
After that, they move to your regular list. The sequence has done its job.
The rules that matter more than the content
Write from a person, not the company. From a named colleague, replies going to a real inbox. “Marketing Team” signals that nobody is listening.
Make replying easy. The most valuable response is a reply, not a click. Ask real questions and answer the ones you get.
Plain text beats design. A heavily designed template signals mass mailing. A plain email from a person reads as though it was meant for them – and usually lands better in inboxes too.
Stop when they engage. If someone books a call, they should drop out of the sequence immediately. Nothing undermines you faster than an automated nudge arriving the day after a good conversation.
Consent and compliance
In the UK, B2B email marketing is governed by UK GDPR and PECR. Emailing corporate subscribers at limited companies and LLPs is generally permitted on a legitimate interests basis, but sole traders and partnerships are treated like individuals and need consent.
Whatever the legal basis, the practical requirements do not change: say who you are, make the purpose clear, include a working unsubscribe in every email, and honour it immediately. Keep a record of where each contact came from and when. If you cannot explain why someone is on your list, they should not be.
What to measure
Open rates have become unreliable and are a poor basis for decisions. Watch replies, clicks to meaningful pages, meetings booked and unsubscribes. A sequence with a modest open rate that produces conversations is working. One with high opens and no replies is wallpaper.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a nurture sequence be?
Long enough to be useful, short enough to end. Five to seven emails over six to eight weeks suits most B2B businesses. If the buying cycle is genuinely long, follow it with a monthly insight rather than extending the sequence indefinitely.
Should every enquiry get the same sequence?
Not ideally. Someone who downloaded a guide is at a different stage from someone who asked for a quote. Two sequences handle most of the difference; more than three is usually over-engineering.
What if we have nothing to say?
You do – you just have not written it down. The questions you answer on every sales call are the sequence. Record a few calls, note what you keep explaining, and write that.
Do we need expensive software?
No. Most CRMs with a marketing add-on will run this, and so will the mid-tier email platforms. The cost is in writing something worth reading, not in the tool.
Get a sequence written and running
If this has been on the list for a while, the obstacle is usually writing rather than technology. We plan, write and set up nurture sequences for established businesses, including the CRM side — see our email marketing service or get in touch.
