Creating and managing workflows

Workflows are automated email sequences that nurture recycled contacts over time. Instead of a single follow-up when the callback date arrives, workflows keep your brand present throughout the waiting period with helpful content, updates, and check-ins.

This article covers how to create workflows, configure their settings, add email steps, and manage them once they’re running.

What Is a workflow

A workflow is a series of timed emails sent to contacts based on their recycling criteria. Think of it as a drip campaign specifically designed for people who already know you but weren’t ready to buy.

Each workflow has three main components:

Audience — Who should receive this workflow. You define criteria based on products, recycle reasons, competitors, and other attributes. Contacts who match enter the workflow automatically.

Steps — The actual emails in the sequence. Each step has content, timing, and optionally a different sender. A workflow might have 3 steps or 10 steps depending on how long you want to nurture.

Settings — Configuration like the workflow name, default sender, language, and status (draft, active, or paused).

When a contact matches the audience criteria, they enter the workflow and start receiving emails according to the step timing. They continue until they complete the sequence, unsubscribe, or exit for another reason.

Prerequisites

Before creating flows, make sure you have:

• A verified sending domain — You need at least one domain with Active status in Settings > Emails > Domains.
• At least one sender — You need a sender profile to send emails from. Create these in Settings > Emails > Senders.
• Recycled leads or deals — Workflows target recycled contacts. If you haven’t recycled any deals yet, there’s no one to nurture.

See the Setting up domains and senders article if you haven’t completed these steps.

Creating your first workflow

Let’s walk through creating a workflow from scratch.

Starting a new workflow

1. Go to Nurturing
2. Click + Workflow
3. A modal opens for basic workflow settings

[Screenshot: Create flow modal with name, cohort, sender, and language fields]

Workflow settings

Workflow name

Choose a descriptive name that identifies what this workflow does:

• “Missing Feature – Product A”
• “Budget Constraints – Enterprise”
• “Competitor Win-Back – Competitor X”
• “Timing Nurture – Q4 Prospects”

The name helps you identify workflows in lists and reports. Make it clear enough that you’ll remember what it’s for six months from now.

Cohort

Cohorts are folders that group related workflows. Select an existing cohort or create a new one.

Use cohorts to organize by:

• Product line
• Region or territory
• Campaign type
• Time period

Cohorts are optional but helpful once you have many workflows.

Default sender

Select the sender profile that emails in this workflow come from. This applies to all steps unless you override it at the step level.

Choose a sender that fits the audience:

• For deals with personal relationships, use the rep who worked with them
• For broader campaigns, use a team identity
• For educational content, consider marketing or thought leadership senders

Language

Select the language for email templates. This sets:

• The default language when creating email content
• System text like unsubscribe footers
• Template suggestions and designs

If you nurture contacts in multiple languages, create separate workflows for each.

Saving the workflow

Click Save to create the workflow. It opens in draft status — not yet sending to anyone. You’ll configure the audience and add steps before activating.

Defining the audience

After creating a workflow, you need to define who should receive it. The audience determines which recycled contacts enter the workflow.

Accessing audience settings

1. In the workflow details, click the Audience tab
2. Click Edit audience

[Screenshot: Audience edit modal showing filter options]

Audience filters

Rizer provides several filters to target specific contacts.

Deal type

Choose whether this workflow targets recycled deals or recycled leads. You can’t mix both in one workflow — they’re different objects with different attributes.

• Leads — Contacts from recycled leads
• Deals — Contacts from recycled deals

Products

Select which products the contact’s deal must include. Use this to:

• Send product-specific messaging
• Highlight features relevant to one product
• Address objections specific to certain offerings

You can select multiple products. Contacts match if their deal includes any of the selected products.

Recycle reasons

Target contacts based on why they were recycled:

• Missing feature
• Too expensive
• Not the right time
• No available budget
• Better price by competitor
• And others

Selecting multiple reasons creates an OR condition — contacts match if they have any of the selected reasons.

This is powerful for tailoring content. A flow for “No available budget” contacts can focus on ROI and value. A flow for “Missing feature” contacts can share product updates.

Solution type

Filter by what the prospect chose instead of you:

• Competitor — They selected a known competitor
• In-house solution — They built their own
• Unknown — The alternative wasn’t captured

Competitors

When solution type is Competitor, you can filter by specific competitors. Create workflows targeting contacts who chose particular competitors with messaging that addresses that competitive situation.

Segments

If your organization uses segments or territories, filter by them. This ensures workflows respect regional differences or sales team boundaries.

How filters combine

Filters work together with AND logic. A contact must match all selected criteria to enter the workflow.

For example, if you select:

• Products: “Enterprise Plan”
• Recycle reason: “Too expensive”
• Segment: “North America”

Only contacts who have all three attributes enter the workflow. Contacts with “Enterprise Plan” who were recycled for “Missing feature” don’t match.

Viewing match count

As you configure filters, Rizer shows how many contacts currently match your criteria.

[Screenshot: Audience summary showing “34 companies match these criteria”]

Use this count to:

• Verify you’re not accidentally excluding everyone
• Gauge the scale of your workflow
• Test whether filters are too broad or too narrow

Zero matches means either no contacts have these criteria yet, or your filters are too restrictive. Check that you’ve recycled deals matching these criteria.

Very high matches might mean your filters are too broad. Consider whether everyone in that group really needs the same messaging, or if you should split into more targeted workflows.

Saving audience settings

Click Save to apply your audience configuration. Rizer will evaluate contacts against these criteria and enroll matching ones when you activate the workflow.

Adding email steps

With the audience defined, it’s time to add the actual emails.

Understanding steps

Each step represents one email in the sequence. Steps have:

• Position — Where in the sequence (Step 1, Step 2, etc.)
• Timing — How long after the previous step to send
• Content — The email itself (subject, body, call-to-action)
• Sender — Who it comes from (default or override)

Contacts receive steps in order, with the specified delays between them.

Creating a Step

1. In the flow details, go to the Steps tab
2. Click + Step
3. Configure the step settings
4. Design the email content
5. Click Save

[Screenshot: Add step modal showing name, position, interval, and sender fields]

Step settings

Step name

An internal name for reference. Recipients don’t see this.

Use descriptive names:

• “Welcome + Resource”
• “Industry Insight”
• “Check-in”
• “Product Update”

Clear names help when reviewing flow performance or making edits.

Position

Where this step falls in the sequence. Step 1 is first, Step 2 is second, and so on.

When adding steps, position defaults to the next available slot. You can reorder later if needed.

Step interval

How many days after the previous step (or after entering the flow for Step 1) to send this email.

• 0 days (Immediately) — Sends as soon as the contact enters the flow or completes the previous step
• 7 days — Waits one week
• 14 days — Waits two weeks
• Any number — Set whatever timing makes sense

Timing is per-contact. If someone enters the workflow on June 1 and Step 2 has a 7-day interval, they receive Step 2 on June 8.

Sender

Leave blank to use the workflow’s default sender, or select a different sender for this specific step.

You might change senders for:

• A final step from a senior person
• A step that should feel like it’s from a different team
• Testing different sender names

Writing email content

Each step needs email content. The editor includes:

Subject line — What recipients see in their inbox. Keep it under 50 characters, create curiosity, and personalize when possible.

Preview text — The snippet that appears next to the subject in most email clients. Use it to expand on the subject and increase opens.

Body — The email content itself. You can add:

• Text blocks with formatting
• Images
• Buttons for calls-to-action
• Links
• Dividers and spacers

Personalization — Insert dynamic fields that populate with contact data

Saving the step

Click Save to add the step to your workflow. Repeat to add more steps.

Workflow statuses

Flows have three statuses that control whether they’re active.

Draft

The workflow exists but isn’t sending. Use draft status while:

• Building and configuring the workflow
• Writing and refining email content
• Testing before going live

Contacts don’t receive emails while in draft workflows. You can take your time getting everything right.

Active

The workflow is running. What happens:

• Rizer evaluates contacts against the audience criteria
• Matching contacts enter the workflow
• Emails send according to step timing
• Everything happens automatically

Once active, the workflow works on its own. New contacts who match the criteria enter. Existing contacts continue receiving scheduled emails.

Paused

The workflow stopped sending emails but isn’t completely off.

Useful for temporarily stopping sending without disrupting people mid-sequence

[Screenshot: Flow status badge showing Active status with status options]

Activating a workflow

When your workflow is ready to go live:

1. Open the workflow details
2. Review everything:
   • Audience criteria look correct
   • Steps have content and reasonable timing
   • Sender is configured
3. Click Activate
4. Confirm the activation

Rizer begins evaluating contacts. Those matching the audience enter the workflow immediately and start receiving emails.

What happens at activation

When you activate:

• Rizer scans recycled contacts against your audience criteria
• Matching contacts enter the workflow
• Step 1 emails begin sending (immediately or per the interval)
• The workflow continues running until you pause or deactivate it

Before you activate

Double-check:

• Audience isn’t too broad — You’re not accidentally emailing everyone
• Content is reviewed — No typos, broken links, or placeholder text
• Timing makes sense — Intervals aren’t too aggressive
• Test emails sent — You’ve seen how emails look in real inboxes
• Sender is correct — Emails come from the right person/identity

Once active, emails start sending. It’s easier to check everything first than to fix problems after contacts receive them.

Managing active workflows

Once workflows are running, you’ll occasionally need to manage them.

Viewing workflow details

Click any workflow to see:

• Current status
• Audience criteria
• Steps and their content
• Performance metrics
• Active and inactive members

Editing active workflows

You can edit flows while they’re active, but changes affect things differently:

• Audience changes — New criteria apply to contacts entering after the change. People already in the workflow are unaffected.
• Step content changes — Updates apply to all future sends, including scheduled emails for existing members. If you fix a typo, everyone from now on gets the fixed version.
• Step timing changes — Only affect contacts entering after the change. People already past that point aren’t affected.
• Adding new steps — New steps join the sequence. Existing members who’ve passed that position don’t receive the new step. Future members do.
• Removing steps — Be careful. Existing members scheduled for that step won’t receive it.

Viewing workflow members

The Audience tab shows contacts in the workflow.

[Screenshot: Flow audience tab showing active and inactive members]

Active members — Currently receiving emails. You can see:

• Company and contact name
• Current step (where they are in the sequence)
• Next email date
• Progress through the workflow

Inactive members — No longer in the workflow. This includes:

• Completed the sequence
• Unsubscribed
• Manually removed
• Exited for other reasons (deal status changed, etc.)

Removing contacts from a workflow

Sometimes you need to remove someone manually:

• They asked to stop receiving emails (but didn’t unsubscribe)
• Their situation changed and the workflow no longer applies
• You’re about to reach out personally and don’t want automated emails interfering

To remove:

1. Go to the workflow’s Audience tab
2. Find the contact in active members
3. Click the menu icon next to their name
4. Click Remove from workflow

They won’t receive future emails from this workflow. If they match criteria again later, they could re-enter depending on your settings.

Deleting workflows

Workflows can only be deleted when:

• The workflow is in draft status, or
• The workflow has no active members

To delete:

1. Go to Nurturing
2. Click the menu icon next to the workflow
3. Click Delete
4. Confirm the deletion

Warning: Deleted workflows cannot be recovered. If you might reuse it, pause instead of deleting.

If the workflow has active members, you’ll need to either:

• Wait for them to complete the sequence
• Manually remove them
• Or pause and wait

Workflow design patterns

Some common approaches to structuring workflows.

The check-in workflow

Light touches that maintain presence without heavy selling.

Step 1 (Immediately): Share a helpful resource related to their situation Step 2 (2 weeks): Industry insight or news they’d find relevant Step 3 (4 weeks): “Quick check-in — anything changed on your end?” Step 4 (6 weeks): Another useful resource Step 5 (8 weeks): Soft invitation to reconnect

Good for: Timing-related losses, generic nurturing

The education workflow

Builds credibility by providing valuable information.

Step 1 (Immediately): Overview of a challenge they face Step 2 (1 week): Deep dive on one aspect Step 3 (2 weeks): Case study or success story Step 4 (3 weeks): Best practices guide Step 5 (4 weeks): Invitation to discuss how this applies to them

Good for: Complex products, long sales cycles, thought leadership

The update workflow

Keeps them informed about improvements since they evaluated.

Step 1 (Immediately): “We’ve been busy — here’s what’s new” Step 2 (3 weeks): Specific feature or improvement announcement Step 3 (6 weeks): Customer success story with new capabilities Step 4 (9 weeks): Roadmap preview or upcoming features Step 5 (12 weeks): “Worth another look? Here’s what’s changed”

Good for: Product-driven losses, feature-gap situations

The competitive workflow

Addresses specific competitive losses without being aggressive.

Step 1 (1 month): “Hope things are going well — here’s something useful” Step 2 (3 months): Share industry content (no pitch) Step 3 (6 months): Announce a key differentiator or improvement Step 4 (9 months): Customer story about switching from that competitor Step 5 (11 months): “Renewal coming up? Happy to chat”

Good for: Competitive losses with known contract periods

Coordinating workflows and callbacks

Flows and callbacks work together, but you need to think about how they interact.

When callbacks arrive

When a deal becomes Ready for callback, the contact is typically exited from nurturing workflows. The automated nurturing has done its job — now it’s time for human engagement.

This prevents awkward situations where your rep reaches out personally while automated emails are still going out.

Workflow timing vs. callback timing

Consider how your workflow length relates to typical callback periods:

• If callbacks are typically 6 months out, a 3-month flow leaves a gap
• If callbacks are 3 months out and your flow is 4 months long, contacts might exit before completing

Design workflows with callback timing in mind. Either:

• Make workflows shorter than typical callback periods
• Accept that some contacts won’t complete the full sequence
• Set callback dates to allow workflow completion when appropriate

Multiple workflows

A contact might match criteria for multiple workflows. Consider:

• Do you want them receiving multiple sequences simultaneously?
• Would that overwhelm them?
• Are the workflows complementary or redundant?

If overlap is a concern, design audiences to be mutually exclusive, or accept some contacts get more touches.

Monitoring workflow performance

Active workflows need ongoing attention.

What to watch

• Enrollment — Are contacts entering as expected? Zero new enrollments might mean your audience criteria don’t match any recycled deals.
• Completion rate — What percentage finish the full sequence? Low completion might mean too many steps or content that causes drop-off.
• Unsubscribe rate — Are people opting out? High unsubscribes suggest content or frequency problems.
• Engagement — Are people opening and clicking? Low engagement means your content isn’t resonating.

When to sdjust

• Low open rates — Revise subject lines, test sender names, check deliverability.
• Low click rates — Improve calls-to-action, make content more compelling, ensure links work.
• High unsubscribes — Reduce frequency, improve relevance, check that audience targeting is right.
• Low enrollment — Broaden audience criteria or ensure you’re recycling deals that match.

See the Tracking performance article for detailed guidance on nurturing metrics.

Common questions

How many steps should a workflow have?

There’s no magic number. Consider:

• How long until the typical callback date?
• How much valuable content do you have?
• How often can you email without annoying people?

3-6 steps is common. Fewer feels sparse. Many more risks fatigue. Start with fewer and add more if engagement stays strong.

How far apart should emails be?

At least 1-2 weeks for most B2B nurturing. Weekly is aggressive. Monthly might be too sparse to maintain presence.

Common patterns:

• Every 2 weeks for engaged audiences
• Every 3-4 weeks for lighter touches
• Varying intervals (closer early, wider later)

Can contacts be in multiple workflows?

Yes, if they match multiple audience criteria. Whether this is good depends on:

• Whether the workflows complement each other
• Whether combined frequency is too high
• Whether messaging is consistent

Design with this in mind. Use audience filters to prevent unwanted overlap.

What happens if I edit a step someone is scheduled to receive?

They get the new version. Content changes apply to all future sends, including already-scheduled emails for existing members.