Podcast Summary: Perpetual Traffic – "Why You’re Onboarding Your Leads Wrong and What To Do About It"
Episode Information:
- Title: Why You’re Onboarding Your Leads Wrong and What To Do About It
- Release Date: June 24, 2025
- Hosts: Lauren E. Petrullo (solo episode)
Introduction to Email Triage
In this in-depth episode of Perpetual Traffic, host Lauren E. Petrullo dives into the intricacies of lead onboarding, challenging conventional email marketing practices. Lauren emphasizes the importance of relevancy and personalization in onboarding new leads, introducing her proprietary system called Email Triage.
Lauren E. Petrullo [02:00]: "Most marketers are overwhelmed second guessing every decision, drowning in data because no one taught them to use attribution the right way."
Developing the Email Triage System
Lauren outlines the genesis of the Email Triage system, which she developed based on her extensive experience in marketing attribution and client management. The system is designed to streamline the onboarding process, ensuring that each lead receives personalized communication tailored to their specific relationship with the brand.
Lauren [05:30]: "With all of these templates sounding the same, can you truly achieve relevancy? I believe that with AI, we've removed the burden of operations and can now templatize a personalized email onboarding."
Key Questions for Onboarding
At the heart of Email Triage are four critical questions that determine how new leads are engaged:
- Are they brand spanking new to our ecosystem?
- Have they ever unsubscribed before?
- Have they ever given us money?
- Have they signed up for this exact asset before?
Lauren explains how these questions help categorize leads, allowing for targeted and meaningful interactions.
Lauren [12:15]: "The first question we ask is, are they brand spanking new to our ecosystem? If yes, proceed as usual. If not, we delve deeper to understand their previous interactions with our brand."
Implementing Email Triage
Lauren provides a step-by-step walkthrough of implementing the Email Triage system using Draw.io, a workflow mapping tool. She demonstrates how to create decision trees based on the four key questions, ensuring that each lead receives the appropriate sequence of emails or SMS messages.
Lauren [15:40]: "Once we know who they are and what device they're coming on, we start Email Triage One. If they're new, we focus on delivering the asset they signed up for. If they're returning or have interacted before, our approach shifts accordingly."
Proof of Life: Engaging Non-responsive Leads
A significant aspect of the Email Triage system is the concept of "Proof of Life." Lauren emphasizes the need to confirm a lead's engagement through actions like clicking a link or replying to an email. This ensures that marketing efforts are directed toward genuinely interested prospects.
Lauren [19:05]: "Proof of life is essential. If someone doesn't click or reply, it's like having an empty store—no conversation, no sales. We need to identify and engage only those who show genuine interest."
Handling Non-responsive Leads
Lauren details the multi-stage process for dealing with leads who do not respond to initial outreach. This involves sending multiple emails with varying subject lines, followed by SMS reminders, and ultimately decategorizing the lead if there's no engagement after several attempts.
Lauren [22:30]: "After sending three emails with different subject lines, we wait and check for proof of life. If there's still no response, we send a final SMS to reignite the conversation before removing them from active lead lists."
Benefits of the Email Triage System
The Email Triage system offers numerous advantages, including improved email deliverability, higher engagement rates, and more efficient allocation of marketing resources. By filtering out uninterested leads, businesses can focus their efforts on nurturing relationships that are more likely to convert.
Lauren [24:15]: "The best benefit is building a negative lookalike audience of people who are actually interested. Impressions don't mean anything without impact. This system ensures our marketing efforts are impactful and directed towards engaged leads."
Conclusion and Takeaways
Lauren wraps up the episode by reiterating the importance of personalized and relevant onboarding processes. She encourages listeners to assess their current email onboarding strategies and consider implementing the Email Triage system to enhance lead engagement and conversion rates.
Lauren [25:20]: "Micro moments create macro impacts. By tailoring our onboarding conversations based on where each lead is in their relationship with our brand, we foster stronger, more meaningful connections that drive long-term success."
Key Quotes:
- Lauren E. Petrullo [00:01]: "Most marketers are overwhelmed second guessing every decision, drowning in data because no one taught them to use attribution the right way."
- Lauren [05:30]: "With all of these templates sounding the same, can you truly achieve relevancy?"
- Lauren [19:05]: "Proof of life is essential. If someone doesn't click or reply, it's like having an empty store—no conversation, no sales."
- Lauren [24:15]: "Impressions don't mean anything without impact. This system ensures our marketing efforts are impactful and directed towards engaged leads."
Final Thoughts: This episode serves as a comprehensive guide for marketers seeking to refine their lead onboarding processes. Lauren E. Petrullo's Email Triage system offers a structured and effective approach to enhancing lead engagement, ensuring that marketing efforts are both efficient and impactful. By prioritizing relevancy and personalization, businesses can cultivate stronger relationships with their leads, ultimately driving higher conversion rates and sustained growth.