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Most follow-up emails don't wake the dead…(the dead = prospects that never made it through your pipeline)
This play uses Clay to send automated emails (personalized w/ ChatGPT + CRM notes) to restart conversations with closed-lost prospects.
100% automated emails SO GOOD, they get results like:
All of these sequences were 100% automated using Clay + ChatGPT + CRM notes.
Here's exactly how I did it:
TL;DR
- The wake the dead play uses Clay + ChatGPT + CRM notes to send fully automated, personalized emails to closed-lost prospects.
- Export closed-lost deals from your CRM (HubSpot or Salesforce), import them into a Clay table, and use ChatGPT to generate personalized email variables from deal notes.
- The sequence checks email validity and whether the contact is still at the company before sending, routing stale contacts into a separate sequence.
- A follow-up step automatically surfaces an alternative contact at the company if the original prospect doesn't respond.
How to Run the Wake the Dead Sales Play
1. Export closed-lost deals from your CRM
Find all of the deals that were were lost in the past 1-2 years and export them as a CSV.
(If you need more help, just ask ChatGPT)
Make sure to include the following info in the export:
- Prospect/Contact Info
- Full Name
- Work Email
- Company Name
- Opportunity Owner (the AE who owned the deal)
- Deal Closed Date (when the deal was lost)
- Call Notes (the initial reason the prospect was interested)
- Deal Lost Reason (the noted reason for losing the deal)
2. Import key info about the lost deals into Clay
Create a new table in Clay, click "Import People From CSV", and upload the CSV from step 1:
3. Personalize variables w/ ChatGPT + CRM info
General steps to create the personalized outputs used in the email:
- Check if the email is valid
- Check if they're still at the company (if not they go into other sequence)
- Use ChatGPT + CRM notes to create following outputs:
- Months Ago (created from the date when the deal was closed + normalized)
- Context Output (created from the CRM call notes)
4. Export personalized variables for email template
After creating all of the personalized outputs, I add them to a "final output" view in Clay and export the view as a CSV.
See how the CSV outputs are used in the email template below?
5. Upload into Instantly and schedule sequence
After a few days if they don't respond, I ask them if another contact in their company (found using the find contact integration) is a better point of contact.
If it wasn't able to find another contact (who fits specific requirements) it uses "someone else" as a fallback. You'd be surprised by how effective this last little email is haha. Especially since I say "Wine or cookies are stills yours :)"
…and that's how I was able to get these kind of results with 100% automated emails:
Pretty neat, yea?
Appreciate you reading all of this!
If you got any value from it do me a quick favor and share it with someone. The exposure helps my business. Cheers!
[Bonus] Email Template
-> Swipe the play email copy here.
Table template coming soon!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the wake the dead play?
It's a sales reactivation play that uses Clay, ChatGPT, and CRM notes to send fully automated, personalized emails to closed-lost prospects. The goal is to restart conversations with deals that went cold, using context from the original deal to make the outreach feel relevant.
How far back should I go when pulling closed-lost deals?
The play recommends exporting deals lost in the past 1-2 years. Going further back risks reaching contacts who have moved on or whose context is too stale to personalize effectively.
What CRM fields do I need for this to work?
You need prospect name, work email, company name, opportunity owner, deal closed date, call notes (why the prospect was originally interested), and the deal lost reason. These fields feed the ChatGPT personalization step.
What happens if the contact has left the company?
The Clay workflow checks whether the contact is still at the company. If they've left, they get routed into a separate sequence rather than receiving the standard reactivation email.
What email tool is used to send the sequence?
The post uses Instantly to upload the personalized CSV and schedule the email sequence. The personalized variables are exported from Clay as a CSV and mapped into the Instantly email template.
Most follow-up emails don't wake the dead…(the dead = prospects that never made it through your pipeline)
This play uses Clay to send automated emails (personalized w/ ChatGPT + CRM notes) to restart conversations with closed-lost prospects.
100% automated emails SO GOOD, they get results like:
All of these sequences were 100% automated using Clay + ChatGPT + CRM notes.
Here's exactly how I did it:
TL;DR
- The wake the dead play uses Clay + ChatGPT + CRM notes to send fully automated, personalized emails to closed-lost prospects.
- Export closed-lost deals from your CRM (HubSpot or Salesforce), import them into a Clay table, and use ChatGPT to generate personalized email variables from deal notes.
- The sequence checks email validity and whether the contact is still at the company before sending, routing stale contacts into a separate sequence.
- A follow-up step automatically surfaces an alternative contact at the company if the original prospect doesn't respond.
How to Run the Wake the Dead Sales Play
1. Export closed-lost deals from your CRM
Find all of the deals that were were lost in the past 1-2 years and export them as a CSV.
(If you need more help, just ask ChatGPT)
Make sure to include the following info in the export:
- Prospect/Contact Info
- Full Name
- Work Email
- Company Name
- Opportunity Owner (the AE who owned the deal)
- Deal Closed Date (when the deal was lost)
- Call Notes (the initial reason the prospect was interested)
- Deal Lost Reason (the noted reason for losing the deal)
2. Import key info about the lost deals into Clay
Create a new table in Clay, click "Import People From CSV", and upload the CSV from step 1:
3. Personalize variables w/ ChatGPT + CRM info
General steps to create the personalized outputs used in the email:
- Check if the email is valid
- Check if they're still at the company (if not they go into other sequence)
- Use ChatGPT + CRM notes to create following outputs:
- Months Ago (created from the date when the deal was closed + normalized)
- Context Output (created from the CRM call notes)
4. Export personalized variables for email template
After creating all of the personalized outputs, I add them to a "final output" view in Clay and export the view as a CSV.
See how the CSV outputs are used in the email template below?
5. Upload into Instantly and schedule sequence
After a few days if they don't respond, I ask them if another contact in their company (found using the find contact integration) is a better point of contact.
If it wasn't able to find another contact (who fits specific requirements) it uses "someone else" as a fallback. You'd be surprised by how effective this last little email is haha. Especially since I say "Wine or cookies are stills yours :)"
…and that's how I was able to get these kind of results with 100% automated emails:
Pretty neat, yea?
Appreciate you reading all of this!
If you got any value from it do me a quick favor and share it with someone. The exposure helps my business. Cheers!
[Bonus] Email Template
-> Swipe the play email copy here.
Table template coming soon!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the wake the dead play?
It's a sales reactivation play that uses Clay, ChatGPT, and CRM notes to send fully automated, personalized emails to closed-lost prospects. The goal is to restart conversations with deals that went cold, using context from the original deal to make the outreach feel relevant.
How far back should I go when pulling closed-lost deals?
The play recommends exporting deals lost in the past 1-2 years. Going further back risks reaching contacts who have moved on or whose context is too stale to personalize effectively.
What CRM fields do I need for this to work?
You need prospect name, work email, company name, opportunity owner, deal closed date, call notes (why the prospect was originally interested), and the deal lost reason. These fields feed the ChatGPT personalization step.
What happens if the contact has left the company?
The Clay workflow checks whether the contact is still at the company. If they've left, they get routed into a separate sequence rather than receiving the standard reactivation email.
What email tool is used to send the sequence?
The post uses Instantly to upload the personalized CSV and schedule the email sequence. The personalized variables are exported from Clay as a CSV and mapped into the Instantly email template.
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