← ALL PLAYS / RE-ENGAGEMENT
Lapsed demo revisit for an auction software vendor
Re-engages auction houses and auctioneers that saw a demo or opened earlier emails without booking. It asks how the next sale calendar has changed and offers a 30-minute walkthrough of their own catalog.
| TYPE | RE-ENGAGEMENT | MARKET | B2B |
|---|---|---|---|
| INDUSTRY | AUCTION MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE VENDOR THAT SELLS TO AUCTION HOUSES AND AUCTIONEERS | ||
| OUTREACH | ADAPTIVE, 5 EMAILS, 3+ DAYS APART | FEEDS | RE-ENGAGEMENT |
| SENDING | AUTOMATIC, LAUNCHED WITH EVERY OTHER PLAY | ||
| DRAWN BY | HACKING DEMAND | ISSUED | OCT 27, 2026 |
THE PLAY / FOR AN AUCTION MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE VENDOR THAT SELLS TO AUCTION HOUSES AND AUCTIONEERS
Trigger
Enrollment happens by automation rule when a contact is added to a list named Past demo and lapsed auctioneers. The list is built from demo form submissions and earlier outreach with no booked meeting, plus contacts whose last engagement is over 90 days old.
Audience
Owners, managing directors, auction operations leads and back office managers at auction houses and auctioneer companies. They saw a demo or opened earlier emails but did not book a meeting, and their last engagement was more than 90 days ago.
Signals the agent reads
- Demo requested date
- Demo booked (yes or no)
- Last meeting date
- Sale format (live only, timed, hybrid)
- Company type (auction house or auctioneer)
- Last engagement date
Selling angle
A past demo means the buyer has already seen the software, so the reply should not repeat the pitch. It asks what has changed in the sale calendar and ties one offer to the live, timed or hybrid format the house runs. Recorded industry webinars and back office tools give lower-commitment reasons to reopen the conversation.
Outreach approach
The agent writes each email with Adaptive outreach, reading the contact's record and choosing one angle per touch for up to five emails. Emails go out three days apart on days 1, 4, 7, 10 and 13. Touches cover the earlier demo, bidder list ownership, one myth from a recorded industry webinar, one system for live and timed sales, and a short closing note. Sending stops when the contact replies, books a meeting, or 30 days pass.
- 01 / DAY 1Revisit the earlier demoAcknowledges the earlier demo or outreach in the first sentence and asks whether the next sale calendar has changed the decision. Offers two named days for a 30-minute walkthrough of the contact's own catalog, plus a self-serve scheduling link.
- 02 / DAY 4Bidder list ownershipExplains that the house can own its bidder list and bidder data instead of sending buyers to a shared marketplace. Asks whether owning the bidder relationship matters for the next season.
- 03 / DAY 7One webinar mythShares one myth covered in a recorded industry webinar, such as the idea that marketplaces are a channel rather than a strategy. Asks which format the house plans to grow next.
- 04 / DAY 10One system for live and timedExplains how lots entered once can serve both live and timed sales, so nothing is re-keyed between formats. Links to the most specific product page and asks whether the current workflow is still split across two systems.
- 05 / DAY 13Close the fileA short note asking whether to close the file or keep it open for the next sale planning cycle. It gives the contact an easy way to say no and stays under 80 words.
Advanced instructions (excerpt)
SUBJECT LINE: Keep subject lines to four to seven words in sentence case. No exclamation marks, emoji, all-caps words, or words such as free or urgent. On later touches, reply in the same thread with the original subject line. EMAIL LENGTH: The first touch runs 120 to 180 words unless the record needs less. Later touches run 80 to 130 words. Use short paragraphs, plain text, one question and one link per email. CHECK THE RELATIONSHIP FIRST: Read the contact and company records before writing. If the company is a customer, has an open deal, or submitted a demo request in the last 30 days, write nothing. If the record shows no prior contact, write nothing. If the contact had an earlier demo or opened earlier outreach without booking, acknowledge that history in the first sentence. WHAT EVERY EMAIL MUST CONTAIN: One named product, one reason tied to the contact's sale format (live, timed or hybrid), one link to that product page, and one question. Use only verified facts, with no pricing, discounts, invented customers, statistics or quotes. Choose one angle per touch from the record: the earlier demo, bidder list ownership, one myth from a recorded industry webinar, one system for live and timed sales, or a short closing note.
Sample first email
SUBJECT Your earlier demo
Hi [First name], Your earlier demo focused on one question: how live and timed sales can share one catalog and one bidder record. Has the timing changed since then? Many houses that run both formats still re-key lots between two systems. Our software is built so lots entered once serve both sales. You can review the live and timed workflow here: [product page link]. Would [Weekday, date] or [Weekday, date] suit a 30-minute walkthrough of your own catalog? You can also grab a time that works: [scheduling link]. Thanks,
Guardrails
- Never use em dashes or long dash characters. Use commas, periods or parentheses instead.
- Write only to contacts enrolled through the Past demo and lapsed auctioneers list. Do not write to customers or to contacts in open or closed-won deals.
- Never quote a price, discount, contract term or fee. Send pricing, contract and fee questions to the sales lead.
- Use only verified facts and approved URLs. Do not invent statistics, names, customers or quotes.
- Never write 'following up', 'circling back' or 'bumping this'. Never use a bare URL.
- Stop when the contact replies, books a meeting, or 30 days pass.
Setup in HubSpot
- Create a list named Past demo and lapsed auctioneers built from demo form submissions and earlier outreach with no booked meeting, plus contacts whose last engagement is more than 90 days old.
- Create an enrollment rule using the 'When added to any list' trigger mapped to this play, with Send without review turned on.
- Add exclusions for contacts with open or closed-won deals and for contacts already enrolled in other outreach.
- Set the sender to the sales representative, with your sales lead as the fallback sender.
- Set the send window to business days, 8:00 to 17:00 Pacific Time, and launch with the other plays together.
KPIs
- Meetings booked from this play, reviewed weekly during the first two weeks of testing and tuning before any scale-up.
- Replies per 100 contacts enrolled, reviewed weekly to tune angles and subject lines.
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Good questions.
Straight answers.
Why does this play skip the pitch?
The contact has already seen the software, so repeating the pitch wastes their time. The first email asks what has changed in the sale calendar instead.
How does the agent choose an angle for each touch?
It reads each contact's record, including sale format and last engagement, and picks one angle per touch for up to five emails. Each email is written fresh rather than drawn from a fixed template.
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