Handle Replies in Instantly

Prerequisites

• Active campaign with incoming replies
• CRM configured for deal creation (see fundamentals/crm/attio-deals)

Steps

1. Check the Unibox. Instantly's Unibox aggregates replies across all sending accounts into one inbox. Check it at least twice daily during active campaigns (morning and afternoon). Reply speed matters -- responding within 1 hour doubles your meeting booking rate.

2. Classify replies. Tag each reply with a category: Interested (wants to learn more or book a call), Not Now (timing is wrong but not negative), Not Interested (polite decline), Out of Office (auto-reply), Unsubscribe (remove request), Wrong Person (referred elsewhere). Instantly's AI can auto-classify but always verify.

3. Handle interested replies. Respond within 1 hour with a short message proposing 2-3 specific meeting times (or a Cal.com link). Create a deal in your CRM immediately with stage "Meeting Requested" (see fundamentals/crm/attio-deals). Remove the contact from all other active sequences.

4. Handle "Not Now" replies. Reply acknowledging their timing and ask permission to follow up in a specific timeframe (e.g., "Mind if I check back in Q2?"). Add a reminder in your CRM for the follow-up date. Remove from current sequence.

5. Handle unsubscribe requests. Remove the contact immediately from all campaigns. Add them to your global suppression list in Instantly. This is both a legal requirement (CAN-SPAM) and protects your sender reputation.

6. Automate reply routing with n8n. At Scalable level, connect Instantly's webhook to an n8n workflow (see fundamentals/automation/n8n-email-integration) that auto-classifies replies using AI and creates CRM records for positive responses.