> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.recepta.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sequences

> Multi-step follow-up across call, SMS, email, and voicemail drop.

A sequence is the logic a [campaign](/outbound/campaigns) runs per contact: which channel fires, in what order, with what gaps, and what happens when someone responds.

One touch converts poorly. A sequence is what turns a list into booked jobs.

## Step types

| Step               | What it does                                                                         |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Call**           | Your agent places an outbound call and handles the conversation                      |
| **SMS**            | Sends a text from one of your numbers                                                |
| **Email**          | Sends from your [sending infrastructure](/outbound/email-infrastructure)             |
| **Voicemail drop** | Leaves a pre-recorded message without ringing — see [Voicemail](/channels/voicemail) |
| **Wait**           | Holds for a set period before the next step                                          |

Steps can branch on what happened — answered or not, replied or not — so a contact who picks up doesn't keep receiving the follow-up meant for someone who didn't.

## A sequence that works

A reliable shape for warm follow-up, such as unsold quotes:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Day 1 — Call">
    The agent calls, references the specific job, and offers to book. Most of your conversions come from here.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Day 1 — Voicemail drop, if unanswered">
    Short, specific, names your business and the job.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Day 1 — SMS, an hour later">
    Lands while the voicemail is still fresh. "Hi Dana, it's Dan from Coral Plumbing about the water heater quote — want me to hold Thursday morning?"
  </Step>

  <Step title="Day 3 — Email">
    Re-send the quote with the detail and a booking link.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Day 7 — Call">
    One more attempt, then stop.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  End your sequences. A follow-up that never stops generates complaints and opt-outs, and it poisons the list for the next campaign. Five touches over a week or two is plenty for warm contacts.
</Warning>

## Writing steps

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Be specific" icon="circle-check">
    Name the person, your business, and the exact reason you're in touch. Specificity is what separates a follow-up from a mailshot.
  </Card>

  <Card title="One ask per step" icon="bullseye">
    Every step should have a single obvious next action. Two questions in a text gets you neither answer.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Vary the channel" icon="shuffle">
    Three texts in a row reads as pestering. Call, then text, then email lands as persistence.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Respect the gap" icon="clock">
    Same-day is right for a fresh lead. For a 60-day-old quote, days between touches.
  </Card>
</Columns>

## Stopping on response

Branch so that a contact who books, replies, or asks you to stop exits the sequence immediately.

<Warning>
  A customer who books on Tuesday and gets a "still interested?" text on Thursday will notice. Test your exit branches with your own number before running a campaign at volume.
</Warning>

## Suppression and opt-outs

STOP on SMS and unsubscribe on email are honored automatically across every sequence, permanently. Suppressed contacts are skipped, and re-importing them does not undo it. See [Contacts](/outbound/contacts).

## Timing and compliance

Sequence steps run within the campaign's schedule. Calls and voicemail drops are subject to calling-hour restrictions in the contact's local time — see [Recording & consent](/phone/recording-and-consent).

<Tip>
  Put your waits in whole days rather than exact hours where you can. It keeps steps landing at sensible times of day as contacts progress at different rates.
</Tip>