How To Configure Outreach Sequence Throttles

Purpose:

The purpose of this article is to provide direction to Outreach Users in configuring sequence throttles.

Sequence throttles provide Users the ability to stagger the volume of Prospects moving through a Sequence at one time, safeguard against reaching mailing caps, and can also help Users iterate more quickly when A/B testing.

Intended Audience:

• Outreach Users

Notes:

• Newly added Prospects appear in a pending state if the Sequence Throttle settings are not configured. Prospects will be added to the Sequence based on the options you select. For more information regarding adding Prospects to a sequence, refer to the How To Add Prospects to a Sequence article. 

How To Configure Sequence Throttles: 

1. Access the Outreach Platform. 
2. Click the Sequences icon (paper plane) in the navigation sidebar. 
3. Sort and filter and select the applicable sequence. 
4. Click Settings and configure the Throttle Newly Added Prospects settings as outlined in the table below.

   Option	Description
   Prospect Throttling	Enabled - The number of Prospects that can be added to the Sequence should be limited. Throttling is set to Enabled by default.  Disabled - The number of Prospects that can be added to the Sequence is not limited. Prospects will be added to the first step immediately, and activated for delivery based on the Sequence Schedule. For more information regarding sequence schedules, refer to the Sequence Schedule Overview article.
   Auto-Activate Prospects	Yes - Activate based on throttles - Outreach limits the number of Prospects activated and added to a Sequence based on the values for Max active Prospects per User and Max adds per User every 24 hours. This is a default setting.  No - Leave Prospects in pending - Prospects are not automatically added to the first step of a a sequence and remain in a pending state until manually moved to the first step for action. For more information regarding Sequence States, refer to the Sequence States article.
   Max Active Prospects Per User	Determines the maximum number of active Prospects allowed in a sequence at a given time. Example: If this setting is limited to 50, Users may be able to add 100 Prospects to a Sequence, but only 50 of those Prospects can be actively moving through the sequence at once. As Prospects finish or exit the sequence, remaining Prospects are activated until the value is reached.
   Max Adds Per User Every 24 Hours	Determines the number of Prospects that can be activated and added to the first step of a Sequence within a 24-hour period. Note: This setting works in tandem with Max Active Prospects Per User setting before taking action. Example: If the User limits the value of max adds to 50 Prospects every 24 hours and adds 200 Prospects into the sequence. The 200 Prospects are gated, adding 50 Prospects as applicable every 24 hours to a sequence until all 200 Prospects have completed the sequence.
5. Click Save.
   
   Sequence Throttling has been saved as configured. 

How do the two throttle settings work together?

If both throttle settings have limits, Outreach will check the number of prospects that are already active in your sequence. If you have not reached your maximum activation limit, pending prospects will be activated and added to the sequence until the max activation threshold is met.

Let’s assume the max active prospects per user is 200 and the max adds every 24 hours is 175  prospects. If there are only 150 active prospects in the sequence, Outreach will activate and add 50 additional prospects to meet the maximum of 200 active prospects per user. This check will be continuous, looking first at the maximum active prospects threshold, then adding the appropriate number of prospects to the sequence, until there are 200 prospects active in the sequence or the 24 hour maximum is met.

In both cases, any prospects that are not active will stay in a pending state.

Throttles for Sequences by Exact Date/Time:

If you are creating a sequence with steps by an exact date and time, you still have the option to add a throttle. The throttle will determine the maximum number of prospects that can be added to the sequence.

1. To find your sequence throttle, click into any sequence.
2. Click on the sequence settings, which can be found as an option next to the master sequence toggle on the top of the sequence page.
   
3. Find the section labeled "Throttle Newly Added Prospects" and enter the maximum number of prospects that can be added to the sequence.
   

Note: If you try to add more prospects to the sequence than the throttle allows, you'll receive an error that says, "Max activations exceeded". You'll need to increase this number before you can add additional prospects to the sequence.

Additional Resources: 

Outreach University - Sequences 

Sequence Overview

Sequence Schedule Overview

How To Create a Sequence