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Engage is ZoomInfo's native outreach tool. It is tightly integrated with ZoomInfo data, which is the upside. Its sequences are less feature-rich than Lemlist or Smartlead, which is the trade-off. Here is the right setup.
Who this is forSales teams using ZoomInfo Engage instead of (or alongside) Lemlist/Smartlead/Outreach. If you have Engage licensed and need to launch your first sequence, this is the path.
What you'll need
Step 1
Engage → Settings → Email accounts → Connect. Use a real sender mailbox (not generic info@). Authenticate via OAuth.
Engage → Settings → Email Accounts → Add New.
Connect Gmail (workspace.google.com), Office 365, or Outlook via OAuth.
Use a real-person mailbox (jane@yourcompany.com), not generic (info@, sales@). Personal mailboxes have better deliverability.
Set sending limits in Engage settings: ~50-100 cold sends/day per mailbox is safe. Above that risks spam-folder placement.
For >100 sends/day per rep: rotate across 2-3 mailboxes per rep (different real-person inboxes if you can).
Step 2
Without proper DNS + warmup, your sequences land in spam. Engage does NOT auto-handle these.
SPF, DKIM, DMARC records must be set in your DNS. If you do not know, ask your IT team or run a check at mxtoolbox.com.
Warmup: Engage does not include native warmup. For new sending domains, use Lemwarm or Mailwarm separately for 4-6 weeks before launching cold sequences.
Always send from a real mailbox with regular human activity (replies, forwards). Cold-only domains get flagged faster.
Step 3
Engage → Sequences → New. Mix email + LinkedIn + phone steps. 3-7 total steps over 14-21 days.
Engage → Sequences → New Sequence.
Step 1: email (Day 0). Personalized subject + opener. Short body, single ask.
Step 2: LinkedIn connection request (Day 2). No message.
Step 3: email follow-up (Day 4). Different angle, shorter.
Step 4: LinkedIn DM (Day 7).
Step 5: email (Day 10). "Bumping this in case it missed your inbox" style.
Step 6: phone call (Day 14, if you have phone). Optional.
Step 7: breakup email (Day 21). "Closing the loop, no response is the answer."
Step 4
Engage pulls ZoomInfo data into placeholders: {{first_name}}, {{company}}, {{title}}, custom fields.
In each step's template, use placeholders: {{first_name}}, {{company}}, {{title}}.
Pull custom fields too (Intent Topic, Recent Funding, Tech Stack).
Always test placeholders: send to your own email + verify every field renders correctly.
Missing fields show as blank — looks unprofessional. Use fallback values where ZoomInfo data may be sparse.
Step 5
Engage supports A/B testing subject lines and openers. Test the highest-leverage variables.
In Step 1, click A/B Test → create variant B.
Test ONE variable per test: subject line OR opener, not both at once.
Set traffic split: 50/50.
Wait for at least 100 sends per variant before declaring a winner. Below 100, noise > signal.
Implement winner, then test the next variable.
Step 6
Launch the sequence to 50 contacts. Monitor for 7 days. Verify deliverability + reply rate before scaling to 500+.
Add 50 contacts to the sequence (from a saved ZoomInfo search).
Launch. Monitor daily: open rate, reply rate, bounce rate, spam reports.
Targets: open rate 30%+, reply rate 1-3%, bounce rate <2%, spam reports 0.
If any metric is off: pause and diagnose before scaling.
Once 50-contact test looks healthy, scale to 200, then 500+.
Common mistakes
Sending without DNS + warmup
What goes wrong: 30-50% of sends land in spam. Reply rate craters. Sender domain is flagged. Recovery takes 60-90 days.
How to avoid: Configure SPF/DKIM/DMARC before first send. Warmup new sending domains 4-6 weeks before launching cold sequences.
Sending from generic mailboxes (info@, sales@)
What goes wrong: Generic mailboxes have worse deliverability. Recipients identify the send as bulk and report as spam more often.
How to avoid: Send from real-person mailboxes (jane@). Each rep uses their own.
Sequences with 10+ email steps
What goes wrong: Recipients get fatigued. Reply rate drops below 1% by step 5. Some report spam.
How to avoid: 3-5 email steps max in a single sequence. Mix in LinkedIn + phone. Stop after 5-7 total touches.
Not testing placeholders
What goes wrong: Email goes out with '{{first_name}}' literal in the subject because ZoomInfo did not have the data. Recipient sees the broken template. 100% trust loss.
How to avoid: Always send a test to yourself before launching. Use fallback values for sparse fields.
Scaling without testing
What goes wrong: You launch to 1,000 contacts. Sequence has a bug. 1,000 broken emails out. Cleanup is a customer-facing apology.
How to avoid: Always test with 50 contacts first. Monitor 7 days. Then scale.
Recap
Done — what's next
How to set up a ZoomInfo account the right way
Read the next tutorial
Hand it off
Setting up one sequence is a project. Running multi-segment outbound at scale with constant testing is a job. A vetted specialist will own the system. From $14-16/hr — most ZoomInfo + outbound engagements at $1,000-3,000/mo.
See specialist rates
Sometimes — Engage is an add-on for Sales OS Pro and included with Sales OS Elite. Confirm in Admin Portal → Account → Modules.
Engage = tight ZoomInfo integration, weaker sequences. Lemlist/Smartlead = better sequence features, weaker integration. Many teams use ZoomInfo for data + a separate tool for sending.
50-100 cold sends/day per mailbox is safe with proper DNS + warmup. Above 100 risks spam placement. Rotate across mailboxes for higher volume.
No — Engage has no native warmup. Use Lemwarm, Mailwarm, or Warmup Inbox separately. ~$25-50/month per mailbox.
No — A/B testing is at the step level (subject line, opener). For full-sequence tests, build two sequences and split contacts.
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