ZapBounce and Salesloft
Salesloft cadences are structured: steps, intervals, and automated advancement. A prospect enters at step one and progresses on schedule whatever happens.
That structure has an unfortunate interaction with a dead address. The prospect advances through every step, each one bouncing, and the cadence completes having reached nobody.
A cadence completes whether or not anyone received it
Six steps over three weeks, all to an address that does not exist, and the cadence records as completed. The prospect is now marked as fully worked and drops out of the queue.
Six bounces from one address also tells the receiving server something. Repeatedly mailing an address that returned a permanent failure is one of the faster ways to be treated as a sender who does not maintain a list.
Salesloft does surface bounces, and the cadence structure means the damage is multiplied by the step count before anyone intervenes.
How the data moves
Verify at import, before the cadence starts
The multiplication is what makes this urgent here. One bad address becomes six bounces.
Store the verdict as a custom person field
Salesloft custom fields can gate cadence entry, so an unconfirmed address never enters a six-step sequence.
Use a separate cadence for unconfirmable addresses
Shorter, fewer email steps, more calls. The structure should match the confidence.
Suppress on the first bounce, not the sixth
Salesloft can remove a person from a cadence on a bounce. Switch it on, so a missed address costs one bounce rather than six.
Setting it up
- Create a custom person field for the verdict and one for the check date.
- Verify people before importing them into Salesloft.
- Gate cadence entry on a valid verdict.
- Build a shorter, call-heavy cadence for catch-all and unknown addresses.
- Enable automatic cadence removal on the first bounce.
- Re-verify the person base quarterly.
Salesloft: common questions
Why does this matter more in a cadence tool?
Because a cadence multiplies one bad address into one bounce per step. The structure that makes cadences effective also amplifies the damage.
Should I remove people from a cadence on the first bounce?
Yes, and check that it is enabled. It converts six bounces into one.
What cadence suits unconfirmable addresses?
Short, with fewer email steps and more calls. Match the structure to the confidence you have.
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