What is a Sales Cadence?
Think of a sales cadence as your prospecting playbook. It’s the structured sequence of touchpoints you use to reach prospects across multiple channels and days. Instead of randomly following up whenever you remember, a cadence gives you a systematic approach that tells you exactly what to do, when to do it, and what to say.
Here’s what makes up an effective sales cadence:
Touchpoints are the individual outreach actions you take. Each email sent, phone call dialed, or LinkedIn message counts as one touchpoint.
Channels determine how you reach out. Most B2B teams use a combination of email, phone calls, and LinkedIn, with some adding video messages or direct mail for high-value accounts.
Timing dictates the spacing between your touches. Should you follow up after one day? Three days? A week? The right timing makes the difference between persistence and pestering.
Messaging is what you actually say in each touchpoint. Your first email should sound different from your fifth one. We’ll cover content variation in depth later.
Exit rules tell you when to stop. Maybe the prospect clearly says no thanks, or you’ve reached the end of your sequence. Either way, you need clear criteria for when to move on.
Without a structured cadence, sales teams face predictable problems. Outreach becomes inconsistent, with some reps giving up after two emails while others hound prospects for months. Follow-up falls through the cracks. You can’t measure what’s working because everyone does something different. And when you want to scale, there’s no repeatable process to train new reps on.
With a well-designed cadence, everything changes. Your team executes consistently. You persist the right amount without annoying people. Performance becomes measurable and improvable. And as you grow, you have a proven process that new team members can follow from day one.
The Four Principles of Effective Cadence Design
Principle 1: Go Multi-Channel
Relying on a single channel is like trying to catch fish with one hook. Sure, it might work occasionally, but you’re missing most of the opportunities.
Email-only cadences are easy to ignore. Your prospect gets 100 emails a day, and yours blends into the noise. Phone-only feels aggressive in today’s world where most people screen calls. LinkedIn-only limits your touchpoints since you can’t message every day without being creepy.
Multi-channel cadences work better for several reasons. First, you reach prospects where they actually pay attention. Maybe they ignore emails but always check LinkedIn. Or they prefer phone calls over written messages. Second, seeing you across multiple channels signals legitimacy. Spammers stick to one channel. Real humans show up everywhere. Third, multi-channel gives you more legitimate reasons to reach out without feeling repetitive.
Most high-performing teams use this kind of channel mix: 40-50% email because it’s scalable and allows for detailed explanations, 25-35% phone calls for high-impact personal connection, 15-25% LinkedIn for social proof and visual presence, and 5-10% other channels like video or direct mail for standout moments.
| Channel | % of Touches | Why This Mix Works |
|---|---|---|
| 40-50% | Scalable, detailed, expected | |
| Phone | 25-35% | Personal, high-impact |
| 15-25% | Social proof, visual | |
| Other | 5-10% | Differentiation |
Principle 2: Front-Load Your Touches
When someone visits your website or matches your ICP, their attention is highest right now. Not next week. Not in 10 days. Right now.
Front-loading your cadence means concentrating more touches in the first week, then spacing them out as time passes. Week one might have five or six touches. Week two drops to three or four. Week three has two or three. Week four wraps up with one or two final attempts.
This approach works because you catch prospects while their interest or need is fresh. If they downloaded a resource or attended a webinar, they’re thinking about the problem right now. Strike while that awareness is hot. Front-loading also helps you qualify faster. If someone’s truly not interested, you’ll find out in week one rather than wasting a month. And psychologically, appearing responsive early makes you seem more professional than reps who take days to follow up.
Here’s what front-loaded timing looks like in practice: Day 1 and 2 for initial contact and immediate follow-up, Day 3 and 5 for continued awareness while they’re still thinking about you, Day 7 and 10 for keeping the conversation alive, and Days 14, 18, and 21 for final attempts with increasing space between touches.
Principle 3: Vary Your Content
Nothing kills response rates faster than the dreaded “just following up on my previous email” message. If your prospect ignored the first email, why would the exact same message worded slightly differently get a response?
Effective cadences approach the conversation from different angles. Your first touch might focus on a specific pain point. The second shares a relevant case study. The third offers a valuable resource with no ask. The fourth approaches from a different business angle entirely. The fifth is a break-up email that acknowledges you’ll stop reaching out.
Content variation means changing up the formats too. Mix short punchy emails with longer detailed ones. Include questions in some, clear CTAs in others. Share content, offer insights, reference mutual connections. Every touch should feel like a new conversation, not the same message repeated.
Here’s an example content sequence that works well:
| Touch Number | Content Angle | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Problem/pain focused | Resonates if timing’s right |
| 2 | Social proof | Builds credibility |
| 3 | Resource/value add | Gives without asking |
| 4 | Different business angle | Catches new attention |
| 5 | Break-up/final attempt | Creates urgency |
Principle 4: Set Clear Exit Rules
Persistence is good. Being obtuse is not. Your cadence needs crystal-clear rules about when to stop.
Always stop when a prospect explicitly says they’re not interested, asks to be removed from your list, when you confirm they’re the wrong person, or when the company is no longer in business. Also stop after your final planned touchpoint if there’s been no engagement.
Keep going when there’s simply no response, which is different from rejection. Continue if someone says “not right now” rather than “not interested.” And keep going if you get an unclear bounce that might be temporary.
The key distinction is between passive non-response and active rejection. Most prospects won’t reply because they’re busy, not because they hate you. But when someone takes the time to say no, respect it immediately.
Real Cadence Examples You Can Use
Standard Cold Cadence (14 Days)
This is your workhorse cadence for cold prospects who fit your ICP but have no relationship with you. Over two weeks, you’ll make 12 touches across email, phone, and LinkedIn.
Start on Day 1 with a pain-focused email that addresses a specific challenge your prospect likely faces. If you’re not connected on LinkedIn, send a connection request the same day. Day 2, make your first call attempt. Even if you don’t connect, leaving a brief voicemail creates another touchpoint.
Day 4, send a second email that adds value through a resource or industry insight rather than asking for anything. This positions you as helpful, not just salesy. Day 6, make your second call attempt and engage with the prospect on LinkedIn by liking or commenting on their content, or sending a brief message if you’re connected.
Day 8, send an email featuring social proof like a case study from a similar company. Day 10, make your third call and send a fourth email that approaches from a different angle or addresses a common objection.
Day 12, send your final LinkedIn message. Day 14, wrap up with a break-up email acknowledging you’ll stop reaching out, plus a final call attempt.
This sequence gives you 5 emails, 4 calls, and 3 LinkedIn touches spread over two weeks with front-loaded timing.
High-Value Account Cadence (21 Days)
When you’re pursuing enterprise accounts or deals worth six figures and up, you need more touches with higher personalization. This 21-day cadence includes 16 touchpoints with extra research and customization.
Day 1 starts with deep research. Document everything you find about the account, their challenges, recent news, and competitive landscape. Send a highly personalized email intro and a LinkedIn connection request with a custom note.
Day 2, call and leave a thoughtful voicemail that references something specific about their business. Day 3, engage with their LinkedIn content genuinely. Don’t just like a post, leave a substantive comment.
Day 5, send a second email with personalized value based on your research. Maybe share an insight about their industry or a relevant article. Day 7, make your second call and send a thoughtful LinkedIn message.
Day 9, send an email with a custom case study or insight specifically relevant to their situation. Day 12, make your third call and send a personalized video using Loom or similar tool, walking through how you might help them.
Day 14, send an email with an executive-focused angle about strategic business impact. Day 17, make your fourth call and send a LinkedIn InMail if you’re still not connected.
Day 21, close with a break-up email and final phone attempt.
This intensive cadence totals 5 emails, 5 calls, 5 LinkedIn touches, and 1 video message across three weeks.
Inbound/Warm Lead Cadence (7 Days)
When someone downloads your content, attends your webinar, or otherwise raises their hand, you need to move fast with a shorter, more intensive cadence.
Day 0, meaning the same day they convert, send an immediate email offering to meet and make an immediate call attempt. Don’t wait until tomorrow. Strike while they’re engaged. Day 1, make your second call and send a LinkedIn connection request.
Day 2, send a follow-up email with your availability and a calendar link. Day 3, make your third call. Day 5, send a value-add email that reiterates your interest and includes something helpful, plus send a LinkedIn message.
Day 7, make your fourth call and send a final email checking if they’re still interested.
This compressed 7-day sequence includes 4 emails, 4 calls, and 2 LinkedIn touches because warm leads have shorter attention spans and higher urgency.
Re-engagement Cadence (21 Days)
For prospects who engaged previously but went dark, you need a softer re-engagement approach spread over three weeks.
Day 1, send a casual “checking back in” email. Day 5, make a single call attempt. Day 8, share news about a product update, company development, or industry change that might reignite interest.
Day 12, send a casual LinkedIn message. Day 15, share relevant content like an article or resource without asking for anything. Day 18, make a final call.
Day 21, send the “should I close your file?” email that creates decision urgency.
This gentle sequence of 4 emails, 2 calls, and 1 LinkedIn touch acknowledges the previous relationship without being pushy.
How to Build Your Own Cadence
Creating an effective cadence starts with defining your parameters. Give your cadence a clear name like “Enterprise Cold Outreach” or “Inbound Lead Response.” Define its purpose such as when you’ll use it and for what types of prospects. Set the duration, typically 7-21 days depending on the scenario. Decide total touches, usually 10-16 for cold outreach.
Plan your channel mix by deciding how many emails, calls, LinkedIn touches, and other channel interactions you’ll include. Define the audience including which personas, how warm they are, and what deal size range this cadence targets.
Next, map out every touchpoint. Create a simple spreadsheet with columns for day number, channel, purpose of that touch, and content theme. This gives you the skeleton of your cadence before you write a single word.
Then write the actual messaging. For every email, prepare the subject line, body copy, call-to-action, and personalization merge fields. For phone calls, create talk tracks and voicemail scripts. For LinkedIn, draft message templates.
Configure everything in your sales engagement platform whether that’s Outreach, Salesloft, Apollo, or another tool. Add each step, set the timing rules, upload your templates, and configure automatic skip rules for responses or bounces.
Before rolling out to your entire database, test with 50-100 prospects. Monitor open rates, reply rates, and meeting bookings closely. Make adjustments based on what the data tells you. Only after you’ve validated performance should you scale to your full prospect list.
Optimizing Your Cadence Over Time
Even the best-designed cadences need ongoing optimization. Track these key metrics to know what’s working.
Monitor open rates targeting above 40%, which measures subject line effectiveness and send timing. Track reply rates aiming for above 5%, which shows message relevance and targeting accuracy. Watch connect rates on calls targeting above 10%, indicating call timing and data quality. Measure meeting booked rates aiming for above 2% of total prospects in sequence, which is your ultimate effectiveness measure. And keep opt-out rates below 1% to ensure your messaging isn’t annoying or inappropriate.
Run A/B tests systematically. Test number of touches by comparing a 12-touch versus 16-touch cadence. Test spacing between touches. Test different channel mixes. Test message content angles, subject lines, and calls-to-action.
Use a clean testing approach: run cadence A versus cadence B with 500 prospects in each group over 30 days, measure reply rate and meeting rate as your key metrics, and implement the winner for everyone.
When metrics underperform, take specific action. If open rates are low, test new subject lines, try different send times, and check your email deliverability. If reply rates are low, review messaging relevance, verify your targeting accuracy, and increase personalization. If meeting rates are low, strengthen your call-to-action, improve objection handling in your copy, and streamline your calendar booking process.
Avoiding Common Cadence Mistakes
Most cadence failures come from five predictable mistakes.
First, too few touches. Many teams send 3-4 touches then give up. Research shows it often takes 8-12 touches to get a response. Don’t quit too early.
Second, single-channel only. Email, email, email, email gets ignored. Mix your channels to increase visibility and show you’re a real person.
Third, repeating the same message. “Following up on my last email” seven times in a row doesn’t work. Approach from new angles with each touch.
Fourth, poor timing. Some teams send touches back-to-back for three days then disappear for two weeks. Use thoughtful spacing that feels natural.
Fifth, no clear end point. Cadences that continue forever become background noise. Set a defined end with a clear break-up message that gives prospects permission to opt back in later.
Key Takeaways
Designing effective sales cadences combines science and art. The science gives you proven frameworks like 10-15 touches over 2-4 weeks, multi-channel mixing for 25-50% better results, and front-loaded timing with more activity early. The art comes in varying your content angles not just timing, knowing when to stop after clear rejection, and continuously testing to find what resonates with your specific audience.
Your first cadence won’t be perfect, and that’s fine. Build something reasonable based on these principles, test it with real prospects, measure the results, and optimize based on data. Over time, you’ll develop cadences that consistently generate pipeline.
Remember that the goal isn’t just to get responses but to start conversations with the right people at the right time. A well-designed cadence does exactly that, systematically and at scale.
Need Help With Cadence Design?
We’ve built high-performing cadences for hundreds of teams across different industries, deal sizes, and sales cycles. If you want to improve your sequence results without the trial and error, book a call with our team. We’ll review your current approach and show you exactly how to optimize for more meetings and pipeline.