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3. Outreach

What is a sales cadence?

A sales cadence is a scheduled series of contacts, spread over days and often over more than one channel, that a seller follows to reach a prospect. It sets how many touches to make, how far apart they sit and what each one says.

The parts

  1. Number of touchesHow many times you reach out before stopping. Too few leaves interested people unreached; too many wears out the welcome.
  2. SpacingThe days between touches. Gaps that grow slowly give the prospect room to respond without feeling chased.
  3. ChannelsEmail, LinkedIn and phone each reach people at different moments. A cadence says which one goes when.
  4. A purpose for each touchEvery message adds something: a result, a question or a new angle. Repeating "just checking in" adds nothing.

Worked example: a six-touch cadence over two weeks

Corvane Metrics, a fictional analytics company, runs one cadence for every new prospect. Each touch has a day, a channel and one purpose.

By hand

  1. Touches in the cadence: 6.
  2. Emails: 4 of 6, on days 1, 5, 10, 14.
  3. The cadence runs from day 1 to day 14, so 14 days in total.
  4. Prospects who reply stop receiving the remaining touches.
DayChannelPurpose
Day 1EmailIntroduce the reason you wrote
Day 3LinkedInSend a connection note
Day 5EmailShare one relevant result
Day 8PhoneCall and leave a short message
Day 10EmailAsk a one-line question
Day 14EmailClose the loop politely

One cadence, touch by touch

How to apply it

  1. Decide the total number of touches and the last day of the cadence.
  2. Assign each touch a channel and one purpose that is different from the others.
  3. Stop the cadence as soon as the prospect replies or opts out.
  4. After a few weeks, check which touches get replies and adjust the weakest.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Sending identical reminders, so later touches add no new reason to reply.
  • Continuing the cadence after a reply because the schedule was already set.
  • Using the same spacing for every audience, even when buyers respond at different speeds.

Multichannel outreach

Multichannel outreach means contacting one prospect on several channels, for example email, LinkedIn and the phone, following a plan for which comes when.

Read more

Cold email

A cold email is a first message to a person you have not spoken with, sent because their role or company suggests you could help.

Read more

Questions

How does a cadence differ from a sequence?
The words are often used interchangeably. A cadence is the plan of touches and timing; a sequence is the set of messages in it.
How long should a cadence last?
Long enough to give a prospect several chances, usually a few weeks, and short enough to stay relevant.
Should a cadence mix channels?
It can. Mixing email with LinkedIn or a call reaches people who ignore one channel, if the volume stays reasonable.
When should a cadence stop?
When the prospect replies, opts out or completes the last touch.

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