---
title: "Sales cadence: definition, steps and example"
url: "https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/sales-cadence.md"
canonical_url: "https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/sales-cadence"
last_updated: "2026-10-21"
type: "conceptual"
summary: "A sales cadence is a scheduled series of touches across days and channels to reach a prospect. See how one is laid out in a worked example."
related: ["https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/multichannel-outreach.md", "https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/cold-email.md", "https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/sales-development-representative.md"]
---

# Sales cadence: definition, steps and example

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A sales cadence is a scheduled series of touches across days and channels to reach a prospect. See how one is laid out in a worked example.

**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.

Group: 3. Outreach.

## The parts

1. **Number of touches**: How many times you reach out before stopping. Too few leaves interested people unreached; too many wears out the welcome.
2. **Spacing**: The days between touches. Gaps that grow slowly give the prospect room to respond without feeling chased.
3. **Channels**: Email, LinkedIn and phone each reach people at different moments. A cadence says which one goes when.
4. **A purpose for each touch**: Every 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.

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.

One cadence, touch by touch

| Day | Channel | Purpose |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Day 1 | Email | Introduce the reason you wrote |
| Day 3 | LinkedIn | Send a connection note |
| Day 5 | Email | Share one relevant result |
| Day 8 | Phone | Call and leave a short message |
| Day 10 | Email | Ask a one-line question |
| Day 14 | Email | Close the loop politely |

## 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.

## Common mistakes

- 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.

## Related terms

- [Multichannel outreach](https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/multichannel-outreach.md): Multichannel outreach means contacting one prospect on several channels, for example email, LinkedIn and the phone, following a plan for which comes when.
- [Cold email](https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/cold-email.md): 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.
- [Sales development representative](https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/sales-development-representative.md): A sales development representative (SDR) is a person who researches prospects, reaches out to them and books meetings for account executives.

## Keep reading

- [Cold email follow-up sequences](https://coldmeetings.com/blog/cold-email-follow-up-sequences.md)
- [Sequences](https://coldmeetings.com/product/sequences.md)
- [LinkedIn outreach](https://coldmeetings.com/blog/linkedin-outreach.md)

## 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.

Questions about outbound for your own company? Email hello@coldmeetings.com.

## Related

- [Multichannel outreach: definition and example](https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/multichannel-outreach.md)
- [Cold email: definition, parts and example](https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/cold-email.md)
- [Sales development rep (SDR) explained](https://coldmeetings.com/glossary/sales-development-representative.md)