Cadence design

Design the cadence around the prospect's next decision, then make each touch earn the next one. Email, calls, social touches, and any physical or voice element should feel like parts of the same conversation, with a reason for their order. Spreading touches across channels can create more touchpoints and double the email reply rate by sending attention back to the email.¹ Channel choice is part of the message plan and the schedule.

Start with segment and outcome

Decide who gets the sequence and what conversation would make the effort worthwhile. This keeps channel choices tied to a decision instead of a pile of activities.

Cadence means a planned sequence of calls, emails, voicemails, and social touches aimed at a prospect over a set period.² Build cadences around account segments.³ Each organization's cadence varies with its offering and market.⁴

Write a short brief before choosing the channels:

• Which segment is this for?
• What problem should the sequence test?
• What response would justify the next touch?
• What conversation are you trying to create?

The sequence should be organized and customized to the buyer over a defined period, with a sales meeting as its goal.⁵ Move on when you can explain the segment, the problem, and the desired conversation in plain language.

Choose the channel order

Give each touch a job and the prospect a fresh reason to engage. Use a starting pattern, then change it when the segment gives you a reason to do so.

A pattern led by email starts with an email, follows with a phone call, then uses another phone call without leaving a voicemail.⁶ A multichannel pattern runs email, call, and LinkedIn in close succession, then stacks email and LinkedIn alongside calls later in the sequence.⁷

Use a connection pattern when the prospect has already engaged with you on social. Send a direct message, email, and phone call, then wait a few days before the next touch.⁸

Ask what the prospect has already seen, which channel can add context, and which channel gives you the cleanest next action. The order is ready when each channel contributes something different.

Give every touch a job

A multichannel sequence works when the prospect can feel progress from touch to touch. Give each message a distinct purpose so the sequence develops a conversation instead of repeating a pitch.

Strong cadences vary the value at each touch across phone, email, and social, with messages spaced one to three days apart.⁹ Start with the biggest problem, move to the next problem when needed, and ask for a response if neither problem creates engagement.¹⁰

Use the email to test a specific problem or offer. Keep the full pitch out of it, because selling everything in one email creates long emails that get deleted.¹¹ Keep bubble up emails in the previous email thread.¹²

Before moving to the next touch, ask whether it changes the prospect's understanding, gives them a reason to reply, or makes the next conversation easier. If it does none of those things, rewrite the touch before adding another channel.

Match the pattern to the segment

Different entry points call for different sequences. These patterns give you practical starting points for connected prospects, inbound responses, cold accounts, and longer account work.

Connected prospects

Use this pattern when a prospect has already connected with you on social. After the connection, send a direct message, email, and phone call, then pause for a few days.⁸ After the email follow up, add a voice note, wait a couple of days, and send a video.¹³

Each touch should deepen the existing interaction. Stop when the prospect responds, gives you a question, or accepts a conversation.

Inbound responses

For inbound, the most successful reported pattern used Call, Voicemail, and Email across 6 to 10 touches, though teams used that combination only 4.7 percent of the time.¹⁴

Treat this as a pattern to test against your inbound source. Keep the message tied to the action that brought the prospect in, then review where the response occurs.

Cold accounts

A cold account can use repeated live calls before finishing with email. A recommended close uses three daily calls followed by three emails.¹⁵

For broader account work, use 10 to 14 touches over 30 days across email, phone, and LinkedIn to surface multiple problems and create more chances to connect.¹⁶ Choose this longer pattern when the account needs several angles to recognize a reason for the conversation.

Add physical touches with a job

Physical mail earns its place when it changes the prospect's attention and gives the digital touches something to reinforce. Connect the physical touch to the message already moving through the sequence.

Coordinated direct mail and digital sequences have produced response rates 20 to 30 percent higher than mail alone.¹⁷ The physical piece earns attention while digital channels provide frequency.¹⁸ Use that combination when the account and offer justify the extra coordination, then have the next email or call refer back to the reason for the physical touch.

Set rules before launch

Write the movement rules before the sequence runs. A rep should know what starts the sequence, what response changes the path, and what timing belongs to the next action.

Design the cadence around the next step and the conversation you want to reach.¹⁹ Set exact timing for the next action, whether that action is a follow up email or a product demo.²⁰

Use a defined order when every prospect should receive the same path. Use an outcome based path when the next step depends on what happened previously, since outbound sequences can execute email, call, SMS, and task steps in order or according to the previous outcome.²¹ A sequence can also automate emails, calls, and tasks for records in a segment.²²

Your launch checklist should cover the entry condition, the purpose of every touch, the reply that changes the path, and the point where the sequence ends. Another rep should be able to run the sequence without asking what happens next.

What not to do

Keep these failure modes visible during review.

• Do not send fourteen emails through a single channel. That pattern is described as obnoxious.²³
• Do not sell everything in one email. Long emails get deleted when the message carries the whole offer.¹¹
• Do not barrage the same prospect with callbacks in a day. Space callbacks over time.²⁴
• Do not assume a universal channel order. Channel order is mostly a matter of personal preference.²⁵

For the next planning session, take a segment, choose a starting pattern, and assign a job to every touch. Write the exit condition before launch, then change channel order or spacing separately when the sequence needs work.