Definition
A sales cadence (or sequence) is a structured, multi-step, multi-channel outreach plan that a salesperson uses to engage with a new prospect. It defines the specific series of activities (e.g., email, phone call, LinkedIn message) and the time intervals between them. The goal is to optimize outreach for a higher response rate by ensuring persistent, professional follow-up without being overwhelming.
Examples
A 10-day B2B sales cadence might look like this:
- Day 1: Personalized Email + LinkedIn connection request.
- Day 3: Follow-up Phone Call (no voicemail).
- Day 5: Second Email (providing a valuable resource or case study).
- Day 7: LinkedIn Message (commenting on a post or article they shared).
- Day 10: Final Phone Call (leave voicemail) + Break-up Email.
Advantages/Benefits
- Increased Efficiency: Provides a clear, repeatable playbook for salespeople, eliminating guesswork about what to do next.
- Persistent Follow-up: Ensures leads don’t fall through the cracks by automating the follow-up schedule.
- Improved Performance: Allows for A/B testing and optimization. Teams can measure which cadences (messages, channels, timing) get the best results.
- Better Prospect Experience: A well-designed cadence provides value at each step rather than just « checking in, » which builds credibility.
- Scalability: Makes it easy to train new SDRs and scale the prospecting efforts of the entire team.
Related terms
- Sales Automation
- Prospecting
- Outbound Sales
- SDR (Sales Development Representative)
- Follow-up
- SalesLoft / Outreach (common cadence tools)
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