Sales Cadence Made Simple: The Top Habits That Make Money
As a salesperson, your most precious resource is time. You need to make every interaction with potential customers count. But in today‘s noisy world, cutting through the clutter and consistently grabbing the attention of busy decision-makers is a major challenge.
That‘s where sales cadences come in. An optimized cadence of touchpoints across channels is your key to efficiently establishing relationships, building trust, and ultimately closing more deals.
In this guide, we‘ll break down everything you need to know to master the art of the sales cadence. You‘ll learn:
- What a sales cadence is and why it‘s critical
- The core components of high-performing cadences
- Real-world examples of cadences in action
- A simple process for building your own cadence
- Expert tips and best practices to 10X your results
By the end, you‘ll be fully equipped to implement this powerful strategy in your own selling. Let‘s dive in!
What is a Sales Cadence?
A sales cadence is a scheduled sequence of activities used by salespeople to engage prospects across multiple channels over a set period of time. The goal is to provide value at every touchpoint in order to grab attention, build a relationship, and drive the sale forward.
Effective sales cadences include a mix of communication methods, such as:
- Phone calls
- Social media (LinkedIn, Twitter)
- Text messages
- Video
- Direct mail
These touchpoints are orchestrated in a specific order and cadence. Persistence and consistency are key. According to research by Telfer School of Management, it takes an average of 8 touches to get an initial meeting with a new prospect. And 80% of sales require 5 follow-up calls after the first meeting.
Without a defined cadence, it‘s easy for follow-up to fall through the cracks. Salespeople who use a structured cadence are 50% more likely to hit their quota than those who don‘t.
Anatomy of a High-Performing Sales Cadence
While the specifics may vary, all top-performing sales cadences have a few core elements in common:
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Targeted list of accounts and contacts – A cadence is only as good as the people it targets. It‘s critical to identify companies and contacts that fit your ideal customer profile. The more targeted the list, the more relevant your outreach can be.
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Multichannel mix – The average employee has 8 communication channels (email, phone, IM, etc). Effective cadences leverage multiple mediums to engage prospects wherever they are. This increases the odds of grabbing attention and appealing to individual preferences.
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Strategic timing and frequency – Cadences are carefully choreographed to find the right balance of persistence and patience. Too much follow-up and you risk annoying the prospect. Too little and you fail to build momentum. A typical cadence includes 12-20 touchpoints over a 2-4 week period.
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Compelling content and messaging – Every touchpoint should provide value to the prospect and include a clear call-to-action. A variety of content – articles, case studies, videos, etc. – is used to educate, build trust, and drive the next step. Personalization is key to resonating with each individual contact.
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Consistency and discipline – The power of a cadence comes from consistently executing it, tracking results, and iterating over time. Top performers don‘t just wing it – they systematize their approach and ruthlessly optimize based on data.
Here‘s a simplified example of what a sales cadence might look like:
| Day | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1 | Email intro |
| 3 | Follow-up email |
| 5 | Phone call #1 |
| 7 | LinkedIn connection request |
| 8 | Call + voicemail |
| 10 | Follow-up email |
| 12 | Phone call #2 |
| 14 | Break-up email |
Of course, the specific channels, timing, and content would be tailored to the prospect and offer. But this gives a sense of the persistent, multichannel approach.
Sales Cadence Success Stories
To illustrate the impact an effective sales cadence can have, let‘s look at a couple real-world examples.
$2.1M Pipeline from Scratch
One enterprise software sales rep was tasked with breaking into a brand new market in the UK. Starting with no network or pipeline, he built a list of 90 target accounts in retail and ecommerce.
For each account, he identified 2-3 contacts in relevant roles like CMO, Head of eCommerce, and Chief Digital Officer. Then he executed the following cadence:
| Touchpoint | Channel |
|---|---|
| 1 | Personalized email or LinkedIn InMail |
| 2 | Follow-up email with content |
| 3 | Phone call #1 |
| 4 | Phone call #2 + voicemail |
| 5 | Video email |
| 6 | Break-up email ("permission to close your file?") |
The results speak for themselves:
- 270 total contacts targeted
- 62 meetings booked (23% conversion rate)
- 41 qualified opportunities created
- $2.1 million in pipeline generated
By methodically researching his market, identifying key contacts, and executing a persistent multichannel cadence, he was able to drive incredible results in a completely foreign territory.
112% Increase in SQLs
Another inside sales team at a SaaS startup selling marketing analytics software was struggling to hit their quotas. Leads were coming in from marketing, but the team was having trouble engaging them and converting them to sales qualified leads (SQLs).
The sales manager recognized the need for a more structured approach. She worked with the team to design a simple 14-day cadence to implement:
| Day | Activity | Content |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Email #1 | Intro, build interest |
| 2 | LinkedIn connection + message | Relevant content |
| 4 | Email #2 | Case study |
| 7 | Phone call #1 | Voicemail referencing email |
| 9 | Email #3 | Video demo |
| 11 | Phone call #2 | Live conversation |
| 14 | Break-up email | Permission to close |
After testing the cadence on a few reps, the results were striking. Compared to the previous period:
- Leads worked increased 30%
- Emails sent increased 63%
- Calls made increased 47%
- SQLs generated increased 112%
- Pipeline generated increased 104%
By simply implementing a consistent, repeatable cadence across the team, they were able to dramatically improve their efficiency and effectiveness in working leads and generating pipe.
Building Your Own Sales Cadence
Hopefully those examples demonstrate the power of a well-executed sales cadence. So how can you go about implementing one in your own org? Here‘s a simple step-by-step process:
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Define your objective – What are you trying to achieve with this cadence? Setting more meetings? Reactivating dormant accounts? Expanding within current customers? Clarifying your goal allows you to work backwards to create the most effective sequence.
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Identify your target personas – Who are the types of contacts and accounts most likely to convert for this offer? Develop clear persona profiles outlining their demographics, goals, challenges, and preferences. This research will help you tailor your messaging and tactics.
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Map out your touchpoints – Outline the specific steps and channels you will use for outreach. Consider the readiness and engagement level of the prospects to determine the right cadence. An inbound lead might receive 6-8 touches over 10 days, while a cold outbound target might get 12-16 touches over 3-4 weeks.
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Craft your content – Each touchpoint should include content and messaging that grabs attention, demonstrates value, builds trust, and drives action. Develop a variety of assets – blog posts, case studies, videos, presentations, etc. – that salespeople can use throughout the cadence.
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Plan your timing – Look for patterns to optimize the timing of your touchpoints. For example, email open rates are highest on weekdays between 10-11am. Calls are best made between 4-5pm or 11am-12pm. Test different days and times to see what gets the best response with your audience. Tools like Seventh Sense can also automatically optimize send times based on past engagement data.
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Execute and track – With the cadence defined, it‘s time to put it into action consistently. A sales engagement platform like SalesLoft, Outreach, or HubSpot makes it easy to automate touchpoints, remind reps when tasks are due, log activities, and measure results at scale. As you roll out the cadence, closely monitor leading indicators like email opens, click-through rates, reply rates, call connects, and conversion rates from step to step.
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Optimize and expand – Treat your sales cadence as a continuous experiment. As you gather data on what‘s working and what‘s not, look for opportunities to optimize your messaging, timing, and tactics. Run A/B tests to see what delivers the best outcomes. And once you‘ve dialed in an effective cadence for one segment or use case, look to productize it and scale it to other relevant groups and personas.
By following this process, any sales team or individual can develop a powerful cadence-based approach to outbound prospecting and lead nurturing.
Best Practices for Sales Cadence Success
We‘ve covered a lot of ground in this guide to sales cadences. As you go out to build your own winning sequences, keep these best practices in mind:
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Personalize at scale – Tailor your messaging using templates and automation, but maintain the human touch. Maximize relevance by using data and triggers to dynamically customize content, timing, and offers.
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Focus on helping over selling – Don‘t just pitch your product non-stop. Provide educational content, original research, and unique insights to establish your credibility and make the prospect smarter. Position yourself as a trusted advisor, not just a vendor.
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Test, track & iterate obsessively – The key to optimizing your cadences is to relentlessly experiment and analyze your results. A/B test different subject lines, CTAs, content, and timing to see what moves the needle. Adopt a scientist‘s mindset.
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Use all channels, but master a few – While your cadences should include multiple touches and mediums, don‘t overdo it. Pick a few core channels that resonate with your audience and allocate your time and energy accordingly. It‘s better to execute extremely well on a couple channels than to spread yourself thin.
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Use video to stand out – With the massive shift to remote selling, video has become a key differentiator. Tools like BombBomb, Vidyard GoVideo, and Loom make it easy to record and send personalized video messages that put a face to your name. Video emails have been shown to increase reply rates by 26%.
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Automate busywork with AI – A sales cadence has a lot of moving parts. Lean on technology to handle the repetitive tasks like logging activities, setting reminders, and queueing up daily outreach. AI-powered tools can even optimize your content and timing based on past engagement data. This frees you up to focus on higher-value activities.
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Sync with marketing – To maximize the impact of your cadences, work closely with marketing to ensure tight alignment and a seamless experience. Coordinate your messaging and content to reinforce each stage of the buyer‘s journey. And use marketing automation to supplement your outreach with relevant drip campaigns.
As with any strategy, the key to success with sales cadences is to start simple, execute consistently, and improve continuously. Focus on progress over perfection.
The Future of Sales Cadences
Looking ahead, a few key trends are shaping the future of sales cadences:
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The bar for personalization continues to rise. Sales teams will need to leverage data and AI to tailor outreach at the 1:1 level and engage buyers with relevant insights.
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Video and social selling are becoming mainstream. The most effective cadences will incorporate video touches and social engagement across platforms. Sales reps will be expected to build their personal brands and thought leadership.
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Automation is eating busywork. To keep up with the competition, organizations will need to offload repetitive tasks and data entry to AI assistants. Reps will be able to orchestrate more touches with less manual effort.
-Sales and marketing will continue to converge. The winning sales teams will meld their outbound efforts seamlessly with inbound marketing campaigns to create 1+1=3 results. Cadences will be triggered by buyer intent signals.
Ultimately, the future belongs to sales teams that can master the art and science of persistent, personalized, and well-timed outreach. Sales cadences provide the framework and discipline to make that a reality.
There you have it – a complete guide to sales cadences. We‘ve covered a lot, including:
- Why sales cadences are a critical strategy
- The key components of a high-performing cadence
- Examples of cadences driving real results
- How to build your own sales cadence in 7 steps
- Best practices and tips for success
- Trends shaping the future of sales outreach
Mastering the sales cadence is one of the highest-leverage skills you can develop as a modern seller. It‘s the difference between being a order-taker and a quota-crusher.
But knowing isn‘t enough – it‘s time to put this knowledge into action. Go out and start building your own cadences. Experiment with different approaches. Track your leading indicators obsessively. Share your successes and learn from your failures.
And most of all, embrace the power of persistence and consistency. In sales, as in life, discipline and grit are the ultimate competitive advantages. A well-executed sales cadence is simply the framework for channeling those virtues into results.
Now go out there and start building pipeline!
