5 Winning Sales Cadence Examples (and Lessons to Draw from Them)

So you finally have leads flowing into your pipeline. Now what? Which leads do you contact first? How do you prioritize outreach and determine the right approach? Should you reach out via email, phone call, or social media outreach? How many times should you contact a prospect? When should you place a call or send an email? If a prospect does X, should you do Y or Z? What do you do next?

If you haven’t yet fully answered all these questions or aren’t very sure of your answers, then chances are you need to develop a solid sales cadence for your sales team (or your current one needs some refining). The best sales cadences brings structure and order to how reps engage leads, improving productivity and performance.

In this post, we’ll explore sales examples that have already been shown to work, draw key lessons from each of theses cases and provide sales cadence best practices to put these ideas

• Advantages of Sales Cadence
• Sales Cadence Examples
  • Sales Cadence as a Starting Reference
  • Outbound Strategies Sales Cadence for Lengthier Sales Process
  • Working Sales Cadence for Short Period of Time
  • 22-days Sales Cadence Example
  • Sales Cadence to Book Meetings

What is Sales Cadence?

To make sure we’re on the same page, let’s first lay out some sales cadence preliminaries: what it exactly is, why you need one, and what other things to have on hand.

A sales cadence is simply a timeline of sales activities and methods reps follow to engage leads. For example, if one of the starting points in your sales conversion funnel involves a lead filling out a form on your site, the steps you take in order to contact that prospect and get him to agree to a face-to-face meeting make up your sales cadence.

Clearly, having a well-defined sales cadence makes things in your sales process run more smoothly and more efficiently. That’s because a sales cadence:

• Maintains consistency by providing a set of specific and common procedures for reps to follow; 
• Keeps everything easy to monitor and measure, making managing and optimizing the sales process simpler;
• Speeds up conversions by removing potential choke points or leakages;
• Allows you to quickly scale things up (such as growing your team or doubling your pipeline).

There are a few things you need to have on hand for a sales cadence to work as advertised. Many experts believe that a modern sales cadence requires at least three channels (emails, phone calls, and social media) to really make an impact.

Sales cadences differ from one type of sales process to the next, but the basic idea remains the same: consistent, sequential touches. Complex sales processes often involve a lot of touch points and a longer time period for nurturing prospects (sometimes several months), while transactional sales cycles require fewer touches done over a period of days or weeks.

Learn how to boost your pipeline in 60 days with this million-dollar sales cadence.

Advantages of Sales Cadence

Did you know that by implementing a well-defined sales prospecting cadence, you can significantly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of your client prospecting process? So, whether you’re a solo marketer or part of a larger team, here are the key advantages of integrating sales cadence that you must take note of:

How to Build a Sales Cadence

Read this section first, if you want to fully understand the next section (which is the sales cadence examples).

Developing a structured sales cadence requires strategic planning to ensure each step aligns with your sales objectives and audience behavior. Let’s delve deeper into the essential steps:

Step 1: Define Objectives

Before creating a sales cadence, identify your specific goals. Ask yourself:

• What are you trying to achieve?
  • Lead Conversion: If the goal is to convert cold leads into warm prospects, focus on multiple personalized touchpoints.
  • Meeting Bookings: If your aim is to secure meetings or demos, emphasize direct and time-sensitive outreach like calls and follow-up emails.
  • Brand Awareness: If the focus is long-term nurturing, include educational content like articles or videos.
• Who is your target audience?
  • B2B audiences may respond better to a formal mix of calls, emails, and LinkedIn touches.
  • B2C audiences might prefer a shorter cadence with a stronger emphasis on immediate actions.

Key Takeaway: “Tailor your cadence to your goals, ensuring every step adds value to your interaction with the prospect.”

Step 2: Identify Channels

A multi-channel approach increases the likelihood of reaching and engaging your prospects. Common channels include:

• Email: Great for detailed information, value propositions, and follow-ups.
• Phone Calls: Direct and personal; ideal for establishing trust or addressing objections.
• Social Media (e.g., LinkedIn): Adds a professional, less intrusive touch; excellent for sharing insights and fostering engagement.

Pro Tip: Use a mix of channels to increase touchpoint effectiveness. For example:

• Start with an email to introduce your solution.
• Follow up with a call to establish a personal connection.
• Use LinkedIn to engage with their content or share valuable insights.

Step 3: Plan Touchpoints

A touchpoint refers to any interaction with the prospect during the sales process. The goal is to strike a balance between persistence and engagement without overwhelming the lead.

• How Many Touchpoints?
  • Research shows it often takes 6-8 touches to generate a qualified lead, though some sources suggest up to 13 for more complex sales.
• Types of Touchpoints:
  • Day 1: Introductory Email
  • Day 2: Follow-up Call
  • Day 3-5: Social Media Engagement (commenting, sharing)
  • Day 7: Another Call with Voicemail
  • Day 10: Educational Video or Case Study Email
• Structure Your Approach:
  • Begin with light engagement (emails and social touches).
  • Gradually increase the intensity with calls and personalized messages.
  • End with a call-to-action, such as booking a meeting or requesting feedback.

Key Tip: “Alternate between channels to avoid repetition and maintain variety.”

Step 4: Optimize Timing

Timing plays a crucial role in ensuring your sales cadence achieves maximum impact.

• Day and Time Considerations:
  • Emails often perform best during mid-mornings (9–11 AM) or early afternoons (1–3 PM).
  • Calls tend to be more effective on Tuesday through Thursday between 10–11 AM and 4–5 PM.
• Spacing Between Touchpoints:
  • Avoid overwhelming your prospect by spacing interactions strategically. For example:
    • Email on Day 1, followed by a call on Day 3.
    • Avoid consecutive calls without additional context or value.
• CRM Tools for Insights:
  • Use tools like HubSpot, Salesforce, or Yesware to:
    • Track open rates and engagement on emails.
    • Analyze response times and adjust future steps accordingly.
    • Automate follow-ups based on prospect behavior.

Example: “If a prospect opens your email but doesn’t respond, schedule a follow-up email within 48 hours with a new subject line or offer.”

Additional Tips to Refine Your Sales Cadence

• Leverage Personalization: Use prospect-specific details in your messages (e.g., referencing their recent achievements or company news).
• Analyze and Adjust: Regularly review the effectiveness of your cadence:
  • Which touchpoints received the most engagement?
  • Were there stages where prospects dropped off?
• Incorporate Content: Share articles, case studies, or short videos to position yourself as a helpful resource rather than just a salesperson.

Sales Cadence Examples

If you’re looking to create your own sales cadence (or looking to tweak your current one), there are plenty of ideas to borrow from the following proven examples.

Sales Cadence Example 1:

Our first sales cadence example comes to us from Sales Hub CEO Max Altschuler. This is a widely cited sales cadence and works great as a starting reference

1. Day 1: Email/InMail
2. Day 3: Email in the morning, Call in the afternoon
3. Day 5: Call in the morning, Call with a voicemail in the afternoon
4. Day 7: Email in the morning, Call in the afternoon with a voicemail
5. Day 10: Email and call in the morning

As you can see, this sales cadence consists of 10 touchpoints spread over 10 days. Other than its simplicity, this sales cadence also has the following strengths:

• Makes use of all three key channels (email, phone, and social)
• Leverages the law of immediacy (i.e., touches aren’t spaced too far apart)
• Uses both live phone calls and voicemails

On the other hand, this sales cadence needs some improvement in the following areas:

• Uses too few touchpoints (keep in mind that most studies say it may take up to 13 touches to generate a valid lead)
• Waits until day 3 to place a call (if this were an inbound lead, calling on day 1 would work well)

Check how AI influences email marketing.

Sales Cadences Example 2:

The next example works well for lengthier sales processes.

1. Day 1: Email 1
2. Day 2: Call 1, Voice mail 1, Email 2
3. Day 7: Call 2, Voice mail 2, Email 3
4. Day 14: Call 3, Voice mail 3, Email 4
5. Day 21: Call 4, Voice mail 4, Email 5
6. Day 35: Call 5, Voice mail 5, Email 6
7. Day 49: Call 6, Voice mail 6, Email 7
8. Day 63: Call 7, Voice mail 7, Email 8
9. Day 77: Call 8, Voice mail 8, Email 9

This sales cadence uses up to 25 touchpoints spread over 77 days (a little over two-and-a-half months). Its strengths include:

• Starts strong with an email on day 1 and follows it up with a call the next day
• Combines live phone conversations with voice mail messages

While this cadence fits in with an outbound sales strategy for longer sales cycles, it does have a couple of weaknesses that need attention:

• Lacks a social media component;
• Schedules successive touch points too far apart from each other;
• Relies on the repetitive and almost predictable mix of channels.

Sales Cadence Example 3:

Once again, we’re using a working outbound sales cadence developed by one of InsideSales.com’s customers as an example:

1. Day 1: Emails 1 and 2
2. Day 2: Email 3
3. Day 3: Call 1, Voice Mail 1
4. Day 4: Social Media 1, Email 4
5. Day 5: Call 2, Email 5, Social Media 2

This sales cadence packs a lot of touches in such a short period (5 days) and works because it:

• Leverages all three key channels (email, phone, and social);
• Uses emails extensively throughout the whole process;
• Varies the mix of touch points from one day to another.

However, there’s still some room for improvement, particularly since the cadence:

• Squeezes so much activity in so short a time and risks overwhelming the prospect.
• Waits until day 3 to follow the opening email with a call.

Discover how to create a successful email marketing campaign.

Sales Cadence Example 4:

Brandon Huang, an SDR at Yotpo, shares a 22-day sales cadence idea he says helps him produce consistent results.

1. Day 1: Email
2. Day 3: Phone
3. Day 4: Email
4. Day 7: Phone
5. Day 7 Email
6. Day 10: Phone
7. Day 12: Email
8. Day 14: Phone
9. Day 16: Email
10. Day 19: Phone
11. Day 21: Phone and Email
12. Day 22: Nurture or Repeat

Brandon Huang’s sales cadence consists of 13 touchpoints done over 22 days. Its main strengths include:

• Spreads touch points over a 3 week.
• Leverages immediacy without being too aggressive.

However, this sales cadence contains some glaring flaws:

• Limits the channels used to phone and email only;
• Waits until two days before following up initial email with a call;
• Fails to maximize engagement per day (some days could have included both email and phone activities).

Learn how to reach decision-makers and boost sales.

Sales Cadence Example 5:

Here’s a sales cadence example that managed to deliver some pretty impressive results. Carlos Montero, CEO of digital marketing consulting firm Biassa, says this sales cadence helped him book meetings with 11 of the biggest e-commerce companies:

1. Day 1: Prospect Research
2. Day 2: InMail
3. Day 3: Follow-up InMail
4. Day 4: Email
5. Day 5: Follow-up Email
6. Day 6: Phone
7. Day 7: Social Media (share an article and tag the prospect)
8. Day 8: Video Email
9. Day 9: Social Media (engage prospect on LinkedIn)
10. Day 10: Voice Mail
11. Day 11: Email
12. Day 12: Phone or Email

Carlos Montero recommends setting aside as many as 22 days to carry out all these activities. From the outline, it’s clear that the sales cadence:

• Combines email, phone, and social;
• Uses a rich content strategy (by including articles and videos);
• Strikes a balance between persistence and disturbance.

But even with solid results behind this sales cadence, there are a couple of things you need to look out for, especially since it:

• Requires more research and personalization;
• Makes reaching out at scale a bit more challenging.

Check out the effective sales cadence for sales leaders.

The Takeaway

A sales cadence helps your team navigate the often choppy waters of revenue generation. It keeps your reps’ momentum more consistent and their performance more measurable. With these lessons and tips, it’s easier to develop or optimize your own sales cadence.