Sales cadence example

A 12-touch sales cadence example (3 weeks)

This is a complete, copy-paste sales cadence you can run starting today: 12 touches across email, phone, and LinkedIn, spread over three weeks. It follows the structure most strong outbound teams converge on. Six emails, four calls, and two LinkedIn touches, timed so you stay persistent without becoming annoying. The golden rule is simple. The moment a prospect replies, you stop the cadence and answer like a human. Everything below assumes that auto-cancel.

Multi-channel works because buyers ignore channels, not people. A cold email is easy to archive. A relevant email, plus a well-timed voicemail, plus a thoughtful LinkedIn comment is much harder to dismiss, because each touch reinforces the last. Keep every message short, lead with the prospect's world instead of your product, and give one clear reason to reply. Swap the bracketed placeholders for real details and you have a cadence a rep would actually send.

1. Day 1 - Email 1: The intro

Subject: quick idea for [Company], [First Name]

CHANNEL: Email | SEND: Day 1 (Tue), morning Hi [First Name], I saw [Company] recently [trigger event, e.g. opened 3 new AE roles / expanded into [market] / shipped [feature]], which usually puts [goal, e.g. hitting new pipeline targets] front and center. We help [role, e.g. sales leaders] at [similar companies, e.g. B2B SaaS teams] [outcome, e.g. add qualified pipeline without hiring more SDRs]. [Comparable customer] got [result with a number, e.g. 27% more replies that turned into real pipeline] in [timeframe]. Worth a quick 15-minute call to see if the same approach fits [Company]? Best, [Your Name] [Title], [Your Company]

2. Day 2 - Call 1: First dial and voicemail

CHANNEL: Phone | SEND: Day 2 (Wed), late morning or 4 to 6 PM local LIVE TALK TRACK (if they pick up): "Hi [First Name], it's [Your Name] from [Your Company]. I'll be quick. I emailed you yesterday about [trigger event] at [Company]. The reason I'm calling: we just helped [similar company] solve [pain point]. Did I catch you at an OK time for two minutes, or should I call back?" IF IT'S A BAD TIME: "Totally fair. When's better, later today or tomorrow morning?" VOICEMAIL (under 20 seconds): "Hi [First Name], [Your Name] at [Your Company]. I sent you a note about [trigger event]. No need to call me back, I'll follow up by email so it's easy to read on your own time. Talk soon." THEN reply to your Day 1 email thread: "Just tried your line, [First Name]. Left a quick voicemail. Happy to work around your calendar if a 15-minute call is useful."

3. Day 3 - LinkedIn 1: Connection request

CHANNEL: LinkedIn | SEND: Day 3 (Thu) Send a connection request with a short, no-pitch note (LinkedIn caps these near 300 characters, so keep it tight): "Hi [First Name], I came across [Company] after [trigger event] and have been following how your team approaches [topic, e.g. outbound]. Would love to connect and trade notes." Do not pitch in the connection note. The goal is recognition, so your name looks familiar on the next email and call. If you are already connected, skip the request and instead like or leave a genuine one-line comment on their most recent post.

4. Day 5 - Email 2: Proof and a reason to reply

Subject: [Comparable Customer] had the same problem

CHANNEL: Email | SEND: Day 5 (Mon), morning | Reply to the Day 1 thread Hi [First Name], Following up with something useful rather than just a nudge. We recently worked with [comparable customer, similar size and industry] who were dealing with [pain point, e.g. reps spending half their week building lists instead of selling]. After [what changed], they [result with a number and timeframe, e.g. added 31% more qualified pipeline in 60 days]. I put together a one-page breakdown of exactly how they did it. Want me to send it over? Or if it's easier, give me 15 minutes on a call and I'll walk you through it. Best, [Your Name]

5. Day 8 - Call 2 + Day 9 - Email 3: The direct angle

Subject: a more direct question, [First Name]

DAY 8 - CALL 2 CHANNEL: Phone | SEND: Day 8 (Thu), a different time of day than Call 1 LIVE TALK TRACK: "Hi [First Name], [Your Name] at [Your Company] again. I'll keep it to 30 seconds. Last time I reached out about [trigger event]. Quick question: is [goal, e.g. ramping new reps faster] actually on your radar this quarter, or am I off base?" No voicemail this time. The call's job is to create the 'missed call from a real person' signal right before tomorrow's email. ---------- DAY 9 - EMAIL 3 CHANNEL: Email | SEND: Day 9 (Fri), morning | New subject line, new thread Hi [First Name], I've come at this from a couple of angles, so let me try a more direct one. Most [role, e.g. sales leaders] I talk to are stuck choosing between [option A, e.g. prospecting] and [option B, e.g. actually closing]. If that's true at [Company], that gap is exactly what we close. If it's not a priority right now, just reply 'not now' and I'll stop reaching out. If it is, are you free for a quick call Thursday or Friday? Best, [Your Name]

6. Day 11 - LinkedIn 2 + Day 12 - Email 4: Social proof

Subject: how [Comparable Customer] pulled it off

DAY 11 - LINKEDIN 2 CHANNEL: LinkedIn | SEND: Day 11 (Tue) If they accepted your request, send a short direct message (no wall of text): "Thanks for connecting, [First Name]. Not here to pitch you. We just helped [comparable customer] with [pain point], and I thought of [Company] given [trigger event]. If it's ever useful, I'm happy to share what worked. Either way, glad to be connected." If they did not accept, engage instead: leave one specific, thoughtful comment on a recent post of theirs or from [Company]. Specific beats generic every time. ---------- DAY 12 - EMAIL 4 CHANNEL: Email | SEND: Day 12 (Wed), morning | Reply to the Day 9 thread Hi [First Name], One more proof point, then I'll give you some space. [Customer quote, e.g. "We added two months of pipeline in our first six weeks"] - [Name], [Title] at [Comparable Customer]. The teams that get the most out of this look a lot like [Company]: [shared trait, e.g. lean team, aggressive targets, no time to waste]. If that resonates, a 15-minute call is the fastest way to see whether it maps to your numbers. Worth a look? [Your Name]

7. Day 15 - Call 3 + Day 16 - Email 5: The value nudge

Subject: thought this might help, [First Name]

DAY 15 - CALL 3 CHANNEL: Phone | SEND: Day 15 (Mon) LIVE TALK TRACK: "Hi [First Name], [Your Name] at [Your Company]. I know I've reached out a few times, so I'll respect your time. I'm going to send one short email today with a resource I think your team will find genuinely useful, no strings. If it helps, reply and we'll talk. If not, I'll get out of your inbox. Sound fair?" VOICEMAIL: "Hi [First Name], [Your Name] again. Sending you something useful by email today, no pitch. Have a good one." ---------- DAY 16 - EMAIL 5 CHANNEL: Email | SEND: Day 16 (Tue), morning | New thread Hi [First Name], As promised, no pitch. Here's [resource, e.g. a teardown of how [comparable customer] rebuilt their outbound], whether or not we ever talk: [Link] The part most relevant to [Company] is [section, e.g. how they cut wasted research time]. If you'd like to talk through applying it to your team, I'm around for a quick call this week. Best, [Your Name]

8. Day 18 - Call 4 + Day 19 - Email 6: The breakup

Subject: closing the loop, [First Name]

DAY 18 - CALL 4 CHANNEL: Phone | SEND: Day 18 (Thu) LIVE TALK TRACK: "Hi [First Name], [Your Name] at [Your Company]. This is the last you'll hear from me for a while. I've reached out a handful of times about [pain point] and we haven't connected, which usually means the timing is off or it's just not a fit right now. Totally fine. I'll send one final email today and then close it out on my end." VOICEMAIL: "Hi [First Name], [Your Name] at [Your Company]. Closing the loop with one last email today. If the timing changes down the road, you know where to find me." ---------- DAY 19 - EMAIL 6 (the breakup) CHANNEL: Email | SEND: Day 19 (Fri), morning | Reply to the most recent thread Hi [First Name], I've reached out a few times about helping [Company] with [pain point], and I don't want to clutter your inbox, so this is my last note. If it's just bad timing, tell me when to circle back and I will. If it's not a fit, no hard feelings and I'll close your file. Either way, I genuinely hope [goal, e.g. you crush your number this quarter]. All the best, [Your Name] P.S. If I've been reaching the wrong person, who on your team owns [area]? I'm glad to reach out to them instead.

Skip the copy-paste

Writing and running a cadence like this for every account is exactly what AvairAI does for you. Give it just your website and its AI agents build and run a pre-built 12-touch campaign over three weeks (6 personalized emails, plus 4 calls and 2 LinkedIn touches handed to your reps as ready-to-run Manual Tasks), going from your URL to a live campaign in about 10 minutes. AvairAI writes and personalizes every message and delivers interested leads, while your reps make the calls and close. Start with a 14-day free trial, no credit card.

Frequently asked questions

How many touches should a sales cadence have?

Most effective B2B cadences run between 8 and 14 touches over two to four weeks, and the example above uses 12 touches across three weeks. Fewer than 8 and you give up on prospects who simply hadn't noticed you yet. More than about 14 and reply rates fall while spam complaints climb. What matters more than the raw number is the mix and the spacing, so blend email, phone, and LinkedIn, leave one to three business days between touches, and stop the moment someone replies.

Should a sales cadence be email-only or multi-channel?

Multi-channel almost always outperforms email-only, which is why this example combines 6 emails, 4 calls, and 2 LinkedIn touches. Buyers ignore channels, not people, so a prospect who archives your email may still answer a call or accept a LinkedIn request. Each channel reinforces the others, so your name on a connection request makes the next email feel familiar, and a voicemail makes the follow-up email more likely to be opened. The trade-off is effort, so reserve your calls and LinkedIn touches for the accounts that fit best.

When should you stop a sales cadence?

Stop the cadence the instant a prospect replies, even with a short or skeptical answer, and switch to a real one-to-one conversation. A reply is the whole point, so continuing to fire scheduled touches at someone who has engaged is the fastest way to lose them. Otherwise, run the full 12 touches over three weeks and end with a clear breakup message. If there is still no response, move the contact to a lighter long-term nurture and revisit when a new trigger event appears.

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