Making sales requires good communication and careful planning. A sales cadence can set you and your sales reps up for success. Having a sales cadence is important for providing your reps with a foundation to follow up on leads. By managing follow-ups, your reps can close leads at a higher rate of efficiency.
What is a Sales Cadence?
A sales cadence is the process of following up on a lead after initial contact. It’s basically a timeline that outlines when and how you follow up with prospects. This typically occurs via email and phone, but you can also use other channels of communication, such as text messages, social media platforms, or voicemail.
Tailor your sales cadence for a particular demographic instead of using the same cadence for all leads. Other factors that can affect how you set up your sales cadence include the region you’re working in and the product or service you’re working with. You may need to test out different methods until you find a cadence that works for your business.
7 Steps to a Better Sales Cadence
Thoroughly think about your sales cadences—don’t make just one boilerplate template to use for all of your leads. Instead, create sales cadence variations and adjust these for different audiences. This then allows you to monitor the cadences’ performances and make adjustments as needed.
1. Determine Your Audience
Knowing who your customers are is the key to creating an effective sales cadence. Consider when they’ll be most receptive. The time of day you call is important. For example, upper management typically have more free time in the mornings, while regular employees might have more time available after lunch. It is also vital to know what your leads want and need, and how your product or service can help them.
2. Select Communication Medium
The method of communication can differ depending on your audience. Typically, communication mediums include:
- Phone calls
- Voicemails
- Emails
- Text messages
- Social media outreach
Experts suggest choosing the communication methods your prospective clients are most likely to use and respond to. For example, if you acquire your list from social media outreach, you may might add more social media outreach in your cadence. You can also use a number of communication channels to increase your chances of reaching more prospects.
3. Sales Cadence Duration
The duration of your cadence is important. You don’t want to overly spam a lead because this just turns them away from your brand. However, you do want to be consistent in your follow-ups to ensure you close any leads that might actually be interested. The trick is striking a balance. You never know if your previous communication has gotten lost in an inbox or if the prospect just hasn’t had time to get back to you. Typically, a cadence should last between two and four weeks. Again, this may vary depending on your communication medium and your audience.
4. Number of Touchpoints
The number of touchpoints in your customer journey is also crucial to determine. This helps keep your agents engaged in the lead throughout the cadence duration. Your touchpoints should alternate between communication mediums. Don’t just schedule single follow-up calls or emails. Instead, create a comprehensive strategy.
For example, start by sending soft emails welcoming the lead, followed by product explanations. Then follow up with a phone call, voice mail, or SMS message. If the lead fails to respond, perhaps send an additional email before closing the cadence or mix in social media outreach.
5. Spacing of Touchpoints
Timing is everything. Nobody likes to get barraged with multiple emails all in one day. However, if your touchpoints are too far apart, your prospects may forget who you are and what you offer. A general rule of thumb is to space your touchpoints out every few days.
Some people set a consistent schedule with touchpoints on specific days in the cadence. However, you can alternate the number of days between touchpoints so that there isn’t a consistent pattern. This could help your touchpoints feel more personalized instead of sending an email every two days like an automated system.
6. Segmenting Lists
Your leads are not all the same, so you shouldn’t be using the same sales cadence for all of them. Try to segment your lead list into different categories. For example, segment them by age group or geographic location, or by those who have downloaded your e-book or asked about your business.
Once you’ve segmented your leads, you can cater your sales cadence more precisely to fit their preferences. Some of your leads may be more comfortable with online communications while others may prefer personalized phone calls. Some may need a longer cadence before they engage, while others might respond right away. Diligence in segmenting leads can improve your agents’ success when following up.
7. Devising Content
Finally, the content of your communication is important, too. Typically, content progression follows a guideline such as:
- Welcome email
- Product or service pitch
- Follow-up from one channel
- Follow-up from an alternate channel
- Personalized phone follow-up
- Final follow-up
- Breakup email (if necessary)
Once again, understanding your audience is important. What type of language do they most likely relate to? What things would they like to see and listen to? In addition, the number of touchpoints, cadence duration, and communication medium should all factor into the content that you devise for your sales cadence.
Tips for Cadence Follow-ups
Depending on the industry and type of person you’re contacting, alternate the time and day you make a phone call. Times that are inconvenient for calls might make a great opportunity to send an email.
Agents should approach leads with empathy. No sales rep wants to hear no, but they can handle it professionally. Their professionalism can speak volumes for your brand and might even convert the lead later when they remember how professionally your agents addressed them.
Remove leads that are on the fence but not interested right now from your cadence. However, you can add these to other lists for follow-up in a later campaign. Follow-up campaigns can see more success when you use recycled leads.
A good sales cadence helps you and your agents close sales more quickly and efficiently. It also ensures you’re not losing leads. It may take some time to test different sales cadences to see what works for you, but the effort will be well worth it when your sales funnel is flowing smoothly.
