A sales cadence is the scheduled, repeated sequence of touches — email, phone, LinkedIn — you run against a prospect until they answer or you stop. While the BDR runs cadences into net-new accounts, the SDR runs them into the inbound and existing accounts it works. Most replies come after the first touch, which is why persistence is the whole game — but persistence with one clean ask per touch, not repetition for its own sake.
Why cadence beats single sends
One email and you're gone. The data is consistent: most responses arrive after the first touch, and the reps who follow up convert a materially higher share of replies into conversations. A cadence is follow-through made systematic — every prospect gets the same disciplined sequence, so your results stop depending on your mood on any given day. Treat it like the 30-day plan treats the job search: a repeatable process, not a burst.
The 14-day template
Here is the asset — a two-week multi-channel cadence:
| Day | Channel | Message type |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | First touch — relevant, one ask, 60–80 words | |
| Day 2 | Connect + a one-line note referencing the trigger | |
| Day 3 | Phone | Call + a voicemail (under 22 seconds) |
| Day 5 | Follow-up — add ONE new relevant detail or question | |
| Day 7 | Engage with something they posted, or a quick nudge | |
| Day 8 | Phone | Second call + voicemail — a new angle, not the same script |
| Day 10 | Value drop — a resource tied to their trigger | |
| Day 12 | Direct message — a short, specific question | |
| Day 13 | Phone | Final call + voicemail — close the loop |
| Day 14 | Final touch — one last ask, and offer to stop |
The rules that make it work. Every touch makes ONE clean ask (a reply, a 15-minute call, a quick yes/no). Every touch adds something — a trigger, a question, a value drop — never a copy-paste of Day 1. Rotate channels so you're seen where they look. End at Day 14 with a clear close-the-loop touch: if they say stop, you stop and log it. The touch counts here reflect the standard that most deals are won by reps who persist past the first few touches (Bridge Group, 2025).
Before you set your channel mix, weigh the cold email vs cold call trade-offs — and when a touch is on LinkedIn, make the connection note worth accepting rather than a "let's connect" filler.
Knowing when to stop
A cadence is not infinite. Run the full 14 days, and if there's no reply, log the outcome, close the loop with one honest touch, and move the account into your pipeline as a someday — trigger it so you re-approach when something changes. Stopping clean is as much a skill as persisting: it keeps your list honest and your time on the accounts most likely to answer.
Start here
That closes out Module 3 — you can define who to reach, find them, research them, time the outreach, and run the sequence that books the meeting. From the SDR certification hub you can continue into Module 4, Cold Calling, starting with a fill-in-the-blank cold call script, and keep building toward the Certified Sales Development Representative credential.