Design a Multi-Channel Outbound Cadence

Help the user design a complete outbound cadence for Salesloft, Mailshake, Smartlead, Lemlist, Yesware, or Hunter.io — from architecture and timing through full content for every step, A/B testing, and optimization benchmarks.

Step 1 — Gather context

Ask the user:

1. What's the campaign goal?

   • A) Cold outbound — net-new prospects, no prior relationship
   • B) Inbound follow-up — responding to a lead that came in
   • C) Trigger-based — responding to a signal (job change, funding round, tech install, intent data)
   • D) Re-engagement — reviving a cold or stalled conversation
   • E) Expansion — reaching new contacts at existing customer accounts
   • F) Other — describe it

2. Who is the target persona? (title, seniority, industry, company size)

3. What channels are available?

   • A) Email only
   • B) Email + phone
   • C) Email + phone + LinkedIn
   • D) Email + phone + LinkedIn + video
   • E) Other combination — describe

4. What constraints should I know about?

   • Total duration (e.g., 14 days, 21 days, 30 days)
   • Max touches per week
   • Existing messaging or value props to incorporate
   • Compliance requirements (GDPR, CAN-SPAM, industry-specific)
   • Any channels to avoid or emphasize

If the user's request already provides most of this context, skip directly to the relevant step. Lead with your best-effort answer using reasonable assumptions (stated explicitly), then ask only the most critical 1-2 clarifying questions at the end — don't gate your response behind gathering complete context.

Step 2 — Cadence architecture

Design the cadence structure as a table:

Day	Step	Channel	Action	Notes
1	1	Email	Intro email (A/B subject lines)	Personalization Level 3+
1	2	LinkedIn	Profile view + connection request	Same day as email
3	3	Phone	Call attempt #1 + voicemail	Reference email
4	4	Email	Follow-up email (value-add)	Different angle from Step 1
...	...	...	...	...

Design principles

• Channel mixing: Never send 3+ touches in the same channel consecutively. Alternate between email, phone, and LinkedIn.
• Spacing:
  • Days 1-7: Higher intensity (touch every 1-2 days) — this is when engagement peaks
  • Days 8-14: Medium intensity (every 2-3 days)
  • Days 15+: Lower intensity (every 3-4 days) — don't burn the prospect
• Touch count by persona (typical ranges — adjust based on persona, sales cycle, and industry norms):
  • C-suite / VP: 8-12 touches over 21-28 days (less aggressive, more spaced)
  • Director / Manager: 12-16 touches over 21-30 days (standard)
  • Individual contributor / practitioner: 10-14 touches over 14-21 days (shorter cycle)
• Phone placement: Always within 24 hours after an email so you can reference it ("I just sent you a note about...")
• LinkedIn: Use early for connection + later for social proof or content sharing. Don't be repetitive with email.
• Final touch: Always a "breakup" email — creates urgency without being pushy

Step 3 — Write content for every step

For each step in the cadence, write the actual content:

Email templates

For each email:

• Subject line: Provide A/B variants (Variant A and Variant B)
• Body: Full email text with personalization tokens in {{brackets}}
• CTA: Specific ask (meeting, reply, resource)
• Keep emails under 125 words for cold outbound, under 200 for warm follow-up

Call scripts

For each call step:

• Opening (first 10 seconds — must earn the right to continue)
• Reason for calling (one sentence connecting to their world)
• Key questions (2-3 if they engage)
• Ask (meeting request with specific time)
• Voicemail script (under 30 seconds, always leave one)

LinkedIn messages

• Connection request note: Under 300 characters, no selling
• Follow-up InMail or message: Reference a specific post, mutual connection, or insight about their company
• Keep LinkedIn casual and conversational — it's a social platform, not email

Video guidance (if applicable)

• When to use: Steps 5+ when email hasn't gotten a response
• Duration: 60-90 seconds max
• Structure: Say their name, show you did research, one key insight, soft CTA

For platform-specific cadence implementation (Salesloft, Mailshake, Lemlist, Smartlead, Mixmax, Reply.io, Woodpecker, Hunter.io, Seamless.AI, Closum, Minelead, GetProspect, ZoomInfo, Snov.io, 6sense, Clay), see references/platforms.md.

Personalization framework

• Level 1 (Minimum): First name, company name, title — the bare minimum
• Level 2 (Standard): Industry reference, company-size-specific pain point
• Level 3 (Strong): Something specific about their company (recent news, tech stack, job posting, quarterly results)
• Level 4 (Elite): Personal insight (their LinkedIn post, podcast appearance, conference talk, published article)

Recommend Level 3+ for all touches in a cold outbound cadence. Level 2 is acceptable for re-engagement at scale.

For Level 3+ at scale (100+ prospects), consider AI personalization: Smartlead SmartAgents, Clay, or custom GPT workflows to research each prospect and generate personalized snippets for {{custom_field}} merge variables. This automates the research step that makes Level 3-4 feasible at volume.

Step 4 — A/B testing plan

Design an A/B testing strategy:

Test #	What to test	Variant A	Variant B	Metric	Min sample size
1	Subject line (Step 1)	Pain-focused	Curiosity-based	Open rate	100 sends each
2	CTA style (Step 1)	Specific time ask	Open-ended question	Reply rate	100 sends each
3	Email length (Step 4)	Short (75 words)	Medium (125 words)	Reply rate	100 sends each

A/B testing rules

• Test one variable at a time
• Run each test for at least 100 sends per variant (200+ preferred) before drawing conclusions
• Primary metric: positive reply rate (not just open rate)
• Wait at least 5 business days before evaluating results
• Roll the winner into the cadence and start the next test
• Always be testing something — cadences decay over time as messaging gets stale

Step 5 — Metrics and optimization

Provide a benchmarks table:

Metric	Good	Great	If below "Good"...
Open rate	40-50%	50%+	Fix subject lines, check deliverability, verify email addresses
Reply rate (total)	8-12%	15%+	Improve personalization, test different angles, check targeting
Positive reply rate	3-5%	7%+	Revisit value prop, check ICP fit, strengthen the ask
Meeting booked rate	2-4%	5%+	Improve CTA clarity, offer more flexibility, add social proof
Bounce rate	<3%	<1%	Clean your list, use email verification tools, check domain health
Unsubscribe rate	<1%	<0.5%	Reduce frequency, improve relevance, check compliance
Call connect rate	5-10%	12%+	Try different times of day, use local presence dialing, vary call days

Optimization cadence

• Week 1-2: Let the cadence run, gather baseline data
• Week 3-4: Analyze first A/B test results, implement winners
• Monthly: Review full-funnel metrics, retire underperforming steps, test new angles
• Quarterly: Major refresh — new messaging, updated case studies, seasonal angles

Related skills

• /sales-salesloft — General Salesloft platform help (Rhythm, Analytics, Drift, admin)
• /sales-deliverability — Email deliverability — SPF/DKIM/DMARC, warmup, inbox placement
• /sales-mailshake — Mailshake platform help (campaigns, Lead Catcher, settings)
• /sales-smartlead — Smartlead platform help (campaigns, SmartSenders, SmartAgents, API)
• /sales-lemlist — Lemlist platform help (sequences, Lemwarm, LinkedIn automation, enrichment, API)
• /sales-call-review — Review calls from your cadence to improve scripts
• /sales-email-tracking — Email engagement tracking — open/click/attachment signals for follow-up timing
• /sales-do — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill

Gotchas

• Don't make all touches email-only. Claude defaults to generating email-heavy cadences. A real cadence needs channel mixing — if the user has phone and LinkedIn available, use them from the start, not as afterthoughts.
• Don't space touches too close together. Avoid scheduling touches less than 2 business days apart (except same-day email + LinkedIn on Day 1). Prospects need time to engage before you follow up.
• Don't write generic "just checking in" follow-ups. Every touch must add new value or a new angle. If you catch yourself writing "I wanted to follow up on my last email," rewrite it with a new hook.
• Don't ignore timezone for call steps. Phone calls placed outside business hours are wasted touches. If you know the prospect's timezone, note the best call windows (typically 8-10am and 4-6pm local time).
• Don't generate a cadence without confirming channel availability first. If the user didn't specify channels, ask — don't assume they have LinkedIn Sales Navigator or a phone dialer.

Examples

Example 1: Cold outbound cadence

User says: "Build a 21-day cold outbound cadence for VP Engineering at Series B SaaS companies. We have email, phone, and LinkedIn." Skill does:

1. Designs a 14-step cadence architecture table with channel mixing
2. Writes full email copy with A/B subject lines, call scripts with voicemail, LinkedIn messages
3. Provides an A/B testing plan and benchmark metrics Result: Complete cadence ready to import into Salesloft with content for every step

Example 2: Cadence optimization

User says: "My cadence has 35% open rate but only 2% reply rate. What's wrong?" Skill does:

1. Diagnoses the gap (subject lines work, body/CTA needs fixing)
2. Recommends specific changes to email body, personalization, and CTA
3. Designs an A/B test plan to validate improvements Result: Prioritized optimization plan with testable hypotheses

Troubleshooting

Low open rates (<30%)

Cause: Subject lines aren't compelling, or deliverability issues Solution: Test pain-focused vs. curiosity-based subject lines. Check domain reputation, SPF/DKIM records, and bounce rate. If bounce rate >3%, clean your list first.

High open rate but low reply rate

Cause: Email body doesn't deliver on the subject line promise, CTA is weak or unclear, or personalization is too generic Solution: Ensure the first sentence connects to the prospect's world. Make the CTA specific ("15 minutes Thursday?") not vague ("let me know if interested"). Increase personalization to Level 3+.

Prospects engaging but not booking meetings

Cause: Too many touchpoints before the ask, or the ask is buried Solution: Include a clear meeting CTA by Step 3. Use the phone step within 24 hours of an email open. Offer a specific time, not an open question.