SDR Cadences
For past 5 years, cadences have become the “in” thing when trying to improve outbound sales. Almost every major CRM system offers the ability to automatically employ multi-step and multi-channel communication protocols with their buyers and customers.
The basic concept behind cadences is that buyers are increasingly difficult to reach and using multiple channels in an organized fashion will increase the likelihood of making a connection and eventually scheduling an appointment.
An enormous amount of time and expense can be spent building multiple cadences for every different conceivable situation with a prospect. For example, there could be reschedule cadences, nurture cadences, follow-up cadences, post-seminar cadences etc. It would be great to say that cadences are the most amazing thing since sliced bread and that they are the answer to every outbound sellers dream. Except, unfortunately, they don’t seem to drive the expected results. While calling on a set schedule makes sense as it organizes the process, adding emails, linked in messages etc. doesn’t seem to work particularly well and that is because everyone’s inbox is already full of other messages.
Do you read any of the third party cadence messages in your email box? I bet the answer is no.
When cadences do not result in an inbound call, it is fashionable to say that while it didn’t generate an actual lead, it generated awareness and this makes it easier to book the appointment when speaking with the prospect. Unfortunately, this has not been well proven and when A/B tested, multi-channel cadences did not have a significant positive effect when attempting to book appointments.
One thing to note is that it has been shown that when a video on the solution is sent to the prospect via email or LinkedIn the open rates tend to be very, very high. One of the best products for this is Consensus which allow the seller to make an on-demand video of its solution that truly engages the user. It is strongly suggested that videos of this type be considered.
Finally, it must be stressed that if a multi-channel cadence is going to be employed do not let the SDRs write their own emails. Their expertise is in calling and convincing prospects to sets appointment over the phone and this must remain their primary focus. Instead, the writing of emails should be left to a specialist who can ensure that there are no grammatical errors and that the message stays on brand.
Below are standard cadences to consider:
Standard Outbound Call Cadence
Nurture Cadence
Standard Outbound CA
Reschedule Cadence
