If you’ve heard the term “sales cadence” and wondered what it actually means, you’re not alone. It’s one of those phrases the sales industry loves to throw around, but the concept behind it is refreshingly simple.
The Simple Definition
A sales cadence is just a planned schedule for contacting prospects and customers. That’s it.
Instead of randomly calling people when you remember, a cadence tells you:
- Who to contact
- When to contact them
- How often to follow up
- What channel to use (phone, email, LinkedIn, etc.)
Think of it like a watering schedule for plants. Different plants need different amounts of water at different intervals. Your accounts are the same — some need weekly attention, others monthly, and some just need a quarterly check-in.
Why It Matters for Small Businesses
Large companies have CRMs, sales teams, and automation tools to manage follow-ups. As a small business owner, you’re often doing sales on top of everything else — delivery, admin, marketing, hiring.
Without a cadence, here’s what typically happens:
- You have a great meeting with a potential customer
- You mean to follow up next week
- You get busy with existing work
- Three months later you realise you never called them back
- They went with a competitor
Sound familiar? A cadence prevents this by making follow-up systematic rather than something you have to remember.
A Real-World Example
Let’s say you run a plumbing business and you’ve just quoted a kitchen refurbishment for a new customer:
- Day 1: Send the quote by email
- Day 3: Call to check they received it and answer questions
- Day 7: Follow up — “Have you had a chance to review the quote?”
- Day 14: Final check-in — “Just wanted to see if you’ve made a decision”
That’s a cadence. Four touchpoints over two weeks. Simple, professional, and effective.
How to Set Your Cadence Intervals
There’s no magic formula, but here are good starting points:
| Account Type | Contact Frequency |
|---|---|
| Hot prospect (quoted) | Every 3-5 days |
| Warm lead | Weekly |
| Existing customer | Every 2-4 weeks |
| Past customer (dormant) | Monthly |
| New prospect (cold) | Every 2 weeks |
Adjust based on your industry. If you sell high-value services with long decision cycles, you might space things out more. If you’re in a fast-moving market, tighten the intervals.
Getting Started
You don’t need expensive software to run a cadence. You can start with:
- A spreadsheet with account names, last contact date, and next contact date
- A diary or calendar with reminders
- A simple tool like DailyDial that calculates your daily call list automatically
The important thing is to start. Even a rough cadence is infinitely better than no cadence at all.
Common Mistakes
- Making it too complicated: Start with one cadence for all accounts. Refine later.
- Setting intervals you can’t keep up with: Be realistic about how many calls you can make per day.
- Only using one channel: Mix calls, emails, and in-person visits for the best results.
- Giving up too early: Remember, 80% of sales need 5+ touchpoints.
A sales cadence isn’t a magic bullet, but it is the single most impactful change most small business owners can make to their sales process.