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Cadence for Sales Leaders: Book Meetings With Execs in 15 Days

As a B2B lead generation platform, one of Cognism’s biggest markets are sales leaders and directors. Outreaching to this senior-level audience is something we do every day. 

There is a skill in communicating with this group, however. Their calendars are usually chock full of appointments and they don’t have much time, if any, to listen to an outbound sales pitch.

Luckily, there's a technique for engaging with this audience quickly and in a way that maximises success.

We asked our sales team to provide us with a winning cadence geared at sales leaders. They gave us this winning cadence; they use it to target directors and managers working in B2B sales. If you’re a scaling business that wants to engage with a similar audience, you can deploy it right away.

On this page, you'll get:

  • An understanding of the cadence and the purpose behind it.
  • Results generated by the cadence for Cognism's SDRs.
  • A timeline of the cadence including phone, email and LinkedIn message steps.

Keep scrolling! 👇

The purpose of the cadence

The cadence is designed to be fast and hard-hitting. The intention is to create urgency, to connect with the prospect as quickly as possible and to get appointments booked in a short space of time.

The ultimate goal is to get the prospect to convert to a meeting in 15 days. It’s the cadence of choice for the sales rep who’s working in a scaling company and wants to generate some quick wins.

Results

Here are the results of this cadence:

  • 341 calls were made and 341 emails were sent.
  • Of those 341 emails, only 5 bounced - a bounce rate of 1.47%.
  • 116 emails were opened - an open rate of 34.52%.
  • Of those opened emails, 38 of them had the prospect click on a link - a click-through rate of 32.76%.
  • 10 emails received a positive response where the prospect booked a demo - a conversion rate of 2.98%.

Beat quota with Cognism's ultimate B2B sales cadence! Watch our tutorial below 🎬


The cadence

Day 1 - Phone call and voice mail

The first step is to cold call your prospect, pitch your value proposition to them and attempt to get them booked in for a meeting. It’s an introductory call, but by trying to get a meeting booked straight away, the sales rep is building up some urgency.

If you can’t get through, leave a voicemail explaining your product’s value and promising to follow up with an email.

Follow this call on day 1 with an email.

Day 1 - Email

Hi (first name),

I wanted to present myself as interesting and witty. Alas, I called and emailed instead...

I am contacting you regarding Cognism- a software tool that helps you to lower your client acquisition costs by providing intelligent data for your business.

Would you be interested in finding out more?

Thanks in advance,

Keep this short and to the point. Remember that sales leaders have very busy lives and are more likely to respond to a succinct and snappy message. This email is only 53 words long. 

An important point to remember is that a good sales email should be based on your product’s benefits, rather than features.

It should demonstrate the value that your product can deliver to the prospect. Don’t just reel off a list of product features - instead, think about the advantages that the prospect will gain from using it. You’re much more likely to get a response that way.

Day 2 - Phone call and voice mail

Start the second day with a phone call showing your product’s value. See if the prospect has considered your earlier emails and phone calls and if they’re interested in booking a meeting.

Again, if there’s no connection, leave a voicemail!

Day 2 - Email

Hi (first name),

I thought I'd touch base and see if we could pencil in a time to speak about how Cognism can help you.

How is (2 business days from now) looking for you?

Best,

The follow-up email on the second day is even shorter than the first - 31 words.

The messaging is easy to read and simple to understand. It’s demonstrating value (“Cognism can help you”) while still reinforcing the intention to get a meeting in the diary.

The email ends with a strong CTA, asking the prospect to consider connecting on a specific date.

Day 3 - Phone call

If you haven’t had any traction over the first few days, now’s the time to ask the prospect for alternative contacts. Call them, check if they’re the decision-maker and if there’s anyone else in their organisation that you should be talking to.

What’s the purpose of doing this?

If they're the decision-maker, it may spur them into a conversation. If they’re not, they may provide you with the contact details of someone who is.

Day 4 - Email

Hi (first name),

I'm sorry we haven’t been able to connect.

Cognism can help (company) in three ways:

- We save you time manually prospecting for new clients.
- We provide intelligent contact data (incl. direct emails & phone numbers) so you will be at the front of your prospects' minds.
- Smart sales triggers to give you unique insights and notifications as to the optimal time to reach out.

Don't just take my word for it - check out our G2 Crowd Reviews here.

If you aren't the right person to deal with this, could you please point me in the direction of somebody who is?

Thanks in advance,

This email works in much the same way as the last phone call. The intention is to find out if the prospect is qualified to deal with your query, and if not, to get them to refer you to a better-qualified colleague.

The email also keeps the value proposition to the fore. It provides three clear reasons why Cognism can make the prospect’s life easier. It deepens the value proposition by providing something new - a link to a page of external customer reviews.

Day 5 - Phone call

This phone call should also provide something new.

Call the prospect and quote a relevant case study or industry statistic. It’s a way of maintaining interest and making the prospect look again at your product.

Day 5 - Email

Hi (first name),

I thought I'd provide you with a bit more information around Cognism and illustrate exactly how we can help (company).

I've researched (company) and the wider industry and it's clear that sales technology is growing rapidly. Companies need to embrace the technological change that's taking place to stay ahead of the game.

Cognism is a sales acceleration solution that will save you time and lower your client acquisition costs. I’ve attached some reading around how.

Would you be interested in having access to our platform so I can show you in more detail how we'll help?

Thanks in advance,

The purpose of this email is to provide knowledge and insight. By saying that they’ve researched the prospect’s industry, the sales rep is building up trust and rapport.

This is backed up by the attachment of a case study that’s relevant to the prospect’s industry. The email includes a clear value statement (“save time / lower costs”).

Finally, it ends with a strong CTA. Never forget the ultimate goal of your cadence is to secure meetings!

Note: the cadence now includes a three-day break. This is to give the prospect time to read the materials you’ve provided, and also prevents them from getting fatigued.


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Day 8 - LinkedIn connect with note

After the three-day break, it’s time to ramp up engagement.

On the eighth day, connect with the prospect on LinkedIn. Include a polite note with your connection request. Boost their ego in no more than 20 words!

Remember to research the prospect thoroughly. It can really help you with this message.

Have they recently written an article that you can quote? Have they won an industry award or been featured on an external website or publication? Leverage that information to keep your conversation going.

Day 9 - Email

Hi  (first name),

I know how much of a good fit Cognism is for (company) and I would like to show you.

Can we schedule a 15-minute screen share? I will show you how Cognism will lower your client acquisition costs and grow your client base.

When’s the best time for you?

Best wishes,

At this point in the cadence, it’s important to offer the prospect something of value.

The sales rep suggests a 15-minute screen share. This is something that won’t take up too much of the prospect’s time, while also giving them a fairly detailed overview of the product.

An open-ended question is used to close the email. Open-ended questions (questions that don’t require a “yes” or “no” answer) are the best techniques for staying engaged with a prospect.

Day 10 - LinkedIn InMail

If they haven’t responded already, the prospect may be getting a little tired of seeing your name crop up in their inbox! Defuse this tension by sending them a LinkedIn InMail.

Apologise for your persistence, but stick to your game plan. Tell them you really think your product is a good fit for them and you’d like to show them over a short demo.

Day 11 - Phone call

The day after the LinkedIn message, call the prospect directly and repeat the same message. Apologise for your persistence, but try to persuade them to commit to booking a meeting.

Day 13 - Email

Hi (first name),

It's a shame we haven't been able to connect thus far.

Would you mind pointing me in the direction of someone who can help?

Thanks in advance,

This email is a simple request to be introduced to other stakeholders. Again, it may be the catalyst for the prospect to initiate a dialogue.

Day 13 - Phone call

Call the prospect and repeat the same message from the above email. You’re sorry you haven’t been able to connect but you’d like to move forward by contacting someone else.

Day 13 - View the prospect's LinkedIn profile

Take some time to scroll through the prospect’s LinkedIn page. Maybe like or comment on one of their recent posts. This shows that you’re still very keen.

Day 14 - Email

Hi (first name),

I've been trying to reach you because Cognism will help (company) to reach new clients at the optimal times.

Can we organise a quick call to discuss this further?

If you’re not the right person, please could you point me in the direction of somebody who is?

Thanks in advance,

This email is the last roll of the dice. It’s simple, direct, short at only 52 words and includes everything you’ve communicated so far. If you get a response at this late stage - great! If not - it’s time to move on to prospects new!

Which brings us to…

Day 15 - Phone call

This is the break-up phase of the cadence. You’ve tried everything, but it hasn’t quite worked. Give the prospect a call and tell them you recognise that now isn’t the right time for them.

But...leave the door open. Don’t write the opportunity off completely. Say that you’ll get back in touch in 6 months’ time. Who knows what might change for the prospect between now and then?

Day 15 - Email

Hi (first name),

I have been trying to reach you for a number of weeks, as I know Cognism can help (company) to reach new clients at the optimal times.

Even though I know how much we can help, I will respect your silence as now may not be a good time for you.

I will try to get hold of you in the coming months. In the meantime, you know where I am should you need anything.

All the best,

The final email in the cadence copies the messaging from the final phone call. It’s a break-up, but it finishes on the intent to follow up in the future.

Until you hear a definite “no”, the opportunity isn’t closed...just put on hold!

Contact Cognism today

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