Pouring your heart into creating sales sequences for Email and LinkedIn only to be ignored by your prospects? You need to know the right touchpoints to hit and when.

A touchpoint is the specific message or interaction you use to engage with a prospect.  Strategically coordinating touchpoints based on your platform and the prospect's stage in the customer journey helps capture attention and boost conversion.

Here, we’ll tell you each touchpoint you must hit when crafting Email and LinkedIn sales sequences. We’ll also share best practices for formulating compelling messages that engage audiences and accelerate pipeline velocity.

What’s a Sale Sequence?

Simply put, a sales sequence is a planned series of touchpoints for interacting with prospects during the sales process. As a sales rep, you'll use sequences after making initial contact with a lead to build relationships and guide them toward becoming customers.

You want to provide value and build trust over time through relevant, personalized content across multiple channels — emails, LinkedIn, phone calls, etc.

When done right, effective sequencing keeps you front-of-mind while addressing prospect needs and concerns. It shows you're there to help, not just sell.

Sequencing takes work —- you've got to map out the journey, craft thoughtful messaging, and nail the timing. But it's worth it!

You'll connect with audiences in a way that naturally progresses prospects down the funnel. And that means more conversions.

Designing High-Converting Sales Sequences

How do you create a high-converting sales sequence that gets results? Here are some top tips to consider when planning your sequence:

Keep Messages Concise

Let’s face facts — people don’t have the time to read through long emails or LinkedIn messages. They’ve got other unread emails in their inbox begging for their attention.

Get right to the point. Staying to 3-6 sentences or 50-200 words per message hits the sweet spot. 

Studies show that email length can affect email metrics like response and click-through rates. Emails with around 50-125 words have about 50% response rates, and these rates progressively decrease the higher the word count. 

Another study showed that email click-through rates increase with the number of words, peaking at around 200 and then steadily dropping with more words.

Here are things you can do to keep messages concise:

• Lead with relevance and value. Quickly explain how you can help solve a problem or need.
• Use short paragraphs and bullet points to make scanning easy. Giant blocks of text are overwhelming.
• Edit ruthlessly. Remove filler words, redundancy, and excess adjectives/adverbs.

Optimize Touchpoint Frequency

When it comes to touchpoint frequency, more is not always better. 

You don't want to overwhelm prospects or make them feel smothered. But you also don't want huge gaps where you disappear from their radar. So what's the right amount?

Typically, anywhere from 5-7 touchpoints spread over time can be effective. It allows you to nurture leads across email and LinkedIn without going overboard.

Don't just blast out messages on a rigid schedule.

Pay attention to the prospect's stage and readiness signals. If they engage early, strike while the iron is hot with more frequent follow-ups. As you build rapport, you can taper frequency.

Personalize Your Approach

Tailor messaging to each prospect's role, company, and interests. Personalizing your outreach is crucial for connecting with prospects. Blanket messaging won't cut it. Here are some tips:

• Research each prospect's role, company, challenges, and interests before reaching out. Doing so allows you to tailor your approach.
• Speak to their specific needs and frame your solution around how you can help them achieve goals or solve problems. Make it about them, not you. For example, "I noticed you're dealing with [X issue], here's how we can help" shows you did your homework.
• Ask prospects questions to uncover pain points and objectives. Then, map messaging offers based on what matters most to them.
• Use personalized subject lines like "[Their Company] - Idea for Reducing Churn" rather than spammy sales language.
• Segment and customize sequences for different buyer stages, interests, company sizes, roles, etc.
• Automate personalization when possible with sequences, but also craft tailored one-to-one messages.
• Adjust your tone and style to align with each prospect's preferences and communication style.

A personalized approach makes prospects feel valued as individuals, not just as sales targets. It demonstrates a genuine interest in helping them succeed.

Use a Human Tone

When crafting your outreach sequences, it's crucial to establish rapport and build relationships from that very first email. Adopting a human, conversational tone allows you to connect with prospects genuinely rather than bombarding them with robotic sales pitches.

You can follow these steps:

• Write in a casual, friendly style that mirrors natural human-to-human interactions. Use the language you might use when speaking with someone face-to-face. 
• Focus on getting to know the prospect before launching product features or pricing. Ask questions to learn about their challenges and goals.
• Share insights and stories that provide value, not just elevator pitches. 
• Avoid using stiff templates filled with sales jargon. 

Remember, you’re reaching out to another human being, not just another target. Craft each message with that human connection in mind.

Share Value

Don’t just pitch your product — provide value to prospects in each message. Offer relevant insights, ideas, or free tools that help prospects somehow.

For example, send them a sample audit of their website or social media profiles with improvement suggestions. Or provide a tip sheet with your top 3 recommendations tailored to their needs. Share a case study showing how you solved challenges for similar clients.

Giving value upfront, without asking for anything in return, builds enormous goodwill and trust. It offers prospects you genuinely want to help them succeed, not just make a quick sale. This makes prospects far more receptive to your outreach over time.

Include Social Proof

Social proof builds instant credibility by mentioning recognizable, impressive companies you work with. For example, say, “We’ve partnered with companies like XYZ and ABC to improve their lead generation.”

Namedrop only brands that prospects know and admire. It grabs their attention, makes you seem more established, and lends third-party validation. It also plants the idea that if you were good enough for those industry leaders, you’re likely good enough for this prospect.

End with a Call to Action

Closing each message with a clear call-to-action (CTA) is crucial for driving conversions from your sequences. Some tips for optimizing CTAs:

• Make the CTA urgent and time-bound when possible. For example, "I have availability Thursday at 2 pm for a quick call. Let me know if that works for you." Offer options, days, and times to accommodate the prospect's schedule. Don't dictate.
• Ensure the CTA relates to demonstrating your ability to help them achieve a goal or solve a pain point.
• Avoid vague CTAs like "Let's connect soon!" These are easy to ignore. Be specific in your request for the next steps.
• Use action-oriented language like "Schedule a call," not "Request a call."
• Close each message, including follow-ups, with a new CTA. Don't assume no means no forever.
• Track CTA conversion rates to determine which wording and offers resonate best.

It is critical to follow up relentlessly yet tactfully with clear CTAs. You want to move the prospect gradually toward a meeting while providing value. With refinement, your CTAs will convert at higher rates.

‍

6 Touchpoints for Effective Email Sequences

Email outreach takes patience. Don’t send one email to prospects, then leave it at that.  Chances are, you won’t immediately get a reply. On average, prospects don’t respond until the 3rd or 4th message. 

You need a well-planned sequence to ensure leads pay attention.

Here are six proven touchpoints to incorporate into your email sequences.

Introduction Email

The intro email is your chance to start building a relationship. Briefly explain who you are, your expertise, and how you can help them achieve their goals. Demonstrate you understand their pain points and can provide a solution. Avoid a sales pitch - this stage is about making a connection.

Follow-up

Follow-up within a week, re-establishing rapport. Provide new insights tailored to them — an industry report, competitive analysis, or findings from a quick audit of their website. It shows ongoing value without asking for anything in return.

New Relevant Information 

Send periodic emails with truly useful nuggets like relevant industry statistics, news about your company, or articles about challenges they face. Position yourself as an advisor providing ideas, not a salesperson.

Show Off Financial Benefits 

Once you’ve built rapport, include ROI stats or a case study showing the financial impact you drove for another client. For extra impact, compare your results to a competitor.

Share Success Stories

Share a brief, impressive client success story highly relevant to the prospect's goals. For example, "I helped Company XYZ increase leads by 30% in 6 months. I'd love to tell you more about how we achieved this."

Break Up Email

Finally, suggest a quick call or meeting to discuss their needs in depth. Your previous value earns you the right to request some of their time.

4 Touchpoints for High-Converting LinkedIn Sequences

When executing sales sequences on LinkedIn, 3-5 touchpoints typically garner the best results. Any fewer, you miss opportunities to build trust and provide value. Any more and prospects may disengage.

Here are four optimized touchpoints for LinkedIn sales sequences:

Connection Request and Build Rapport

Send a personalized connection request referencing shared connections or interests. For example:

"Hi [Name], I noticed we're both members of [Group]. Your experience with [Topic] caught my eye. I'm the co-founder of Smartbright and would enjoy connecting."

Keep it casual and focused on commonalities to start building a relationship.

Share Your Reason for Connecting

Thank them for connecting, and explain you’d love to learn about their challenges and goals to see if your solution may be a fit. For example:

"Thanks for connecting! I specialize in helping companies like yours generate more qualified leads through LinkedIn. Would you be open to a quick chat to see if your team needs help with that right now?"

End with a soft CTA to continue the conversation.

Follow Up

Follow up if they don't respond initially. Share a brief, personalized elevator pitch citing specific outcomes you've achieved for similar clients. For example:

"Hi [Name], just circling back as I know things can get busy. I've helped companies increase LinkedIn leads by 2X through optimized company pages, content strategy, and outreach. If those are priorities for [Company], I'd love to share a few ideas that have proven successful."

Final Leave Behind

Leave some relevant info behind. Say “thank you” again and tell them you’re happy to be connected.

If there’s no response, leave them with something valuable, such as a case study, tip sheet, or video demo. Reiterate your interest in supporting their goals and wrap up warmly.

Conclusion

Crafting winning sales sequences is equal parts art and science. It requires carefully orchestrating relevant touchpoints across channels while delivering personalized value through your messaging.

By following the framework outlined here for sequencing compelling content across email and LinkedIn, you can guide prospects on a seamless journey tailored to their needs. The goal is to progress leads down the funnel naturally by building trust and rapport over time.

With the strategies discussed here, you can create multi-touchpoint sequences that genuinely engage audiences and build relationships.

Ready to Supercharge Your Outreach? 

Download our handy cheat sheet listing the six must-have touch points for email sales sequences that convert. Keep it by your side as you craft coordinated messages that get results. You can also see examples of the four optimized touch points for LinkedIn sales sequences. Get templates you can model or customize to engage prospects on LinkedIn.

Finally, browse our database of highly effective email templates for outreach campaigns. Find templates tailored to different stages and buyer needs.