In short
Most prospecting sequences fail for a simple reason: they repeat the same message across several channels. The prospect does not get four chances to reply. They get the same request four times, and by the third they have filed your name under "pushy".
The rule that fixes this fits in one line: you change channel to change context, never to insist. Each touchpoint must bring something the previous one did not.
Four touchpoints, then stop
| Day | Channel | Intent | |---|---|---| | Day 0 | LinkedIn | Open with an observation | | Day 3 | LinkedIn | Rephrase in one sentence | | Day 7 | Email | Offer something useful | | Day 14 | Email | Last message, door left open | | Day 21 | None | Stop, record kept |
The intervals are not decorative. Three days absorb a busy day, seven days a week of travel, fourteen days an absence. A managing director who follows up every two days does not show their motivation: they show they have nothing new to say.
Stopping at day 21 is part of the model. With no reply after four different touchpoints, the silence is an answer. Pushing beyond that wears the relationship down for very little gain, and takes up time that other prospects deserve more.
Day 0 on LinkedIn: an observation, not an introduction
The first message introduces neither your company nor your offer. It shows that you have looked at this particular person: a recent post, an appointment, a job opening visible on the company page, a new site.
Take the example of an industrial maintenance SME writing to a site director:
Hello Mr Martin, I saw that your Valenciennes site has been recruiting two maintenance technicians since the spring. For roles like these, many of the sites we come across end up outsourcing part of their preventive maintenance while they recruit. Is that something you have already considered?
A verifiable observation, a point from the field, an open question. No link, no brochure. This first message is covered in detail in first LinkedIn messages, annotated.
Day 3: one sentence, from a different angle
This is the touchpoint almost everyone gets wrong, in one of two ways: copying the first message, or complaining about the silence ("Just following up, as I haven't heard back…").
A single sentence is enough, rephrasing the proposal differently:
To be more specific: the idea is to cover preventive maintenance during the recruitment period, not to replace your team.
If you cannot find anything to add to the first message, it is often because the first message already said too much.
Day 7 by email: give without asking
Changing channel changes the context. Email accepts what LinkedIn handles badly: a bit of length, a document, reasoning in several points.
This message does not ask for a meeting. It gives the prospect something useful, even if they never reply: a grid for calculating the cost of a vacant post, a checklist before an audit, an explanation of a regulatory point in their sector. This is where you prove you understand their problem.
To find the business email address, stay within the legal framework: a traceable source, a message related to the role, an information notice and a simple way to object. The detail is in what the GDPR allows in B2B prospecting. To make sure this email reaches the inbox, setting up the sending domain is covered in B2B prospecting email: GDPR and deliverability.
Day 14: the last message, announced as such
Two lines, and one piece of information that changes the tone: saying it is the last message.
I won't follow up on this again. If preventive maintenance comes back on the agenda before the end of the year, you can still reach me at this address.
Announcing the end takes the pressure off. The prospect no longer has to justify their silence, and this is often when the reply "not now, but get back to me in March" arrives, which is worth a date in your tracking. When that reply is an objection ("it's not the right time", "we already have a supplier"), answering prospecting objections suggests a question rather than an argument.
WhatsApp: by invitation only
WhatsApp is a personal channel. The rule is binary: a number given by the prospect (email signature, business card, ongoing conversation, a professional profile that displays it), or no WhatsApp at all. A cold first contact on a personal phone costs more in trust than the reply could bring in.
Once the conversation has started, however, it is the quickest channel for fixing a slot or answering a short question.
On LinkedIn, sending stays your action
A tool can prepare every message in the sequence, remind you of the due dates and flag that a prospect has replied. It should not send on your behalf on LinkedIn: the platform's terms of use prohibit automated sending, and it is your account that pays the price. In Trouve Tes Clients, nothing goes out on LinkedIn without you having reread it and sent it yourself. On volume, stay below what LinkedIn tolerates for invitations, around 100 per week.
Measure the sequence, touchpoint by touchpoint
Three figures are enough:
- The reply rate per touchpoint: it tells you which one really carries the sequence.
- The channel of the reply: it is often different from the one you thought your prospects preferred.
- The rate of qualified meetings, not just meetings. The difference is explained in qualifying a meeting before accepting it.
Let's take an example of how to read them: if almost all replies come at the first message, you have a good first message followed by three follow-ups that do nothing, and those are what need reworking. If it is the day 7 email that triggers the replies, your first message probably lacks context.
A sequence is not a pile of follow-ups. It is a conversation spread over three weeks, and it has its place in the complete prospecting system, from targeting to the meeting.