How To Time Follow-Ups In Multichannel Outreach

Silvio Bonomi
Apr 19
4 min read

Updated: Apr 21

In B2B outreach, follow-ups are crucial for better response rates. Here’s how to get the timing right:

Start with Email: Share detailed info and track opens or clicks.
Follow-Up on LinkedIn: Send a short, personal message a few days later.
Adjust Timing: Base follow-ups on prospect behavior (e.g., email opens, clicks).
Consider Time Zones: Schedule messages during local business hours.

Key Tip: Avoid overwhelming prospects. Space out follow-ups if responses are slow, but shorten intervals if engagement is high.

Use tools like CRMs to automate and track your outreach while keeping it personal.

What is the Best Follow Up Sequence in Sales

Follow-Up Timing Basics

The timing of your follow-ups depends largely on the communication channel you use and several other key factors.

Common Outreach Channels

Email: Perfect for sharing detailed information and tracking actions like opens and replies.
LinkedIn: Great for building connections through direct messages and engaging with content.

Artemis Leads suggests switching between email and LinkedIn to stay on prospects' radar without overwhelming them.

Key Timing Considerations

Time zones: Schedule messages to align with the prospect's local business hours.
Behavior cues: Pay attention to actions like email opens, link clicks, or LinkedIn profile views to determine the best time to follow up.
Industry patterns: Consider peak workloads or avoid periods of seasonal downtime when planning your outreach.

Use these guidelines to refine your follow-up schedule and adjust how often you reach out.

Best Practices for Follow-Up Timing

Finding the Right Contact Frequency

When it comes to follow-ups, striking the right balance is key. You want to stay on a prospect's radar without overwhelming them. If responses are slow, space out your messages. If interest seems high, shorten the intervals to keep the momentum going. The timing also depends on the platform you're using:

Follow-Up Schedules by Channel

Different channels call for different approaches. Email works well for detailed messages and quicker follow-ups, while LinkedIn often benefits from a more gradual approach to build connections. Here's a simple way to manage both:

Use email first to clearly present your value and track opens or clicks.
A few days later, follow up on LinkedIn with a short, personalized message or share relevant content.

At Artemis Leads, we take this a step further by customizing outreach schedules for each account. This ensures every message feels personal and hits at just the right time.

Monitoring and Adjusting

Pay close attention to how prospects engage with your messages. Look for patterns in when they open emails or interact with LinkedIn posts. Use these insights to fine-tune your follow-up timing:

If a prospect regularly opens emails at specific times or days, try scheduling your follow-ups to align with those habits.

This approach helps you stay relevant and increases the chances of getting a response.

4 Steps to Better Follow-Up Timing

Once you've established your channel schedules, follow these four steps to fine-tune your follow-up timing.

Analyzing First Contact Performance

Track metrics like email opens, replies, LinkedIn connection accepts, and responses. These data points help identify patterns in timing, giving you a clearer picture of what works best for your audience.

Coordinating Multi-Channel Follow-Ups

Plan your follow-ups thoughtfully, alternating between email and LinkedIn at appropriate intervals. At Artemis Leads, for example, we focus on personalized communication while ensuring touchpoints are well-coordinated across platforms.

Adjusting Timing Based on Engagement Data

Use the engagement trends you’ve observed to fine-tune your follow-up intervals. Pay attention to when your audience is most responsive and adapt your cadence accordingly.

Next up, we’ll dive into tools that can help automate and monitor your optimized follow-up process.

Tools for Better Follow-Up Management

To fine-tune your follow-up timing, using the right tools is essential. This ties directly to Step 4's focus on making data-driven adjustments.

CRM and Automation Tools

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems streamline communication and handle follow-up workflows efficiently. Here’s what they can do:

Centralized inbox: Combine email and social media communications in one place.
Automated scheduling: Set up follow-up sequences without manual effort.
Cross-channel coordination: Maintain consistent timing across platforms.
Activity tracking: Keep tabs on how prospects engage with your outreach.

At Artemis Leads, we use automation to manage sequences while keeping interactions personal.

Data Analysis

Analyzing engagement metrics helps refine your approach. Key areas to monitor include:

Email: Track opens, replies, and clicks to figure out the best times to send.
LinkedIn: Observe connection acceptances and response times to find optimal contact windows.
Cross-channel: Measure the time between touchpoints to improve sequencing.

Next, we’ll explore common timing errors and how to avoid them.

Common Follow-Up Timing Mistakes

Even with the best tools, timing mistakes can disrupt your outreach efforts. These errors undermine the careful coordination and scheduling strategies you’ve put in place.

Here are two common missteps that can hurt your follow-up process:

Not syncing email and LinkedIn messages: When these channels aren't aligned, potential leads may slip through the cracks.
Using impersonal, automated follow-ups: Generic messages that lack a personal touch often get overlooked by prospects.

Conclusion: Key Points for Follow-Up Success

Combining email and LinkedIn outreach, tailored to each prospect, is the best way to boost response rates. Focus on these actions: align your communication channels, customize every follow-up, and tweak timing based on how prospects respond.

Follow these four steps - analyze, plan, execute, and adjust - to refine your approach. Begin by reviewing response trends and fine-tuning your follow-up schedule to see consistent progress.