If you run a sales team, you know the grind of chasing leads, following up, and making sure nothing falls through the cracks. That's where automated call cadences come in—they help your reps stay on track and keep outreach consistent. But setting these up in a tool like Frontspin can be confusing if you don't know where to start. This guide cuts through the noise and shows you how to set up and actually manage call cadences that work, without getting bogged down in features you'll never use.
What are Call Cadences and Why Bother Automating Them?
A call cadence is just a fancy way to say "a set schedule for reaching out to leads." Think of it as a playbook: Day 1, call. Day 3, follow up with an email. Day 5, call again, and so on. Automating this in software means your reps spend less time remembering who to call and more time actually selling.
Why automate? - No more sticky notes or spreadsheets. - Consistency. Everyone follows the same process, so quality doesn’t depend on who’s making the calls. - Tracking. You know who’s been contacted, when, and what happened. - More selling, less busywork.
But here's the thing—automation isn't magic. If your playbook is bad, automating it just spreads the problem faster. Keep it simple and focused.
Step 1: Map Out Your Cadence Before You Touch Frontspin
Don’t start clicking around in Frontspin yet. First, get your house in order:
- Decide on your touchpoints: How many calls? Any emails or LinkedIn touches in-between?
- Set intervals: How many days between each call or action?
- Write your call scripts and email templates: Don’t wing it. Even if your reps adjust as they go, a starting script keeps things tight.
- Know your goal: Are you booking meetings? Qualifying leads? Chasing contracts?
Pro tip: Start with something basic—3-5 steps over 10 days. You can always tweak later. Over-complicated cadences just get ignored.
Step 2: Set Up Your Cadence in Frontspin
Alright, now you’re ready to get your hands dirty in Frontspin. Log in and head to the “Cadences” section.
2.1 Create a New Cadence
- Click “New Cadence.”
- Give it a clear name (e.g., “Inbound Demo Requests”).
- Add a description if your team needs context.
2.2 Add Steps
For each step: - Choose the type: Call, email, or task. - Set timing: How many days after the previous step? Keep it realistic—don’t spam people. - Attach scripts/templates: Link your call script or email template to the step. Saves time and keeps messaging tight.
Repeat for each step you mapped out earlier.
Don’t overthink sequence logic. Most sales teams get better results from simple, repeatable steps than from branching decision trees.
2.3 Assign the Cadence to Leads or Lists
- You can assign cadences to individual leads or upload a list.
- Double-check the data—missing phone numbers or bad emails will mess up your results.
- If you’re integrating with your CRM, make sure the sync is working. Otherwise, reps will end up calling dead numbers, and nobody has time for that.
Step 3: Train Your Reps (Without the Eye Rolls)
Even the slickest cadence doesn’t work if your team ignores it. Here’s how to actually make it stick:
- Walk through the cadence live: Show what reps will see, step by step. Don’t just email instructions.
- Explain why this cadence: If reps understand the logic behind it, they’re less likely to go rogue.
- Show how to pause or skip steps: Sometimes it really isn’t the right time to call. Make it easy for reps to use their judgment.
- Encourage feedback: If a script or sequence isn’t working, fix it. Don’t treat the cadence like it’s set in stone.
What to skip: Don’t bog down training with every single Frontspin feature. Focus on what reps actually need to do, not what’s theoretically possible.
Step 4: Monitor and Tweak (But Not Every Day)
Here’s the reality: Most sales teams set up a fancy cadence, let it run, and then forget about it until something breaks. You don’t need to babysit it, but you do need to pay attention to results.
- Check key metrics weekly: Number of calls made, connects, meetings booked, drop-off points.
- Look for patterns: Are people dropping out after the second call? Is nobody responding to email step #4?
- Talk to your reps: The dashboard only tells part of the story. Reps know if people are annoyed, confused, or actually picking up.
- Make small changes: Tweak scripts, adjust intervals, or cut steps that aren’t working.
What not to do: Don’t chase every metric. Focus on what matters—are you booking more meetings or closing more deals?
Step 5: Avoid Common Traps
Here are a few ways to waste your time (and how to avoid them):
- Too many steps: More isn’t better. If leads aren’t responding after 4-5 touches, move on.
- Over-customization: You don’t need a different cadence for every possible scenario. Start with 1-2 core cadences and build from there.
- Ignoring compliance: Make sure your cadence doesn’t break any call or email laws (TCPA, CAN-SPAM, etc.). Frontspin helps, but it’s on you to set the rules.
- Setting and forgetting: Cadences can go stale. Check in at least once a quarter.
Pro tip: Resist the urge to automate “relationship-building” touches (like fake “just checking in” emails). People can smell automation a mile away. Use it for real outreach, not filler.
Step 6: Scale Up (But Only If the Basics Work)
Once you’ve got one or two cadences humming, then—and only then—think about scaling:
- Clone and adjust: Use what’s working as a template. Make new cadences for different lead sources or products, but keep the core the same.
- Segment smartly: If you’re seeing very different results by lead type, it might make sense to split cadences. But don’t do it just to feel busy.
- Automate list loading: If you’re spending hours uploading leads, look for integrations or use Frontspin’s API. But don’t burn time on this until it’s really a bottleneck.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple and Iterate
Automated call cadences can save your sales team a ton of time and headaches, but only if you resist the urge to overcomplicate things. Start basic, get feedback, and make small improvements over time. Forget about features you don’t need. In sales, consistency beats cleverness every time.
Now go build a cadence that actually gets calls made—and meetings booked. If it works, keep it. If it doesn’t, tweak it. That’s it.