Using phone, LinkedIn and email doesn’t automatically make an operation multichannel. We can have activity in all three places and still be running three separate campaigns at the same people.
The difference shows when the channels share context. What we learn on a call changes the next email. A reply on LinkedIn changes who we look for within the account. An email can put in writing an idea that already came up in an earlier conversation.
All three channels work on the same account
The unit of work is the account. Before deciding which channel to use, it helps to understand why that company is on our list, what we know about it and who might be involved in the decision.
From there, each channel can play a different role. The phone lets us check quickly whether we are speaking to the right person and hear how they describe the situation. LinkedIn helps us understand structure, changes and professional relationships. Email lets us develop an idea with a bit more context and leave it for the prospect to read when they have time.
That doesn’t mean using all three channels on every account or following an identical cadence. One phone conversation can make several planned messages unnecessary. A reply on LinkedIn can lead us to another decision-maker. The sequence changes when new information appears.
That is why, on every account I work, what comes up decides when each channel comes in: cold calling, LinkedIn or hyper-personalised email.
Personalisation improves too when you work this way. What matters is that the conversation stays consistent across all three channels. If our reason for getting in touch is relevant, it can be expressed differently without changing the hypothesis each time.
What you know carries from one channel to the next
Say we call a head of operations and find out the project actually sits with finance. That information stays with the account. The next message can’t behave as if we were still trying to work out who decides.
The same goes for someone who tells us the problem exists but isn’t a priority this quarter. It may make sense to ease off and come back when there is a new signal, rather than carrying on with an automated sequence because four steps are still scheduled.
In B2B sales, the decision rarely rests with one person either. A multichannel approach can help us work the buying group without turning the account into a string of uncoordinated contacts. What one person tells us helps us understand the role the others play.
The cadence has to leave room to think
A cadence is useful because it stops prospecting from relying on memory and keeps things consistent. The problem starts when it becomes an obligation we follow even though the account has already given us enough information to act differently.
I wouldn’t only measure how many touches were made on each channel. It is also worth looking at which conversations come up, who replies, which objections keep recurring and at what point an account stops justifying more effort.
Coordinating channels means using every interaction to understand the account better and make a sounder decision about what to do next.
When phone, LinkedIn and email share that logic, they become part of one conversation with the account.
