A multichannel sequence that works: LinkedIn, then email, then WhatsApp

Start on LinkedIn with an invitation and an observation opener, follow up about every five days up to three times, then move to email for people who stay silent, and use WhatsApp last or as the place where people already write to you. A reply on any channel stops the others. Sellinger's defaults move a lead to email after four LinkedIn follow ups and to WhatsApp after five email follow ups, and every value can be changed per campaign.

Single channel sequences leave people unreached for reasons that have nothing to do with interest: they do not check LinkedIn, the invitation was not accepted, the email went to spam. A multichannel sequence gives each person more than one door. This post gives a sequence with timing, what each channel is for, and the rules that keep it from becoming a pest.

What is each channel for?

LinkedIn is where you can see the person and write directly. It suits a small, specific list and senior buyers who are active there. About 4 in 10 invitations were accepted across 42 customer teams in the 90 days to 19 September 2026. Our own account booked its meetings here.

Email reaches people who do not accept invitations or rarely open LinkedIn, and carries more text. It needs verified addresses and a careful sender setup.

WhatsApp is conversational. Sellinger sends through your connected WhatsApp account and answers people who write to you, and WhatsApp itself limits outbound messaging, so first messages run at a small daily volume. It fits as a last step, or as the place where an inbound conversation continues.

Which comes first depends on the data you hold. See which channel first.

What does the sequence look like?

This is an example with defaults close to ours. Treat the days as a starting point.

Sellinger's defaults allow up to four LinkedIn follow ups before moving to email, and up to five email follow ups before WhatsApp. That is the maximum. Our data suggests using fewer.

Why fewer touches than the maximum?

Across our campaigns each later touch brought fewer replies and more refusals. On our own LinkedIn outbound the reply rate was 26.5% at the intro, 9.8% at follow up 1, 6.8% at follow up 2, 5.6% at follow up 3 and 4.7% at follow up 4. The share of first replies that were negative rose from 0.9% at the intro to 14.7% from follow up 3. The details are in how many follow ups. A second channel is not an excuse to repeat the same pressure. It is a reason to change the shape.

How should the channels differ?

Do not copy the LinkedIn message into email. Each channel has its own norms.

• LinkedIn: short, personal, written like a message from a colleague.
• Email: a clear subject, one idea, a plain ask, under about 120 words. See how long a cold email should be.
• WhatsApp: one or two lines, conversational, no attachments.

The content can build: the email can mention you tried to connect on LinkedIn, if that is true, but should not make it the whole message.

What are the stop rules?

These matter more than the schedule.

1. A reply on any channel stops the others. Nothing is worse than an email arriving after the person answered on LinkedIn.
2. An opt out on any channel closes the lead. Before every send the platform checks the suppression list, and a contact on it is refused.
3. A booked meeting stops outreach.
4. A person taking over pauses the agent on that lead.
5. Daily limits hold. Each account has its own caps, and sends over the cap wait until the next day.

How do you handle the timing across time zones?

Set a sending schedule per account: days, hours and time zone. When none is set, a quiet window of 01:00 to 08:00 local time applies. Messages that arrive overnight are answered in minutes by the agent.

What do real multichannel results look like?

The Shelly Group programme ran on email with a first email and two follow ups, and 13.6% of installers replied against 3.3% for the first email alone. That is one channel with follow ups, not a multichannel result, and we cite it only for the shape of the curve. Our own account ran almost entirely on LinkedIn.

We do not have a published comparison of multichannel against single channel sequences, and we would rather say so than invent one. What we can give is the mechanism and the defaults, and the advice to test: take 200 people who have both a profile and a verified email, run one group on LinkedIn only and one on LinkedIn then email, and count meetings held after six weeks.

What does a lead's path look like, in a made up example?

The three people below are invented, to show how the stop rules and the channel switches interact. Days count from the first invitation.

Person C shows why the opt out rule must span channels. The refusal came on email, and it also blocks LinkedIn and WhatsApp, because the platform checks the team's suppression list before every send.

What if you only have one channel for some people?

Many lists are uneven: some people have a profile, some have a verified email, a few have a number. Do not force the full sequence on everyone. Group the list by what you hold.

1. Profile and verified email: the full sequence, LinkedIn first, then email.
2. Profile only: LinkedIn alone, with the follow ups you would use anyway. Do not buy extra data until the first group has shown the sequence works.
3. Email only: the email sequence on its own, with the fewer touches that suit a cold address.
4. Number only, or a number gathered because the person wrote to you: WhatsApp, and only if you have the right to use it.

A lookup for an email or a person costs $0.01, so enriching the profile only group before you start can be cheaper than it sounds, but the point of the groups is to keep each person on a sequence that fits what you know about them.

How do you test whether the second channel pays for itself?

Use the split from the section on real results, with a clear measure. Take 200 people who have both a profile and a verified email. Run 100 on LinkedIn only and 100 on LinkedIn then email, with the same offer and the same opener. After six weeks compare meetings held per person messaged, not replies. Then look at refusals and opt outs in the email group. If the extra channel adds meetings but also adds opt outs, the net effect is smaller than the meetings suggest. If it adds nothing, you have saved yourself a second sending domain.

A checklist

• [ ] I know which channel goes first and why.
• [ ] Each channel has its own message, not a copy.
• [ ] I have fewer touches than the maximum.
• [ ] A reply on any channel stops the rest.
• [ ] I set limits, hours and time zone per account.
• [ ] I tested multichannel against single channel on a small split.