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Mastering Cadences in Zoho CRM
Automate Your Lead Follow-Ups Like a Pro

The Power of Cadences in Zoho CRM

If you’ve ever wished your CRM could automatically manage outreach to new leads — from the first email to the follow-up call — then you’ll love Cadences, one of the latest automation features in Zoho CRM.

In this walkthrough with Carol DenHartog from Amazing Business Results, you’ll learn exactly how to set up, design, and manage cadences to streamline your sales process. From enrolling new leads automatically to triggering smart follow-ups, cadences ensure every lead receives timely, consistent communication — without you having to lift a finger.

What Are Cadences?

A cadence is a series of scheduled actions — such as emails, calls, and tasks — that are automatically carried out for your leads, deals, contacts, or even accounts. Think of it as your built-in follow-up assistant.

Cadences let you:

  • Coordinate outreach to prospects and leads.

  • Standardize communication across your sales team.

  • Trigger follow-ups automatically based on behavior (like email replies).

  • Maintain consistent engagement without manual reminders.

In short, cadences bring structure and rhythm to your sales process — ensuring no lead slips through the cracks.

Accessing Cadences in Zoho CRM

To get started:

  1. Click on the Settings icon in the upper-right corner of your Zoho CRM.

  2. Under the Automation section, select Cadences.

  3. You’ll see a list of existing cadences or the option to Create a New Cadence.

Click Create Cadence to begin.

Setting Up a New Cadence

When creating a new cadence, Zoho CRM will prompt you for a few key setup details.

Step 1: Name Your Cadence  

Give it a descriptive name — for example, “New Lead Follow-Up.”

Step 2: Choose a Module  

Select the module you want to run the cadence on, such as Leads.

Step 3: Choose Enrollment Type or Who Is This For?

You can enroll leads manually or automatically through a custom view.

While manual enrollment is possible, we recommend automation. Manual enrollment requires you to open each lead record, click the three dots in the upper-right corner, and select Add to Cadence. It works — but it’s not time-efficient.

The smarter method is to base your cadence on a custom view so leads are added automatically.

Using Custom Views for Automatic Enrollment

Here’s how automatic enrollment works:

  1. Go to the Leads module and click on the Custom View menu in the upper-left corner.

  2. Create a view where the Lead Status = New Lead.

  3. Make sure “New Lead” is set as the default value in your lead status picklist.

Now, every time a new lead is created — manually or through automation — Zoho CRM automatically adds them to the “New Lead” view, triggering the cadence.

This setup ensures all new leads receive immediate and consistent communication without manual input.

Prepare Before You Build

Before diving into cadence creation, we need to emphasize one thing: plan your architecture first.

At Amazing Business Results, design always comes before implementation.
That means:

  • Define your lead flow. Decide when and why a lead should enter or leave a cadence.

  • Create your email templates. Prepare personalized emails for each step in advance.

  • Set up your views and picklists. Ensure your CRM structure supports your cadence logic.

Doing this groundwork prevents confusion, saves time, and helps your cadence run smoothly from day one.

Enrollment & Unenrollment Rules

When setting up a cadence, you can define both enrollment (who gets added) and unenrollment (who gets removed) criteria.

Unenrollment Options:  

  • Response Received for Any Email: Removes the contact if they reply to any cadence email.

  • Doesn’t Meet Custom View Criteria: Removes the contact once they’re no longer part of the view (e.g., if the lead status changes from “New Lead” to “Qualified”).

  • On a Specific Date: Ends the cadence on a fixed date — though this is less flexible.

  • Record Criteria: Removed the contact based on record fields and their corresponding values

We recommend using the “Doesn’t Meet Custom View Criteria” option. For example, if a lead moves from New Lead to Qualified, the system automatically removes them from the cadence since they no longer meet the criteria.

Combining Cadences with Workflows

While cadences handle emails, tasks, and calls, they can’t yet perform field updates — but workflows can.

Here’s how to make them work together:

  1. Create a new workflow under the Email module.

  2. Name it “Remove from Cadence.”

  3. Set it to trigger when an outgoing email receives a reply.

  4. Add a condition: if the Lead Status = New Lead and the email subject matches your cadence email.

  5. Add an action to update the field: change Lead Status → Contacted.

This workflow ensures that when a lead replies to a specific cadence email, their status updates automatically — and since they no longer meet the “New Lead” criteria, they’re removed from the cadence.

This integration keeps your data clean and your automations in sync.

Building Your Cadence: Actions & Timing

  • Once the framework is ready, it’s time to design your communication sequence.

    1. First Action – Send a Welcome Email  

    Start with an email that feels personal. Carol recommends setting a 10-minute delay after enrollment so it appears more natural.

    Example message:

    “Hey, this is Jeff, your sales associate. I received your request and will reach out as soon as I’m off a call. Looking forward to speaking soon!”

    This makes the lead feel like a real person reached out, not just an automated system.

    Set:

    • Action Type: Email

    • Delay: 10 minutes after enrollment

    • From: Record owner’s email

    • To: Lead email address

    • Template: “Cadence Email 1”

    2. Second Action – Schedule a Call  

    Next, schedule a call to follow up shortly after the first email is opened.

    • Trigger: 10 minutes after the email is opened

    • Owner: Lead owner

    • Purpose: Prospecting

    • Agenda: “Outreach to new lead”

    • Start Time: Transition trigger date + 1 minute

    This ensures the lead receives a call soon after engaging with the first email.

    3. Third Action – Follow-Up Email  

    If the initial email was sent but not opened, send a follow-up.

    • Trigger: 1 day after the first email was sent (and still unopened)

    • Action: Email

    • From: Record owner

    • Reply To: Record owner

    This keeps your follow-up steady without being overwhelming.

    4. Fourth Action – Task for Bounced Emails  

    If an email bounces, create a task to investigate and correct it.

    • Trigger: Immediately after bounce

    • Task Name: “Email bounced – please follow up”

    • Owner: Record owner

    • Due Date: As soon as possible

    • Notification: Enabled

    This allows your team to quickly identify typos or errors (like “gmail.con”) and fix them before the lead goes cold.

Chaining Actions for Continuous Engagement

One of the most powerful aspects of cadences is their conditional structure.

Each new step can depend on what happened in the previous one — for example:

  • If the call is completed, send a thank-you email.

  • If the call is overdue, send a “Sorry we missed you” email.

  • If the call was completed but no answer, send a follow-up email.

You can chain up to five follow-ups in a single cadence, mixing emails, calls, and tasks to match your ideal outreach flow.

Publishing and Monitoring Your Cadence

Once your cadence is ready, click Publish.

You’ll be prompted to decide whether to include existing records in the selected view or only new ones. Carol includes existing ones to ensure no leads are missed.

After publishing, you can track progress in the Cadences dashboard:

  • View the cadence name, start date, and status.

  • See whether it’s ongoing or completed.

  • Check follow-up history, including which emails were sent or scheduled.

  • Open the timeline view to see when each lead was enrolled and what actions have occurred so far.

This visual summary gives you a clear picture of your outreach performance.

Transform Your Outreach with Cadences

Cadences in Zoho CRM bring strategy, structure, and automation together. By combining smart enrollment criteria, carefully planned workflows, and thoughtful timing, you can create a lead follow-up system that feels human — yet runs entirely on autopilot.

Whether you’re welcoming new leads, scheduling calls, or sending reminders, cadences help your team stay consistent and responsive.

Ready to level up your CRM automation?
👉 Explore Cadences in Zoho CRM today and see how streamlined outreach can transform your sales process.

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