# The 5-Touch Cadence with Google Calendar + Your Phone

Setup time: 10 minutes. Free. Works if you have zero CRM.

This is the manual route. You'll get reminders in Google Calendar telling you exactly when to send each touch. You send them by hand from your phone. No automation, but also no monthly cost and no learning curve.

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## What You'll Need

- Google Calendar (free)
- Your phone
- A Google Sheet or a notes app to track which leads are in the cadence

That's it.

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## Step 1: Set Up Your Lead Tracker

Create a Google Sheet with these columns:

| Lead Name | Phone/Email | Date Tagged | Objection | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|

Every time you finish a sales conversation without a sale, add a row.

## Step 2: Create 5 Calendar Reminders

For each new lead in the tracker, create 5 Google Calendar events (10 seconds each):

1. **Touch 1:** today, 2 hours from now. Title: `Touch 1 - [Lead Name] - Same-day appreciation`.
2. **Touch 2:** in 2 days. Title: `Touch 2 - [Lead Name] - Value drop`.
3. **Touch 3:** in 7 days. Title: `Touch 3 - [Lead Name] - Objection cut`.
4. **Touch 4:** in 14 days. Title: `Touch 4 - [Lead Name] - Social proof`.
5. **Touch 5:** in 30 days. Title: `Touch 5 - [Lead Name] - Close-or-close`.

Enable notifications on Google Calendar so your phone buzzes when it's time.

## Step 3: When a Reminder Fires, Send the Touch

Open the Templates file on your phone. Copy the appropriate touch. Paste into a text or email to that lead. Fill in the brackets. Send.

Total time per touch: 60-90 seconds.

## Step 4: When They Reply, Cancel the Remaining Reminders

The moment a lead replies:
1. Delete their remaining Touch reminders from Google Calendar.
2. Handle the conversation live.
3. If it ends without a sale, re-create Touch 3, 4, and 5 reminders (they re-enter at Touch 3).

## Step 5: When They Book, Delete Everything

Delete all remaining reminders for that lead. Move their row in the tracker to a `WON` tab so you can see the recovered pipeline building.

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## Batch This to Save Time

Rather than creating 5 calendar events per lead as they come in, batch it:

- Once a day (end of day works): review new unclosed leads from the day
- Create all 5 reminders for each in one 5-minute sitting
- Google Calendar's `+ Add multiple` shortcut is your friend

If you do 10 leads a day, that's 50 events to create daily. Add a Zap or a Google Apps Script if you want to speed it up further.

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## When to Upgrade

Manual route works up to about 10-20 leads per week. Above that, you're spending real time on calendar management and messages start getting missed.

If you're doing more than 20 leads per week:
- Move to a $10/month CRM like OpenPhone (basic automations included)
- Or Mailchimp Free for email + your phone for SMS
- Or GoHighLevel for full automation

The manual route is meant to prove the concept works BEFORE you invest in CRM tooling. If you close 3 extra deals in the first month manually, you've earned the $10/month upgrade twice over.

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## Common Manual Route Mistakes

- **Don't rely on memory.** Every unclosed lead goes in the tracker + gets 5 calendar reminders. No exceptions.
- **Don't skip Touch 2 because it feels awkward.** The Value Drop is what separates you from every other follow-up. Send something small every single time.
- **Don't use email for Touch 3 and Touch 5.** Text has 5x the open rate. If you don't have their number, ask for it during the sales conversation.

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Ready to have us set up the fully automated version in a real CRM for you? Every BFM client's CRM ships with the 5-Touch Cadence pre-installed. Book a Clarity Call at [/plan](/plan).