Multichannel steps put LinkedIn actions (visit, invite, message), phone calls, SMS and WhatsApp into the same sequence as email, so one cadence coordinates every touch. Buyers care because email alone is getting harder to land (Provider crackdowns), and because SDR teams are measured on meetings, not on channel.
How it works
There are two styles. Automated steps execute through the vendor's own browser or cloud session: LinkedIn invites and messages, some SMS and WhatsApp. Task steps put a to-do in a rep's queue: "call this person", "send InMail". The sequence engine treats both as steps with delays and conditions, so a LinkedIn acceptance can trigger an email branch (Conditional sequences and subsequences). The deeper treatment is in Multichannel: LinkedIn, calls, SMS and video.
| Tool | Channels | How priced (as of Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| lemlist | LinkedIn automation, calls (in-app + VoIP), SMS, WhatsApp add-on | Multichannel plan $87/mo; Email plan $55 lacks it (pricing) |
| Reply.io | Email, LinkedIn, SMS, calls, WhatsApp semi-automation | Multichannel $89/user; LinkedIn $69/account add-on; calls & SMS $29/user (pricing) |
| Saleshandy | Email, LinkedIn, calls, WhatsApp | All plans from $34/mo annual (pricing) |
| Woodpecker | LinkedIn automation; manual call/SMS tasks | LinkedIn $29/mo per account (pricing) |
| Salesforge | LinkedIn senders | 1 sender on Pro $40, unlimited on Growth $80 (pricing) |
| Smartlead | LinkedIn via HeyReach integration; SmartDialer | Integration launched 5 Jan 2026 (changelog); SmartDialer from $9/mo (pricing) |
| HubSpot sequences | Call tasks, Sales Navigator InMail and connection-request tasks | Task-based, Sales Hub Pro+ (KB) |
| Outreach | "Multi-Channel Engagement & Sequences" | Platform packages (pricing) |
| EmailBison | None | Third-party directory notes no LinkedIn or multichannel (GTM Directory) |
Instantly's help centre search for "LinkedIn" in October 2026 returned no articles about LinkedIn sequence steps, only signals, enrichment and CRM (search). Native LinkedIn steps in Instantly are unverified. Apollo's multichannel step types could not be checked because its help centre blocks crawlers.
Who does it well
lemlist is the reference: one canvas, conditions on LinkedIn and call outcomes, and channels priced into a single plan. Reply.io covers the most channels but itemises them: a team with five reps and five LinkedIn seats pays $89 × 5 + $69 × 5 before calls and SMS. The LinkedIn-first specialists (HeyReach, La Growth Machine, Expandi) are deeper on LinkedIn mechanics. Smartlead's January 2026 move was to integrate with HeyReach rather than build its own. That is the volume players' tell: they see LinkedIn as a partner category, not core.
Where implementations differ
- Native vs integrated. lemlist, Reply.io and Saleshandy run LinkedIn themselves. Smartlead integrates HeyReach. The suites mostly generate tasks.
- Per-account pricing. LinkedIn is priced per connected LinkedIn account almost everywhere ($29 at Woodpecker, $69 at Reply.io), because each account carries its own ban risk and needs its own proxy or session.
- Unit of volume. Email scales by adding mailboxes. LinkedIn does not, because one person has one profile. That is why the volume players have little incentive to go deep on it.
Risks and abuse
LinkedIn's User Agreement prohibits bots and other automated methods of accessing the service. Every automated LinkedIn step carries account-restriction risk for the end user and platform risk for the vendor (Provider rules: Google, Microsoft and the ESPs, Platform liability: what the sequencer itself risks). WhatsApp and SMS bring consent rules that are stricter than email in most of Europe. In Germany, unsolicited B2B calls need at least presumed consent (Germany, GDPR and ePrivacy). For an EU-based vendor, offering automated cold SMS or WhatsApp is a legal exposure, not just a feature.
What this means for an entrant
- Do not lead with multichannel. It is crowded (lemlist, Reply.io, Saleshandy, La Growth Machine, HeyReach) and carries ban and consent risk. Integrate (HeyReach, task export) to tick the box, as Smartlead did.
- Make the sequence engine channel-agnostic from day one so steps, delays and conditions work for any channel. Adding a channel later is then an adapter, not a rewrite (Sending architecture).
- Task steps (call, InMail, manual LinkedIn) carry no automation risk and satisfy most SDR-team buyers (In-house SDR teams).
- If you are EU-based, keep automated SMS and WhatsApp out of the default product. The legal asymmetry against US competitors is real (EU/EEA country matrix).