Configuring communication steps

Communication steps are the actions that send messages to contacts across Email, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp. Well-configured steps increase deliverability, improve engagement through personalisation, and scale intelligently within rate limits.

Message timing

Every step can be configured to run:

• Immediately after the previous step completes
• After a delay of X minutes, hours, or days

Sends respect the sequence's sending window (the days and hours you configure in Sequence Settings) plus the optional business days only restriction and the sequence timezone (your chosen timezone, or the sequence creator's). Dalil also enforces a minimum gap between consecutive sends (20 minutes).

Sender configuration

Email senders: Select team members whose connected accounts can send. With the owner-priority setting on, contacts with an assigned Owner receive email from that owner; others are distributed among the selected senders.

LinkedIn senders: Only users with connected LinkedIn accounts can send messages, connection requests, or profile visits.

WhatsApp senders: Users with connected WhatsApp numbers.

Personalisation with variables

Insert variables from the variable picker to pull contact data into messages. Variables use the contact (currentPerson) or the sender (currentSender):

Variable	Example output
{{currentPerson.name.firstName}}	Sarah
{{currentPerson.name.lastName}}	Chen
{{currentPerson.company.name}}	Acme Corp
{{currentPerson.jobTitle}}	VP of Sales
{{currentSender.email.firstName}}	James (the sending rep)

Any field on the contact, including custom fields, is available in the picker. You can also transform values with expression blocks, and use spintax to randomize phrasing across sends so messages don't look identical.

Send Email step

1. Add a Send Email step in the editor
2. Compose your email: or place a Generate AI Message step before it to have AI write a unique message per contact
3. Write the subject line (40–60 characters; avoid spam triggers)
4. Compose the body with variables
5. Configure timing
6. Select senders (minimum one required)

Best practices:

• Include the contact's first name in the subject
• Use a personalised hook referencing the company or recent news
• Keep paragraphs to 2–3 sentences
• Include a single, clear call-to-action
• Avoid generic openers like "I hope this finds you well"

Send LinkedIn Message step

Prerequisite: Recipients must be existing LinkedIn connections. Use the Has LinkedIn Connection condition to check, or send a connection request first. The sender must have a connected LinkedIn account.

1. Add a Send LinkedIn Message step
2. Compose plain text (300–500 characters recommended)
3. Use line breaks for readability
4. Configure timing (typically 2+ days after email)
5. Select senders

Best practices:

• Avoid URLs: they reduce response rates
• Open with a personalised hook
• End with a soft call-to-action
• Keep it concise

Send LinkedIn Connection Request step

1. Add a Send LinkedIn Connection Request step
2. Compose an optional personalised note (max 300 characters)
3. Configure timing
4. Select senders

Pair it with the Accepted LinkedIn Invitation condition to branch on whether the contact accepted, and the Delete LinkedIn Connection Request step to withdraw pending requests after a while (unanswered pending requests can hurt your account standing).

Send WhatsApp Message step

Prerequisites:

• Contact must have a phone number in the CRM in international format (+country code): use the Has Phone Number condition to check
• Contact must have WhatsApp

1. Add a Send WhatsApp Message step
2. Compose plain text
3. Include one clear call-to-action
4. Configure timing (typically late in a sequence)
5. Select the WhatsApp sender

Best practices:

• Lead with value or curiosity
• Keep it personal and brief
• Use emojis sparingly
• Avoid links if possible

View LinkedIn Profile step

A non-message action that visits the contact's LinkedIn profile to create a notification on their end. Configure timing (typically before messaging) and select the sender account. Also required before the Has LinkedIn Connection condition can evaluate reliably.

Rate limits summary

Default daily limits per sender:

Channel	Default limit
Email	50 sends/day (adjustable up to 100)
LinkedIn messages	30/day
LinkedIn connection requests	20/day
LinkedIn profile visits	30/day
WhatsApp messages	20/day

Dalil enforces these limits automatically to protect your accounts from restrictions. You can lower them per sequence in Sequence Settings.