Send LinkedIn connection requests and first messages that sound like a person wrote them and get accepted.
Say you accept a connection request from someone you vaguely recognise. Within the hour they send you four paragraphs about their agency, a link to a deck and a request for a call this week. You don't reply, and you think about removing them.
Most LinkedIn users have had a message like that, so your own requests should look nothing like it. LinkedIn is still a useful place to find prospects. Buyers are on it, their job titles and companies are visible, and they post about what is happening in their work. When you prospect there, two messages matter most: the connection request and the first message after someone accepts.
Before you send either message, spend a minute on the person's recent activity. Most profiles show the posts the person wrote, the posts they shared and the comments they left. The best openings are usually here. A post they wrote about a new hire, a frustration, a milestone or an opinion gives you something natural to refer to.
You can also comment on one of their posts before you connect, so your name is already familiar when the request arrives. A comment that adds something, such as a question or a related experience of your own, works better than "Great post".
If someone never posts, look at their headline, their about section and any recent job changes. A new role is one of the triggers from lesson 1.3. "Congratulations on the new role at..." is a good first line when it is true.
LinkedIn lets you send a connection request with or without a note. Always add one. The connection note is the short message attached to the request, and its only job is to get the connection accepted. A request with a short line explaining why you want to connect is more likely to be accepted than a blank one, because it answers the recipient's question: who is this, and why me?
Keep the note to one or two sentences, specific to the person and about something real. Leave out your offer, any link and any request for a meeting. LinkedIn sets a character limit on connection notes, and it may limit how many personalised notes a free account can send in a period. These limits change, so check LinkedIn's help pages for the current ones before you plan a big batch.
Jason runs a cafe group. A note to Jason might mention that you saw Jason is opening the Tampines outlet, say that you work with a few cafe groups in the east, and say you'd be glad to connect.
Darren works in insurance and prospects on LinkedIn. A mutual contact, Siti, introduced Darren to Nadia, a new parent. Darren's note to Nadia says Siti mentioned the two of them would get along and that it would be good to connect here.
The note earns the connection, and the next message earns the conversation. If you try to do both in one note, the request looks like the start of a sales sequence, which it is, and people decline those. A buyer who accepted a friendly, specific note is also more open to your next message than one who accepted a pitch out of politeness.
Don't pitch the moment someone accepts. Wait a day or two, then send a first message in three parts: thank them, refer to something on their profile, and ask one question. Make the question about them and easy to answer, like the question at the end of the opener in lesson 3.1, The four-part cold call opener.
Once Jason accepts, you might thank Jason for connecting, refer to Jason's post about juggling rosters across three outlets, say it sounds like a lot of moving parts, and ask how the move to four is going.
When Nadia accepts, Darren thanks Nadia for accepting, offers congratulations on the baby (news Siti passed on), and asks how being back at work is going. Darren doesn't mention insurance. Insurance comes up later, and only if Nadia asks what Darren does or mentions something it would help with.
If they reply, you are in a conversation, and you can mention what you do when it becomes relevant. If they don't reply, that is fine. You have a connection who now knows your name, and you can come back later with something useful. Module 6 covers how to plan those later touches.
Every message should read like one person writing to another: short, specific and about them. Put no links and no attachments in the first two messages. Before you send anything, ask yourself whether you would feel awkward sending it to a former colleague. If you would, don't send it to a stranger.
Tools exist that send connection requests and messages in bulk. LinkedIn's user agreement restricts many of them, so check its current terms before you use any. People also treat a message that sounds automated as an automated message.
Now pick three real people on your list. For each one, spend a minute on their recent activity, headline and about section, and find one specific thing to refer to. Write a connection note of one or two sentences with no offer, link or meeting request. Then write the first message you would send a day or two after they accept: thank them, refer to that specific thing from their profile, and ask one easy question about them.
Pick three real people on your list and write a connection note and a first follow-up message for each, mentioning something specific from their profile.
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