You will be able to send connection requests and first messages on LinkedIn that read as human and get accepted.
You accept a connection request from someone you vaguely recognise. Within the hour, a message arrives: four paragraphs about their agency, a link to a deck and a request for a call this week. You do not reply, and you think about removing them. Most people on LinkedIn have had that experience, which is exactly why your own requests need to look nothing like it.
LinkedIn is useful for prospecting because your buyers are there, their job titles and companies are visible, and they post about what is happening in their work. This lesson covers the two messages that matter most: the connection request and the first message after they accept.
LinkedIn lets you send a connection request with or without a note. Add one. 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 question every recipient has: who is this, and why me?
The note should be one or two sentences, specific to them, and about something real. "Hi Jason, saw you're opening the Tampines outlet. I work with a few cafe groups in the east and would be glad to connect." Or: "Hi Nadia, Siti mentioned we'd get along. Would be good to connect here."
LinkedIn sets a character limit on these notes and may limit how many personalised notes a free account can send in a period. The limits change, so check LinkedIn's help pages for the current ones before you plan a big batch.
The connection note has one job: to get the connection accepted. It is not the place for your offer, your link or your request for a meeting.
Think of it as two steps. The note earns the connection. The next message earns the conversation. Trying to do both in one note makes the request look like the start of a sales sequence, which it is, and people decline those. A buyer who has accepted a friendly, specific note is much more open to your next message than one who accepted a pitch out of politeness.
This also means you should not send a pitch the moment they accept. Give it a day or two.
When someone accepts, send a short first message with three parts. Thank them. Refer to something on their profile. Ask one question.
"Thanks for connecting, Jason. I read your post about juggling rosters across three outlets, which sounds like a lot of moving parts. How are you finding the move to four?"
The question should be about them and easy to answer, like the question at the end of your cold call opener in lesson 3.1, The four-part cold call opener. If they reply, you are in a conversation, and you can mention what you do when it becomes relevant. If they do not, that is fine. You have a connection who now knows your name, and you can come back with something useful later. Module 6 covers how to plan those later touches.
Darren's first message to a new parent he was introduced to looks similar: "Thanks for accepting, Nadia. Congratulations on the baby, Siti told me. How are you finding being back at work?" There is no mention of insurance. That comes later, if and when she asks what he does or mentions something it would help with.
Before you send either message, spend a minute on the person's recent activity. Most profiles show the posts they wrote, the posts they shared and the comments they left.
This is where you find the best openings. A post they wrote about a new hire, a frustration, a milestone or an opinion gives you something natural to refer to. Commenting thoughtfully on that post before you connect means your name is already familiar when the request arrives. A comment that adds something, such as a question or a related experience, works better than "Great post".
If someone never posts, look at their headline, their about section and their recent job changes. A new role is one of the triggers from lesson 1.3, and "Congratulations on the new role at..." is a perfectly good first line when it is true.
The common thread is that every message should read like one person writing to another. Short, specific, about them, with no links and no attachments in the first two messages. If you would feel awkward sending it to a former colleague, do not send it to a stranger.
Automation tools that send connection requests and messages for you in bulk exist, and LinkedIn's user agreement restricts many of them. Check its current terms before you use any, and remember that a message that sounds automated gets treated like one.
The activity below asks you to write a connection note and a first follow-up for three real people on your list, each one referring to something specific from their profile.
Write a connection note and a first follow-up message for three real people on your list, each referring to something specific on their profile.
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