Social selling is a priority for B2B sales teams. Well, 96% of sales reps use LinkedIn at least once a week. This is the power of LinkedIn in nurturing B2B sales. Even 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn compared to any other social media such as Facebook or Twitter.
To build a valuable network and make meaningful connections, Linkedin provides a feature of sending connection requests. This helps in building trust. That is why in this article, we have mentioned the seven best practices for sending LinkedIn connection requests.
Personalize Your Message
If you are sending impersonal and generic messages, 90% of the time users won’t feel the need to respond. Users feel that they are one of the many recipients of the same spam requests.
So, to make them feel special, personalizing your message is important. You can do this by adding the lead’s name, share any references or how you know them, and writing something unique and specific, including a CTA. This will make your users accept the request instead of ignoring it.
For example: If you go to send a connection request message, you’ll see something like this:
To see better results tailor your message as
Hi Claire,
I saw your webinar on “20 important content strategies”. I am an entrepreneur and I am interested in providing a similar lecture to my team group. It would be great if you send me a message and we can discuss it further.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Tim
Explaining the Reasons For Reaching Out
For every connection request you make, always mention the reason for reaching out to them. This will provide them with the reason why you want to connect with them.
Moreover, 94% of consumers are more likely to be engaged with a brand when it shows full transparency. This adds authenticity to your introduction. So, mentioning the reason why you are reaching out will dramatically increase the acceptance rate.
For example-
Dear Amanda,
Thanks for expressing interest in our new product “Gine”. As You are the owner of the largest consulting company in North America, I would like you to try a free trial subscription to Gine for a month and express your views on it.
Regards,
Tim
Add Reference To a Mutual Connection
One of the best features of LinkedIn is that you can see if you and your prospect have any mutual connection. This helps in knowing about the similar audience that you want to know.
You can either ask for that mutual connection to introduce you to the lead through email. Make them aware of your intent to connect with a prospect and see if they recommend that you go ahead with it.
For instance-
Hi Michael,
I hope you are doing well!
I am reaching out to you as one of my business partners Ms. Lim told me that you are one of the best inbound marketing experts. I was wondering if you would be interested in working for my organization and help in cold outreach to scale up the business.
Regards,
Vince
Mention a Third-party Credible Source
It is always best to understand the needs and offer solutions to your prospects that urge them to accept your connection request. So, to avoid sounding like a salesperson, mention the solution that has a credible third-party source.
It can be case studies from reputable organizations or blogs from well-known marketing experts. You should mention that you are familiar with these sources and the knowledge will help to fix the problem.
Never include resources that are completely unrelated to your business. Otherwise, it will sound like self-promotion. Also, avoid selling your products during the first interaction.
Mention like this-
Dear Jane,
I hope this message finds you well.
I read your post yesterday that you are looking for good digital marketing tools. I would recommend ABC as they have worked earlier for my organization.
Looking forward to hearing back your feedback.
Cheers,
Alvine Mark
Highlight Your Prospects Work
Always highlight the work of prospects that work in companies you are a customer of. Your message becomes more authentic if you specify how their product or service has helped you.
For instance, if you reach out to a prospect who works in the development team of a software tool that you use. As you have hands-on experience with its new feature that automates a task that used to take several hours each week.
So, while sending your connection request, you can thank them for making this feature a reality. Never do fake flattery praise. To avoid this, read your connection request before sending it.
Hence, address them in your message, like this:
Dear Paul,
Thanks for your work, particularly your software tool “XYZ”. It helped me in creating solutions for my business. I would like to connect with you to ask about its new feature on lead generation.
Cheers,
Walter
Begin a Conversation Naturally
Making a connection with dialogue is always more meaningful. You should even incentivize your prospects so that they accept your connection request easily. So, open up a discussion with your CTA.
To begin a dialogue you can complement something specific that your prospect has done. Mention the reasons for your connection request and give praise for your prospect’s professional achievements.
Your message should sound natural with a frank reason for your reaching out with praise and a CTA for your prospect.
Mention like this-
Hi Lina,
Thank you for choosing ABC. I am Claire, marketing manager at XYZ. I believe that you will have a great time as a new sales expert. I was impressed with the numbers and the recommendation from your last manager. Glad to see you onboard in our organization!
Cheers,
Alan
Follow up
One of the secrets that separate a businessperson from a “sales expert” is a follow-up.
A businessperson may close their job after sending their pitch but a sales expert knows that the follow-up seals the deal. To establish meaningful LinkedIn connections follow-ups are necessary.
LinkedIn allows its users to send a maximum of 3,000 connection requests so if you don’t follow up there are chances that your request may get ignored.
Hi Jane,
As you might be busy I thought to follow up on the connection request that I have sent you. I am conducting a webinar on marketing tools and wanted to include your company in it. Would you be available for a quick interview?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Best Regards,
Tim
Conclusion
Did you make your first successful connection? Well, you’ll probably go through a lot of trial and error before you finally get through it. It might happen that the strategy in connecting with one prospect might not work on others on Linkedin.
So, use these above-mentioned seven tips and craft an effective connection request. Take the time to follow these rules to write your message today.
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