One of the most common social selling questions I’m asked is: Can I send cold LinkedIn connection requests to cold prospects or without it being personalized?
The answer: Yes, you can. BUT… Don’t mess it up, you need to know how to request a connection on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a professional networking platform designed to help you connect with colleagues, company contacts, and industry professionals.
[click_to_tweet tweet=”Can I send a #LinkedIn connection request to a cold #prospect? YES, but… #SocialSelling #SocialMedia @M_3Jr” quote=”Can I send a #LinkedIn connection request to a cold #prospect? YES, but… #SocialSelling #SocialMedia @M_3Jr”]
First, let’s establish one thing upfront. Blind cold connection requests are NOT — and, I repeat — NOT what social selling is all about. Rather, these LinkedIn tips you will read are a methodical and holistic approach to creating engagement with your targeted audience. I personally believe you shouldn’t send blind connection requests either. However, there are some uses cases and I’ll discuss that later.
In all circumstances, your objective is not to “spray and pray” connect requests. Rather, it’s to find unique opportunities to ENGAGE and HELP your buyers, which drive a warm connection.
Second, what I’m going to share with you does work. I have spent years perfecting my formula and have found that, based upon the industry by which you sell to, the percentage can go up or down. Here are Vengreso we sell to Sales, Marketing, and Sales Enablement leaders. We also sell to individual sales reps using our FlyMSG product-led growth solution.
So, here is the proof it works. Using my personal stats alone, between Jan 31 and April 2 we sent and/or received a total of 1,129 LinkedIn connection requests.
At that same time, we added 836 LinkedIn requests. This brings us to a 74% acceptance rate! The goal, of course, is to establish a 100% connection acceptance rate no doubt.
Now let’s talk about the GOAL of creating a new LinkedIn connection for a social seller. Of course, there are many. However, in our social selling training, I focus on seven goals for a new connection. They are:
- Educate
- Help
- Build a Relationship
- Drive Sales
- Create Referrals
- Build your Personal Brand
- Be Discovered
When engaging and building relationships on the platform, remember that connecting with colleagues and company contacts is essential for strengthening teamwork and collaboration. Building a strong network with colleagues, current and past company contacts, and industry peers adds significant value to your career by opening doors to new opportunities and resources.
Growing your Network Through LinkedIn Connection Requests
With social selling, your primary goal is to create a POSITIVE engagement. Sales engagement means your targeted buyer is in some way, shape, or form ENGAGING with you. Engaging can be as simple as writing a message back to you or responding to you via social media or a LinkedIn comment.
Engagement could also be as simple as your targeted audience has just looked at your LinkedIn profile. In our sales training programs, we teach that there is a minimum baseline level of engagement, and it can be the first step to creating further engagement.
Again, social selling leaders will teach many techniques and approaches. We, however, teach our clients to focus on these 10 ways to grow their LinkedIn connections / followers.
- One-2-One Social Engagement
- Leverage Trigger Events
- Ask for Referral
- Leverage Profile Views & Twitter Followers
- Use Likes, Comments, Shares to create engagement
- Groups
- Long Blogs
- Special Messaging Campaigns
- Engage with LinkedIn followers
- Simply ASK to Connect
You can learn more about this in our LinkedIn Training Program!
Should I Pitch a Meeting After Connecting on LinkedIn?
In all cases, after you have established a LinkedIn connection — DO NOT under any circumstances send a LinkedIn connection message immediately to your new connection asking them for a sales meeting unless they have asked for it. That is one of the quickest ways to turn off your potential new friend.
It seems so logical – yet why do I receive this type of message multiple times per day from new and seasoned reps? Please, sales rep, DON’T mess up your potential new connection and make both your personal brand and that of your company’s look bad.
How Many LinkedIn Connection Requests Can I Send?
Effective as of the middle of 2023, LinkedIn changed it’s algorithm, so that now all users should only be sending no more than 100 per week unless you have LinkedIn Sales Navigator then you can push the envelope on that.
To avoid hitting your weekly limit, it’s important to manage your invites by regularly reviewing sent invitations, withdrawing pending requests, and keeping track of how many invites you have outstanding. You can do that here: https://www.linkedin.com/mynetwork/invitation-manager/received/
That being said, there isn’t a LinkedIn connection request limit per day, but per week. Be careful when connecting with people to not get caught in the platform’s jail, don’t mass connect on LinkedIn. The same goes with buying LinkedIn connections – if you’re planning a purchase, don’t buy a large package from scratch, it’s better to invest legitimately, consistently and little by little. In this case, the growth of your network will look organic and natural and you won’t get caught in LinkedIn jail.
Can I Get Thrown in LinkedIn Jail for Connecting?
Yes. One way to get thrown in LinkedIn jail is when your LinkedIn account is suspended for sending too many connection requests in combination with receiving too many people declining your connection requests. That’s bad. If you are thrown in jail, you likely have to wait for 5pm local time for your account to be released from suspended status or they may take you through a verification process.
Generally, you are thrown in LinkedIn jail up to three times before they shut down your account. The third time, you’re done. However, if you are mimicking non-human behavior (like leveraging a bot), LinkedIn reserves the right to suspend your account and then require you to send some form of identification in to release your account. Whatever you do, avoid getting caught in LinkedIn jail.
If you want to learn more LinkedIn hacks like these and more, watch this episode of The Modern Selling Podcast featuring Richard von der Blom:
Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile for Maximum Acceptance
Before you even send out a connection request, your profile needs to do some heavy lifting. A well-optimized LinkedIn profile is your digital handshake—it’s often the first thing a potential connection will review before deciding whether to accept your invitation. Make sure your profile is complete, up-to-date, and clearly communicates your professional brand. Highlight your relevant skills, experience, and achievements in your industry to show you’re an active and credible member of your professional network.
Make sure you have a LinkedIn banner. If you have a complicated name then use the LinkedIn name pronunciation feature. Add in featured media to your profile or add in a social media post that has a LinkedIn video embedded.
Don’t overlook the power of a professional profile picture and a compelling header image—these visual elements help you stand out in search results and make a strong first impression. Use your LinkedIn about (aka summary) section to tell your story and showcase what makes you unique in your field or explains who you help, how you help and what business problem you solve. The more relevant and detailed your LinkedIn profile, the more likely your connection requests will be accepted, helping you build strong connections and expand your network with professionals who matter most to your career goals or sales goals.
Finding and Adding the Right Connections
Building a valuable professional network on LinkedIn starts with finding and adding the right connections. Instead of sending connection requests to just anyone, use LinkedIn’s search tools or boolean search to identify professionals in your industry, at your target companies, or in specific job roles that align with your goals. Look for mutual connections—these shared contacts can increase the likelihood that your connection requests will be accepted.
When you find someone you’d like to connect with, always personalize your message. Mention any mutual connections, shared interests, or relevant industry topics to show you’ve done your homework. Talk about other companies that are similar or use the name that referred you. Joining LinkedIn groups related to your field is another great way to discover and connect with like-minded professionals, further expanding your reach and influence.
By being intentional about who you add to your network and how you add them, you’ll create connections on LinkedIn that are both relevant and valuable, opening doors to new opportunities and meaningful professional relationships.
How to Delete a LinkedIn Connection Request
Before I teach you how to send a cold LinkedIn invitation, you need to know how to cancel a LinkedIn request in the event you accidentally didn’t personalize it or you write the wrong thing and want to redo it. Managing your invites is important to keep your networking organized and ensure you are connecting with the right people. Note: finding how to cancel is extremely difficult and it’s almost a hidden feature. But never fear, that is why we have our LinkedIn training course to help you.
If you are using the desktop here are the steps you’d take to manage and cancel your LinkedIn connection request or invites. From the LinkedIn Home page
- Click My Network (at the top navigation bar)
- Above your “received” invitations (in the middle) section on the top right-hand side is a “See All XX” – Click it. Believe it or not, it’s hyperlinked.
- Click the “Sent” tab
- Click “Withdraw”
After you withdraw a connection request, you may need to wait several weeks (typically three weeks) before you can resend an invite to the same person.
Now, if you just want to speed up the process, just click here and it will bring you straight to the page!
Sending Cold LinkedIn Connection Requests and Getting them Accepted
How can you effectively send cold LinkedIn Connection Requests and get them accepted?
Before I answer this question, repeat after me: “Social Selling is not about spraying and praying LinkedIn connection requests.” OK. Now, that we have established that. . .
One portion of my success formula after a potential buyer has viewed my LinkedIn profile is to simply ask them to connect. Remember, a profile view = ENGAGEMENT! I don’t know what they read or how much they read, but I do know they know my picture and/or name.
I also know that, as a social seller, managing the page “Who’s Viewed my Profile” on LinkedIn is a GOLD Mine! Make that page become your friend! It the page which looks like this:
[click_to_tweet tweet=”As a #socialselling rep the “Whose Viewed my Profile” pg. on @LinkedIn is a GOLD Mine! @M_3Jr #SellingWithLinkedIn #Sales” quote=”As a #socialselling rep the “Whose Viewed my Profile” pg. on @LinkedIn is a GOLD Mine! @M_3Jr #SellingWithLinkedIn #Sales”]
Within 24-48 hours maximum, after I’ve received a profile view from them, I will send a LinkedIn connection request to invite them to join my professional network. To increase your acceptance rates, always include a personalized note with your request, using the exact wording that matches the recipient’s interests or background. What do I say to warrant a 74% connection rate? Remember you only have 300 characters to make this as personal as possible.
How to Write a LinkedIn Connection Request Message
The secret all-time tip is mine “Who Viewed Your Profile” everyday and multiple times a day. The moment someone looks at your profile that IS a social selling trigger event, and in fact gives you permission to reach out and engage.
How to write the perfect LinkedIn connection request? What should I write? Here is one of the messages which contributes to a 74% acceptance rate:
Hey FIRST NAME! Thx for viewing my LinkedIn profile! After viewing yours, I would be honored to have you in my network to learn from and network with you! We also share common connections! If open, here is the connection request! Looking forward to learning from you! YOURNAME
In the above LinkedIn connection message, note I mentioned I would be honored to have them in my LinkedIn network and would like to learn from them. This is all true. I ABSOLUTELY love learning from fellow sales and marketing leaders and reps (my target buyer persona).
In addition, I established that we have mutual connections. Of course, the best LinkedIn message would be to determine whom we know in common and certainly something I found of personal interest to them after reviewing their profile. But remember, we are talking about cold LinkedIn connection requests here.
Finally, in the above request, they have one choice to make – click the checkmark to accept or the X to decline.
What if I Want to “Cold Connect” with my Target Buyer, Should I Do it?
In social selling, the best option is always to look for an avenue to get a warm referral. However, as my list shows above, Simply Asking is #10 on the list. So yes I would encourage you to do it, after you have exhausted your other social selling methods like leveraging a warm referral!
Finally, remember there is NO better message than the most personalized approach. Always look for material within their profile to “connect” with your potential buyer on a personal level.
And here is my best advice on cold connecting. Cold connections have a much higher probability of being accepted if they are a 2nd-degree connection. The lesson? Filter only for 2nd-degree connections on LinkedIn when sending a cold connection!
LinkedIn Connection Request Message Template – 2nd Degree’s
Here is a personalized message to a 2nd degree + someone in the SAME LinkedIn group as myself, then I will write:
Hey FIRST NAME! LI suggested I might know you given our shared connections & we are in the LI group called Sales Director. After viewing your profile & being a former VP of Sales, I’d love to have you as part of my network to learn from & network with you. If open, here’s the request! Mario
Below is a template you could use to add it into FlyMSG and with a short keystroke you can build this message out within seconds using the auto text expander capabilities of our AI writing assistant FlyMSG.
Hey FIRSTNAME! LI suggested I might know you given our shared connections & we are in the LI group called INSERTGROUP. After viewing your profile, I'd love to have you as part of my network to learn from & network with you. If open, here’s the request! YOURNAME
If you closely read the messages above, you will quickly see the psychology behind the messaging.
So, there you have it. . . One of the secrets shared as to how I create new connections on LinkedIn.
Does it work?
I would say a 74% success rate constitutes the answer is yes!
Avoiding Common Mistakes with LinkedIn Connection Requests
Even the best intentions can fall flat if you make common mistakes with your LinkedIn connection requests. One of the biggest missteps is sending generic or impersonal messages—these often get ignored or declined. Take the time to research each person before you connect, and tailor your message to reflect why you’re interested in connecting. Reference mutual connections, a recent post, or something specific from their LinkedIn profile to make your request stand out.
Another mistake is sending connection requests to people with whom you have no shared background or context, which can come across as spammy. Always ensure your own LinkedIn profile is complete and up-to-date before reaching out, as a strong profile increases your credibility and the likelihood your requests will be accepted. By avoiding these pitfalls and focusing on genuine, personalized outreach, you’ll see a higher acceptance rate and build more meaningful connections.
How To Properly Prospect to new LinkedIn Connections Post Your Requests
One of the most important qualities a sales rep must possess is knowing how to prospect. Most sales professionals don’t realize that selling with LinkedIn is not only possible but also powerfully effective and LinkedIn selling is a requirement for today’s modern buying engagement. Do it right and you can win big. Do it wrong and you can ruin your brand quite rapidly.
Many argue that due to the number of sales prospecting tools available to sales professionals, prospecting is as easy as ever. But sadly, many still continue to call their prospect list and ask questions that could have easily been avoided had you performed proper sales prospecting.
The challenge comes when once you’ve connected to them on LinkedIn, what next? During a recent podcast with Ed Calnan, Founder and CRO of Seismic, I go through how every salesperson should approach their ideal prospect and how by using personalization and storytelling, you will be able to create sales engagement.
Measuring Your LinkedIn Connection Request Success
To know if your LinkedIn connection request strategy is working, it’s important to measure your results. Start by tracking how many connection requests you send and how many are accepted—this acceptance rate is a key indicator of your networking effectiveness. You can also monitor engagement from your new connections, such as responses to your messages, likes, comments, and interactions with your posts.
LinkedIn offers analytics tools that let you review the performance of your posts and the growth of your network. Use this data to refine your approach: if your acceptance rate is low, consider adjusting your messaging or targeting different types of professionals. By regularly measuring your connection request success, you can continuously improve your networking strategy and build a stronger, more engaged professional network.
In addition, we suggest you use FlyMSG to quickly save all of our connection request templates. There are over 16 different types of templates (aka FlyPlates) that you can use for every occasion. Here is the library! Sign up now to get access or click the image below.
Conclusion
In conclusion, mastering the art of LinkedIn connection requests is essential for building a strong and relevant professional network. By optimizing your LinkedIn profile, strategically finding and adding the right connections, avoiding common mistakes, and measuring your results, you can significantly increase the chances of your connection requests being accepted. Remember to personalize every message, research each person before reaching out, and clearly explain why you want to connect. With a thoughtful and strategic approach, you’ll not only grow your network but also unlock new job opportunities, expand your influence in your industry, and establish yourself as a trusted professional. Start applying these tips today to make every LinkedIn connection request count and take your networking to the next level.
