Table of Content
In the B2B space, sales prospecting is always more than just pitching to your prospects. A marketer needs to identify potential leads, reach out to them, start a conversation, and nurture them with valuable content to convert eventually.
This entire process, when it takes place on LinkedIn, depends upon the prospecting messages you send, especially the connect request note.
It must be casually conversational, like a text. Yet maintain professional decorum and act as an ice-breaker.
But it's B2B; a joke won't work. How do you break the ice?
You can do it either by referring to their activity or by sending across value-adding resources. According to statistics, 74% of B2B buyers expect sales reps and professionals to offer new or different insights into their company/business.
Sounds daunting?
Read ahead to learn how to craft the perfect LinkedIn prospecting messages. If content writing feels like too much work, pick any of the below cold message templates.
The DMs you send to connect with your prospects on LinkedIn are LinkedIn prospecting messages.
LinkedIn prospecting is a social selling strategy that includes identifying prospects and nurturing them gradually with industry-relevant content.
To learn more about LinkedIn prospecting, check out this link.
Creating a prospecting message is a tricky art. Even a slight alteration in the tone of the message can change the fate of the sales deal.
If you are too formal in tone, the future prospect might think that the message is AI-generated. In case of a too casual tone, your message might get ignored as an unprofessional text.
From the greetings to the length of the message, everything should be very calculated so that your prospect doesn't get annoyed or repelled.
Have you ever met a stranger on the street and began talking immediately?
Nope, nobody does that. We all start a conversation by introducing ourselves. The same goes for LinkedIn messages as well.
First, obviously, you say:
Hey {First Name}
After that, you introduce yourself. There are three common ways of doing it:
Let's take a look at how it's done.
Hey Mark,
I am Rajnish from Smartlead.
Or
Hey Mark,
I am Rajnish, a content writer.
Or
Hey Mark,
I am Rajnish, a content writer at Smartlead.
Or
Hey Mark,
How are you? It's Rajnish from Smartlead.
The above are some of the most common ways of introducing yourself in LinkedIn messages.
Never skip the introduction line while sending cold messages on this networking platform. Because your prospects, most probably, will never open your profile to check who you are.
After introducing yourself, the most crucial step in prospecting sales messages is revealing the reason why you are texting in the first place.
Your prospects are busy professionals. They are obviously running on a packed schedule. Even if that's not the case, there are hundreds of marketers sliding into their DMs just like you.
Therefore, never ask them to take action before making it clear why you are writing the message. This is how you can do it.
I wanted to reach out as we are members of the same group.
Or
I am relatively new to b2b marketing. I am reaching out for advice on how to get started.
Or
I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in a collaboration.
The "reason revealing" sentence must come after the introduction line.
When it comes to length, cold emails and LinkedIn messages are quite similar—the shorter, the better.
It's super important to keep the prospecting messages very short.
The ideal length of a prospecting DM on LinkedIn is 5 to 6 sentences. You can stretch it to 7 lines but no more than that.
Be it an email campaign or LinkedIn messages, personalization is the key. A generalized message is more likely to get ignored by the recipient than a personalized text.
Confused about how to create personalized prospecting messages?
With a little bit of research, here's how you can do it.
Hey Dan,
I am Pam, the sales manager at Dunder Mifflin. I can see that you've attended the Digital Marketing Trends in 2023 webinar.
Clearly, we both are passionate about digital marketing.
Awesome! Let's connect.
Pam
Hey Dan,
I am Pam, the sales manager at Dunder Mifflin. I see you're a member of the "cold outreach" group, too. I have been an active member since 2021.
I assume you're interested in cold emails too.
Let's connect to keep you updated.
Pam
Hey Dan,
I am Pam, the sales manager at Dunder Mifflin. I came across your post on "Cold emails marketing 101" on my feed.
I must say I am impressed with your writing skills.
I would love to connect with you, a fellow marketer so that we keep updating each other about the industry trends.
Pam
Hey Dan,
It's Pam from Dunder Mifflin. I live in Tokyo, too.
I would love to connect with another professional from Tokyo. It would be great to have a network of like-minded people from here.
Would you like to connect?
Pam
Hey Dan,
It's Pam from Dunder Mifflin. Mark is my connection; I think you are too.
I assume you both work in the same company.
I would love to connect with more people from the field.
Would you like to connect?
Pam
The goal of prospecting is to identify potential customers and slowly convert them into buyers. And how to do that?
Of course, content.
It can be articles, videos, podcasts, books, LinkedIn posts, etc. The bottom line is, as a marketer, you must keep providing resources that will empower your prospects and help them make the decision.
And this "nurturing" can't happen in one or two texts. To achieve that, you must start a conversation and try to build a business relationship with the prospects.
The best way to do this is to talk about their posts, business, achievements, etc. Also, try to ask their opinions on industry trends/news.
For example:
Hi again, [First Name].
Thanks for accepting my connection request! It's great to have someone who's as passionate as me about B2B sales in my network.
It's always interesting to learn my fellow marketers' thoughts on sales.
What do you think about using an AI-based outreach tool for sales? I think it can reduce the manual labor of the sales team and provide time to focus on strategies.
Do you agree?
Prospecting sales messages can't be anything like a sales pitch. It has to be a conversation starter and benefitting both sides.
For instance, when you are asking the prospect to accept your request, you must offer something in return. It can vary from coffee to an article or a piece of advice, anything.
But, you must offer something. And along the journey in the sequence, a marketer must convince the prospect that the product is going to make their lives better. That must be the ultimate offer.
Linkedin prospecting is easy once you figure out the message. Take a look at the DM below and guess what went wrong.
The connection message doesn't introduce the sender nor clarify their company name. They are texting a stranger on LinkedIn and asking them to buy their product without even introducing themselves.
Never ever send outreach messages, on any platform, without writing a quick introduction about yourself. It's better to go with "I am Mark from XYZ." But, if you have a mutual connection, you can also introduce yourself by referring to them in the message.
Although the message contains only six lines, it still is very long. The sentences have too many commas and fragments, which is guaranteed to lose the interest of the recipient.
The goal of every business out there is to solve their customer's pain points. It can be anything from clothes to cold emailing tools.
Therefore, salespeople must focus on prospects' pain points while sending them messages on LinkedIn.
The above screenshot doesn't have any direct or indirect references to the prospect's issues. This is another mistake that successful LinkedIn marketers don't make.
The sender in the above message is trying to pitch in the first message. When it's LinkedIn prospecting, this is the biggest red flag, especially in B2B sales.
A seller can go on and on about the merits of a product. But why should the lead believe you?
This is why sales reps must provide social proof while prospecting, especially in LinkedIn messages. Attach a video testimonial of G2.com reviews so that the recipient can crosscheck your claims and come around.
The outreach messages should be about the prospect and their pain points. It shouldn't be about the marketer/seller.
Therefore, while creating a LinkedIn message, you must refrain from using too many "I" s and "We" s. This mistake will annoy the recipient and shoo them away forever.
Undoubtedly, LinkedIn is Disneyland for prospecting. By using the basic search engine, you can find hundreds of potential customers on this networking platform.
However, a LinkedIn search isn't the only way to find your prospects. You may find many potential customers on a Slack channel, YouTube channel, newsletter subscribers, etc.
You need to segment your prospects based on how and where you found them. After segmentation, the next step is to create sequences—a series of messages and automate the entire process.
Here's a list of sample sequences for you to understand how to create one.
This sequence has been one of the most effective ones for us at Smartlead. Feel free to copy it for your outreach campaigns on LinkedIn.
Hey {First Name},
Are you paying separately for warm-up & email accounts?
We have cold email software that provides unlimited email-sending accounts and free AI-enhanced warmups.
Mind if I share more info?
Hey {First Name},
I went on a demo with a prospect who's spending $30 per email account, and he has 15 of them. Total amount spent- $450 per month.
But Smartlead provides unlimited email-sending accounts & AI warmups at just $39 pm.
Would you be interested in a quick demo as well?
Hey {First Name},
Sharing a testimonial of a client we've recently helped:
{{testimonial}}
Let me know if you're up for a demo.
Hi [ First Name]!
I came across your profile on {group name}. I wanted to reach out as we are members of the same group.
I guess we share a common interest in b2b sales.
Awesome!
Let's connect.
{Your Name}
Hi again, [First Name].
Thanks for accepting my connection request! It's great to have someone in my network who's as passionate as I am about B2B sales.
It's always interesting to learn about the sales process from other fellow marketers. Do you have tricks under your sleeve that might help me?
I have some tips to share in return as well. My secret tool is [your product]. It helps me in multichannel outreach by automating the entire process.
Thanks
Hey, {First Name}, I understand the struggle in B2 B lead generation. It takes months to plan a campaign, create sequences, and manually send the messages to the prospects.
On top of that, if one fails to follow up consistently, the entire campaign gets ruined. I believe your organization would benefit from using a LinkedIn prospecting tool like Smartlead.
Check out what {their competitor} has to say about Smartlead.
Interested to learn more about this tool?
An automation tool that
Sounds interesting?
Let's talk more. Let me know when you are available.
I would love to show you how Smartlead works—it will skyrocket your ROI. I promise it won't take more than 15 mins.
Ping me when you are available.
Check out what {their competitor} has to say about us.
Hi [ First Name]!
I liked your comment on {so-and-so post}. I especially liked the part where you listed down the problems faced by marketers while prospecting.
I would love to discuss more on this topic.
Let's connect.
{Your Name}
Hi again, [First Name].
Thanks for accepting my connection request! It's great to have someone who's as passionate as me about B2B sales in my network.
It's always interesting to learn my fellow marketers' thoughts on sales.
What do you think about using AI-based automation tools for sales? I think it can reduce the manual labor of the sales team and provide time to focus on strategies.
Do you agree?
Hey, {First Name}, I understand the struggle faced by B2B sales/marketing teams. It takes months to plan a campaign, create sequences, and manually send the messages to the prospects.
On top of that, if one fails to follow up on the message consistently, the entire campaign gets ruined. I believe your organization would benefit from using an AI-based automation tool like Smartlead.
Check out what {their competitor} has to say about Smartlead.
Interested to learn more about this tool?
An automation tool that
Sounds interesting?
Let's talk more. Let me know when you are available.
I would love to show you how Smartlead works—it will skyrocket your ROI. I promise it won't take more than 15 mins.
Ping me when you are available.
Check out what {their competitor} has to say about us.
Hi [ First Name]!
I see that your company deals with (mention what they do). Our client (their competitor) is in the same business.
Last year, we helped them (mention the pain point you resolved). Check out what they have to say about us. (Attach a video testimonial.)
Interested?
Let's connect.
{Your Name}
Hi again, {First Name}.
Thanks for accepting my connection request!
We helped your competitor with (provide a list of pain points you solved).
I've done some research on {their business name} too. As per the information I got on the internet, you are currently facing {an issue that your product solves}.
Is that right?
Hey {first name},
Here's a quick overview of what our tool, Smartlead, does.
Check out what {their competitor} has to say about Smartlead.
Interested to learn more about this tool?
An automation tool that
Sounds interesting?
Let's talk more. Let me know when you are available.
I would love to show you how Smartlead works—it will skyrocket your ROI. I promise it won't take more than 15 mins.
Ping me when you are available.
Check out what {their competitor} has to say about us.
Hi [ First Name]!
Congratulations on receiving {so-and-award}! It's really inspiring how you have established yourself as a thought leader in the industry.
Huge fan!
Can we connect?
{Your Name}
Hi [ First Name],
This is [Your Name] from (name of the company). I help businesses to launch products successfully.
I see you have started a new company. Congratulations on that! Let me know if you need any help.
Can we connect?
Thanks
Hi [ First Name]!
I see that your company deals with (mention what they do). Our client (their competitor) is in the same business.
Last year, we helped them (mention the pain point you resolved). Check out what they have to say about us. (Attach a video testimonial.)
Interested?
Let's schedule a meeting when you are available.
{Your Name}
Hi [ First Name]!
I liked your comment on {so-and-so post}. I especially liked the part where you listed down the problems faced by marketers while prospecting.
I found a Smartlead article on the same topic.
Let me know what you think about it.
{Your Name}
Hi [ First Name]!
I came across your post on {so-and-so topic} where you mentioned facing {pain points}.
Last year, we helped {their competitor company} resolve (pain point). Check out what they have to say about us. (Attach a video testimonial.)
Interested?
Let's connect.
{Your Name}
Besides creating a killer message, there are a few more things that you must take care of before prospecting, such as timing, updating the profile, etc.
It's very crucial to check the timing and frequency of your prospecting messages to convert them into loyal customers. You don't want to send too many messages within a short period and freak out the recipient.
Not to forget, such behavior is seen as spammy and scares off potential leads.
Instead, schedule your message with healthy breaks between one another and be careful about when you send them.
For example, sending messages after office hours can be a risky practice. For successful conversions, try to stick to the prospect's office hours in their time zone.
Before you start prospecting on LinkedIn, it's essential to update your LinkedIn profile. If you are texting from your company page, update it.
Make sure your own LinkedIn profile looks professional and represents your brand like a legit one. This includes
Many people don't talk about the importance of a good personal brand while marketing your product. FYI, it's unavoidable.
A personal brand is more likely to attract relevant leads and make a positive impression when you prospect from your company page.
Tracking results is very important to measure the success of your cold prospecting messages. You must keep track of
Use this data to adjust your approach over time, experiment with different messaging strategies, and test what works best for your audience.
To bring in more qualified leads, it's important to set KPIs.
KPI is short for Key Performance Indicators. Here's a list of KPIs you should set to measure the success of LinkedIn prospecting.
Keep in mind that the goal isn't to sell them something right away. It is to build relationships with potential customers and convert them into loyal audiences.
Always focus on finding common ground and starting a conversation based on it. Refrain from pitching your product or service before starting a conversation.
Follow up diligently with your prospects over time, send them value-adding content, and nurture them through the B2 B sales cycle.
Hands down, LinkedIn is the best platform for B2B sales outreach. After all, 2.7 million companies out of 58 million businesses that are listed are active every day on this networking platform.
If you are a B2B marketer, hop on this ROI-increasing train. Just keep in mind how to craft a good prospecting message. To summarize, it must be
For better results in cold messaging, use an automation tool to send messages. All you have to do is create a list of prospects, import the contact list in the automation tool, create a sequence, and launch the campaign.
Don't forget to nurture warm leads with the LinkedIn sales navigator. Update your prospecting strategy accordingly.
With this, I bid you farewell.
Adios!
Is auto-messaging illegal on LinkedIn?
No, using automation tools for messaging isn't illegal on LinkedIn, but one mustn't exceed the limit. You can send 200 connection requests, 150 messages and visit 150 profiles per day.
Smartlead's cold email outreach tool helps businesses scale their outreach efforts seamlessly. With unlimited mailboxes, fully automated email warmup functionality, a multi-channel infrastructure, and a user-friendly unibox, it empowers users to manage their entire revenue cycle in one place. Whether you're looking to streamline cold email campaigns with automated email warmups, personalization fields, automated mailbox rotation, easy integrations, and spintax, improve productivity, or enhance scalability with subsequences based on lead’s intentions, automated replies, and full white-label experience, our cold email tool implifies it in a single solution.
Our "unlimited mailboxes" feature allows you to expand your email communications without restrictions imposed by a mailbox limit. This means you won't be constrained by artificial caps on the number of mailboxes you can connect and use. This feature makes Smartlead the best cold email software and empowers you to reach a wider audience, engage with more potential customers, and manage diverse email campaigns effectively.
The "unibox" is one of the unique features of Smartlead cold email outreach tool, and it's a game-changer when it comes to managing your revenue cycle. The master inbox or the unibox consolidates all your outreach channels, responses, sales follow-ups, and conversions into one centralized, user-friendly mailbox.
With the "unibox," you gain the ability to:
1. Focus on closing deals: You can now say goodbye to the hassle of logging into multiple mailboxes to search for replies. The "unibox" streamlines your sales communication, allowing you to focus on what matters most—closing deals.
2. Centralized lead management: All your leads are managed from one central location, simplifying lead tracking and response management. This ensures you take advantage of every opportunity and efficiently engage with your prospects.
3. Maintain context: The "unibox" provides a 360-degree view of all your customer messages, allowing you to maintain context and deliver more personalized and effective responses.
Smartlead, the best cold email marketing tool, ensures your emails reach the intended recipients' primary inbox rather than the spam folder.
Here's how it works:
1. Our "unlimited warmups" feature is designed to build and maintain a healthy sending reputation for your cold email outreach. Instead of sending a large volume of emails all at once, which can trigger spam filters, we gradually ramp up your sending volume. This gradual approach, combined with positive email interactions, helps boost your email deliverability rates.
2. We deploy high-deliverability IP servers specific to each campaign.
3. The ‘Warmup’ feature replicates humanized email sending patterns, spintax, and smart replies.
4. By establishing a positive sender reputation and gradually increasing the number of sent emails, Smartlead minimizes the risk of your emails being flagged as spam. This way, you can be confident that your messages will consistently land in the primary inbox, increasing the likelihood of engagement and successful communication with your recipients.
Certainly, Smartlead is designed for seamless integration with a wide range of tools and platforms. Smartlead offers integration with HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Clay, Listkit, and more. You can leverage webhooks and APIs to integrate the tools you use. Try Now!
No, there are no limitations on the number of channels you can utilize with Smartlead. Our multi-channel infrastructure is designed to be limitless, allowing you to reach potential customers through multiple avenues without constraints.
This flexibility empowers you to diversify your cold email outreach efforts, connect with your audience through various communication channels, and increase your chances of conversion. Whether email, social media, SMS, or other communication methods, Smartlead's multi-channel capabilities ensure you can choose the channels that best align with your outreach strategy and business goals. This way, you can engage with your prospects effectively and maximize the impact of your email outreach.
Smartlead distinguishes itself from other cold email outreach software by focusing on limitless scalability and seamless integration. While many similar tools restrict your outreach capabilities, Smartlead offers a different approach.
Here's what makes us uniquely the best cold email software:
1. Unlimited Mailboxes: In contrast to platforms that limit mailbox usage, Smartlead provides unlimited mailboxes. This means you can expand your outreach without any arbitrary constraints.
2. Unique IP Servers: Smartlead offers unique IP servers for every campaign it sends out.
3. Sender Reputation Protection: Smartlead protects your sender reputation by auto-moving emails from spam folders to the primary inbox. This tool uses unique identifiers to cloak all warmup emails from being recognized by automation parsers.
4. Automated Warmup: Smartlead’s warmup functionality enhances your sender reputation and improves email deliverability by maintaining humanized email sending patterns and ramping up the sending volume.
5. Multi-Channel Emphasis: Smartlead places a strong emphasis on multi-channel outreach. You can reach your prospects where they are with the LinkedIn outreach feature. With Smartlead’s cold email automation software, you're always one step ahead in your outreach efforts, enjoying the freedom to scale your initiatives and seamlessly integrate with other tools—all while maintaining a focus on maximizing the impact of your outreach.
Ensuring the security of your data is Smartlead's utmost priority. We implement robust encryption methods and stringent security measures to guarantee the continuous protection of your information. Your data's safety is paramount to us, and we are always dedicated to upholding the highest standards of security.
Getting started with Smartlead is straightforward! Just head over to our sign-up page and follow our easy step-by-step guide. If you ever have any questions or need assistance, our round-the-clock support team is ready to help, standing by to provide you with any assistance you may require. Sign Up Now!
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