Your Guide to Writing the Perfect LinkedIn Cold Outreach Messages

It’s no secret that LinkedIn is a potent tool for sales professionals. With 830 million users across 58 million registered companies, the potential to reach new prospects is vast. 

Moreover, it’s an excellent alternative to contact individuals if their work email addresses aren’t publicly listed. No matter who you are, you can use LinkedIn’s instant messaging feature to have real-time conversations with thousands of potential leads.

But simply having a LinkedIn profile isn’t enough—you need to know how to use it effectively to generate leads and establish rapport with potential clients. And to do so, you need a playbook to help you write the perfect cold outreach messages, so you don’t waste your time and give off the wrong impression.

In this blog post, we’ll share tips on writing effective cold outreach messages on LinkedIn.

Tips for Writing the Perfect LinkedIn Outreach Message

Tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator have transformed the platform into a valuable tool for salespeople. But not everybody has this at their disposal. Nevertheless, anybody can level up their LinkedIn message game to open doors, establish rapport, and generate new leads.

Here are our top expert tips for your cold LinkedIn outreach strategy:

1) Sign up for LinkedIn Premium.

First, you have to be a LinkedIn Premium user or purchase InMail credits to message LinkedIn users with whom you’re not directly connected. Anybody can include a message when requesting a connection for free. However, those messages have a 300-character limit, and the recipient can quickly decline your connection request without reading your message. 

If you want to fully leverage LinkedIn’s power for sales outreach and scanning outbound leads, sign up for LinkedIn Premium to take advantage of the platform’s messaging capabilities.

2) Find the right person to message.

Once you’ve upgraded to LinkedIn Premium, look up companies that match your ideal customer profile. Then see if any decision-makers fit your target buyer persona. You can also use Boolean search strings on Google to find specific titles within companies, such as “marketing director” or “head of sales”.

Once you’ve found a lead, check if they’re active. A good indicator is whether they’ve recently updated their profile photo, headline, or summary. You can also check when they were last active by looking at the timestamp next to their name. For example, if it says “last active 14 hours ago,” that’s a good sign.

3) Write a personalised message.

Nobody wants to read a copy-pasted message. Instead, take the time to write a personalised message that’s relevant to the person you’re reaching out to. Here are some more tips on crafting your message to get you started on the right foot:

Find common ground or mutual connections.

Look at the person’s profile and see if you have any common ground you can mention in your message to establish a connection. Doing so will help break the ice and create rapport right away.

Moreover, you can scan their LinkedIn connections and see if they have mutual friends. If you’re from the same city or went to the same school, there’s bound to be at least one person that you are familiar with. Mention that in your message, and you’ll effectively remove most hesitation immediately.

Keep it short, sweet, and straightforward.

You don’t want to ramble on and on. Most of us don’t even read everything, as we only have a few minutes to spare in our day. You’ll deal with a similar behavior on LinkedIn, so it’s best that you keep your message brief and straight to the point.

Consider including a video.

Including a video in your outreach message can help you stand out from the crowd and establish a connection with your potential lead. Moreover, videos provide context that written messages lack. You can use body language and tone of voice to convey your enthusiasm and build rapport. 

A quick 30-second introduction video is all you need—anything longer might lose their interest.

Don’t sell right away. Take your time to converse.

The goal of your first message is to start a conversation—don’t include your entire sales pitch. After all, most LinkedIn marketing is B2B, and the sales cycle length is longer for B2B industries.

Introduce yourself and explain why you’re reaching out without sounding like a salesperson trying to make a buck. Generate some momentum with the conversation, keep the discussion active by asking valuable and easy questions, and use your gut to find the perfect time to seamlessly segue into your pitch.

Give them a solid reason to reply.

Your message should include a call to action (CTA) that encourages the person to reply. You want the CTA to be simple while showing the reader what they’ll get if they follow through. Moreover, we suggest that you include the CTA in the same message as your sales pitch to soften the blow of a “salesy” message and highlight your genuineness.

For example, you could say “If you’re interested in achieving X, I’m more than willing to take some time explaining everything you’d need to do” or “Is X something that you need? We’d love to hear your opinion”. Most industry experts love to subtly flaunt their knowledge and would appreciate someone showing real interest in learning from them.

4) Follow up, but don’t be too pushy.

Finally, if you don’t hear back from your lead after a few days, it’s perfectly fine to follow up. In fact, most people appreciate a little persistence—without being too pushy.

A simple, polite reminder will do the trick, especially if you remind them of what they stand to receive by conversing with you. Remember: people always need to know what’s in it for them. They have to see that you’re worth their time.

Writing the Best LinkedIn Outreach Messages

Now that you know how to write the perfect LinkedIn message, it’s time to put your skills into practice. Not everyone will respond to your messages, but don’t let that stop you from trying. Persistence is key when it comes to sales. 

With a little effort and some creativity, you should be able to start building valuable relationships with potential leads in no time. As the saying goes, “nothing ventured, nothing gained.” So go ahead and take the plunge—you never know what might happen unless you try.