Most sellers approach LinkedIn outreach the same way they’d approach cold calling or email blasts.
It doesn’t work.
LinkedIn is a different environment with different rules, and failing to understand that is why so many get poor results.
LinkedIn Is a Short Attention Span Space
Many sellers try to explain what they do and convince people they should agree to a call.
They write long messages packed with information about their company, their solution, and why the prospect should care.
The prospect zones out after the first line and never replies.
Messages have to be short. They have to hook interest quickly.
Over-explaining kills your response rate before you’ve even had a chance.
The Success of Outreach Is Determined Before You Send a Message
Here’s what most sellers don’t realise: your outreach results are largely decided before you even hit send.
What are you doing to build familiarity before you reach out? Or are you just diving in cold?
Data shows people are 3x more likely to respond to you if you’ve had 4-5 interactions previously.
That means engaging with their content, showing up in their world, being a familiar name before you ask for anything.
If your first interaction is a pitch, you’re starting from zero trust. And zero trust means zero replies.
Are You Focused on Your Goal or Their Problem?
Most outreach messages lead with what the seller wants. “I’d love to show you how we can help.” “I’d like to book 15 minutes to discuss.” “Can I send you some information?”
Nobody cares what you want.
If you lead with what you gain, they don’t care. If you lead with a problem they’re experiencing, you’ve got their attention.
The shift is simple but most sellers never make it. Stop talking about your solution. Start talking about their situation.
You’re Using InMail Instead of the Inbox
Many sellers rely on InMail because it lets them message people they’re not connected with.
But InMail shows up differently in the prospect’s inbox.
It has that “InMail” label which instantly signals “this is advertising” or “this is a salesperson.”
When you connect first and message through the regular inbox, that label disappears.
Your message looks like a normal conversation, not a sponsored pitch.
It’s a small difference that makes a big impact on response rates.
Automation Is Often Just Automating Failure
Sellers often jump to automate their outreach.
Sometimes it’s fear of rejection. Sometimes it’s a belief that volume is the answer.
Either way, AI and automation tools are often just automating failure at scale.
On LinkedIn, the opposite is true.
The more personal you go, the more human you make it, the higher the response. High touch, low volume outreach beats high volume, generic messaging every time.
Here’s an example.
One of the sales teams I recently trained were getting a 0.47% response rate to automated outreach, sending 75 messages per day. The messages were generic, didn’t hit any pain points, just promotional content with some big name drops.
We stopped it completely. We switched to very personal, impossible-to-automate messaging. Their response rate went to 8%.
Even with the drop in volume, they’re booking more calls than before.
Practical Tips to Improve Your LinkedIn Outreach
- Send messages at the right times. The optimum windows are 7am to 8:30am, 12pm to 3pm, and 7pm to 9pm. Messages sent between 9am and 12pm are likely to be seen but forgotten in the busyness of the day.
- Treat your first line like a hook. The first line of your DM shows up in notifications and previews. If it doesn’t grab attention, your message won’t get opened.
- Keep it short and informal. Messages under 4 sentences with an informal tone get the most replies. Write like you’re texting a colleague, not drafting a business proposal.
- Read your messages out loud. If you wouldn’t say it in person, don’t send it. This simple test catches most of the awkward, overly formal, or pushy language that kills response rates.
- Be creative with format. Voice notes and videos outperform text messages. They’re harder to ignore and feel more personal.
- Protect your sending reputation. If you send too many DMs with low response rates, LinkedIn’s spam filters will start blocking your messages. Prospects will see a spam warning that obscures your message. Quality matters more than quantity.
- Your only goal in message one is to get a reply. People rarely agree to a call from the first DM. Stop asking for calls in your opening message. Start a conversation first.
The Human Approach Wins
LinkedIn rewards relevance and penalises spam.
The platform is designed for relationship building, not mass marketing.
Sellers who treat it like a numbers game will always struggle.
Sellers who take the time to be relevant, build familiarity, and write messages that actually speak to the prospect’s situation will consistently outperform.
Struggling with Outreach? 2 ways we can help.
- Check out workshops on Social Selling & Sales Navigator
- Get bespoke training for your team – check out our workshops