A connection request gives you roughly three hundred characters. Use them for relevance, not for a pitch. The request has one job: get accepted.
Template: shared context
Hi First Name, noticed we both follow the logistics space. I work with teams on supplier data and pipeline. Happy to connect.
Template: referenced content
Hi First Name, your post on warehouse automation was genuinely useful. I build data tools for that sector. Sending a connection in case it is ever helpful.
Template: hiring signal
Hi First Name, saw you are hiring an SDR. I help teams like yours fill the top of the funnel. Happy to connect.
Template: mutual connection
Hi First Name, we both know Jane Smith and work in the same space. Would be good to connect.
The follow-up that starts the conversation
After acceptance, wait a day and send one short message. Do not pitch.
Thanks for connecting, First Name. Not pitching anything — curious what the team is focused on this quarter. If pipeline is on the list, I can put together a free sample of your ideal prospects.
This works because it asks a genuine question and offers something before asking for anything.
Rules that protect your account
- No links inside the connection request
- No pitch inside the connection request
- Keep requests under twenty to twenty five per day
- Personalise the first five words so it never looks templated
- Do not send a request and a message simultaneously
What to do when someone does not accept
Nothing. Do not send a second request. Move on and revisit in six months if their situation may have changed. Chasing a declined or ignored request is the fastest way to get reported.
Track acceptance by template
Log which template each prospect received and measure acceptance rate per template. Over a few hundred requests, clear winners emerge, and those winners usually share one trait: they ask for nothing.