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

Common mistakes

Most rejections trace back to the same handful of habits.

  • Opening with a compliment that could have been sent to anyone.
  • Naming a product in the first two lines.
  • Asking for a call before any conversation has happened.
  • Sending the request and the pitch in the same breath.

None of these are fatal on their own, but together they mark the account as a broadcast channel rather than a person.

What to measure

Track acceptance rate per template and, more importantly, the reply rate after acceptance. A template that gets accepted but never sparks a conversation is simply a slower rejection. Log the date of each request and follow-up so nothing slips through, and review the numbers every few weeks rather than every day, because small samples mislead.

A short checklist

Before sending, confirm the note is under the character limit, contains no link, and reads naturally if the recipient opens it on a phone. After acceptance, wait a full day, then send the single follow-up. Keep a running note of which template each prospect received so the winners are obvious within a few hundred requests. For a larger view of the channel, read LinkedIn Sales Navigator prospecting and compare it with cold email versus LinkedIn outreach.

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.