Most prospects have tens (and even a whole lot) of pending LinkedIn invitations to answer — which signifies that after they lastly get to yours, it’s solely getting mere seconds of consideration. And in such a brief span of time, a single unhealthy line can condemn your invite to the “ignore” pile.
If you’d like your invitations to make all of it the best way to your prospects’ inboxes, by no means use these eight clunkers once more.
8 Widespread Kinds of LinkedIn Request Traces That Do not Work
1. “We’re each members of [LinkedIn group].”
You at all times need to discover frequent floor together with your prospect — so mentioning a LinkedIn group you each belong to looks as if a no brainer, proper?
Not essentially.
Being a part of the identical LinkedIn group is not a very particular draw. A consumer can belong to as much as 100 teams on the platform, and plenty of teams of a whole lot of 1000’s of members — making this line fairly uncompelling and leaving prospects questioning, “So what?”
What to Say As an alternative
You may nonetheless allude to LinkedIn teams when making requests on the platform, however be as locked-in as attainable — which means becoming a member of smaller, extra targeted, unique teams and connecting with prospects based mostly on their engagement inside them.
As an example, in case your prospect belongs to a bunch with fewer than 100 individuals, hone in on it. Request to affix, and when you‘ve been authorized, attempt to discover a remark or publish they’ve made. Then, reference that contribution in your opening line.
Going with, “I appreciated your useful [comment, post] on [topic] in [group name],” will yield higher outcomes than the imprecise line on the prime of this part.
2. “Would you be open to a fast cellphone name to debate how [product] will help you?”
A cellphone name is a fairly large ask to steer with — it‘s a basic case of “an excessive amount of, too quickly.” It’s essential develop some sort of rapport together with your prospect earlier than they’re prepared to provide you that sort of time and a spotlight.
Asking for a cellphone name in your LinkedIn invite is like attempting to greet a primary date with a kiss. For those who lead with this line, you would possibly wind up being denied and even reported for spam. Strike this phrase out of your LinkedIn vocabulary and have a little bit persistence.
What to Say As an alternative:
At this stage of the sport, you will have one easy aim: Persuade the prospect you’re price together with of their LinkedIn community. From there, you can begin to develop the sort of belief and rapport you must schedule a gathering, down the road.
Give them a purpose to just accept — and which may embody a little bit of flattery. Ask to maintain up with their profession. For instance, you would possibly write one thing to the impact of:
- “I am hoping to change into part of your community so I can observe your work in biotech.”
3. “I do know we don’t know one another.”
For those who‘ve by no means met somebody, odds are they know that too. There’s no level in mentioning the apparent — you do not need to waste treasured LinkedIn request actual property main with a undeniable fact that each of .
You‘re additionally giving them trigger to not settle for your invitation — when you’re a complete stranger, why ought to they belief you? Equally, you need to keep away from statements like “We’ve by no means met, however … ”or “Though we’ve by no means spoken earlier than … ”
What to Say As an alternative:
Quite than acknowledging you’ve by no means crossed paths together with your prospect, clarify the way you discovered their LinkedIn account within the first place. Not solely will this make your request appear much less random, it additionally offers you the chance to go with them. Once more, a little bit flattery often helps your probabilities.
Right here’s an instance:
- “I got here throughout your profile whereas on the lookout for skilled company communications specialists, and was impressed by how a lot you’ve achieved within the final eight years.”
4. “I noticed your profile and wished to attach.”
That is the obvious line you possibly can drop on a prospect. You seeing a prospect‘s profile and wanting to attach is actually the sequence that brings everybody to connection requests. For those who didn’t do each of these issues, you would not be sending a request within the first place.
It is also fully targeted on your actions and wishes. Prospects don‘t care about what you need — particularly when you’ve by no means spoken to you earlier than. You need to preserve issues prospect-centric when attempting to attach by way of LinkedIn, so this line is especially ineffective.
What to Say As an alternative:
Give attention to what the prospect desires, and which may not at all times be apparent — it would require some detective work. As an example, you would possibly need to perform a little digging on their Twitter to see in the event that they‘ve talked about any challenges they’re dealing with at work, or you may evaluate their firm’s profession web page to search out positions you may suggest a few of your connections for.
You may additionally use that perception that can assist you discover a related useful resource for them. A kind of traces may appear like this:
- “I observed BiggerPlanet is on the lookout for an information scientist — we simply crammed an analogous place at my firm, and our group discovered this hiring information extraordinarily helpful https://weblog.hubspot.com/gross sales/worst-linkedin-invitation-lines.”
5. “I’d like to discover how we will present worth to one another.”
In contrast to the final line, at the very least this one focuses on the mutual advantages of connecting. Nonetheless, it’s nonetheless extremely problematic. For those who’re not already clear on how one can assist the opposite particular person, then why attain out?
Moreover, this remark assumes the prospect has the time, vitality, and curiosity to sit down round determining the way you two will help one another. If that’s how gross sales labored, you’d already be at quota for all times.
What to Say As an alternative
Don’t wait to “discover” your choices: Present worth to the prospect beginning out of your first interplay and kick off the method your self. For those who’ve finished your homework and you continue to can’t consider any technique to improve their life, concentrate on creating rapport as an alternative.
Listed here are two examples:
- “I additionally hail from the good state of Nebraska — Huskers for the win! It might be nice to attach on right here.”
- “I observed you listed ‘curler derby’ beneath your pursuits — that’s fairly darn cool. How true-to-life was the film ‘Whip It’?”
6. “I’d like to have you ever be a part of my webinar. Register right here: https://weblog.hubspot.com/gross sales/worst-linkedin-invitation-lines.”
Traces like this are far too self-serving — you’re clearly making an attempt to drive webinar visitors and get the prospect into your funnel with out understanding if they might truly profit from the dialogue.
Second, it begins with “I’d love … ” Databox CEO and former HubSpot VP of Gross sales Pete Caputa advises reps to chop “I’d love,” “I’d like,” or “I need” from their vocabulary. As he places it, “Who cares what you need? Your prospects do not care about you. They care about themselves, their wants, and their very own agenda.”
Harsh, however true.
What to Say As an alternative
Fixing this invitation killer is straightforward: Spotlight it and press “Delete.” When you’ve linked with a prospect and familiarized your self with their distinctive scenario, pursuits, and potential ache factors, then — and solely then — it is best to ship the hyperlink to a webinar you’re positive is related to them.
For those who’re tempted to make use of “I’d love … ” in a distinct part of your message, Caputa recommends swapping this expression out for “Would you be concerned about … ?”
7. “You’ve obtained an ideal profile — let’s join!”
Sadly, reps throw this meaningless line into their connection requests on a regular basis. Flattery may be efficient when attempting to attach with prospects — nevertheless it must be extra particular. This line may apply to nearly anybody on LinkedIn.
What constitutes a “nice” profile? And why is it a superb purpose to attach?
The world won’t ever know — so please, don’t embody this one in your invite.
What to Say As an alternative:
Once more, reward is persuasive when it’s each particular — and much more when it is real. With that in thoughts, search for one thing you actually admire concerning the prospect’s profession, record of achievements, and/or firm.
To provide you an concept, you would possibly write: “I began utilizing the HubSpot CRM a month in the past, and I’m by no means going again. It’s highly effective however straightforward to make use of — thanks for constructing a unbelievable product!”
For those who wished to commend the prospect themselves, strive one thing like, “Three promotions in six years? You’re on hearth.”
8. “I’d like so as to add you to my skilled community on LinkedIn.”
This phrase is LinkedIn’s recommended default message if you request to attach with any person -— and in case your prospect sees it, they’ll know you made precisely zero effort to customise your outreach.
What to Say As an alternative:
Nearly something is healthier than this — apart from the seven traces above, in fact. Reference how the prospect, touch upon a chunk of content material they’ve posted, and add a substantive little bit of worth.
As soon as you’ve got changed these cringe-inducing traces out of your requests, prospects might be a lot likelier to click on “settle for.” After that, you possibly can slide into their InMail like a professional.
