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.
In order for you your invitations to make all of it the way in which to your prospects’ inboxes, by no means use these eight clunkers once more.
1. “We’re each members of [LinkedIn group].”
You at all times wish to discover widespread 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 person can belong to as much as 100 teams on the platform, and lots of teams of a whole lot of hundreds of members — making this line fairly uncompelling and leaving prospects questioning, “So what?”
What to Say As a substitute
You’ll be able to nonetheless allude to LinkedIn teams when making requests on the platform, however be as locked-in as doable — meaning becoming a member of smaller, extra targeted, unique teams and connecting with prospects primarily based on their engagement inside them.
For example, in case your prospect belongs to a gaggle with fewer than 100 folks, hone in on it. Request to affix, and when you‘ve been accepted, attempt to discover a remark or put up 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] can assist you?”
A cellphone name is a reasonably large ask to guide with — it‘s a basic case of “an excessive amount of, too quickly.” You might want to develop some sort of rapport together with your prospect earlier than they’re prepared to present you that sort of time and a spotlight.
Asking for a cellphone name in your LinkedIn invite is like making an attempt to greet a primary date with a kiss. If you happen to lead with this line, you may wind up being denied and even reported for spam. Strike this phrase out of your LinkedIn vocabulary and have slightly endurance.
What to Say As a substitute:
At this stage of the sport, you’ve one easy objective: Persuade the prospect you’re value together with of their LinkedIn community. From there, you can begin to develop the sort of belief and rapport it’s worthwhile to 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 may write one thing to the impact of:
- “I am hoping to change into part of your community so I can comply with your work in biotech.”
3. “I do know we don’t know one another.”
If you happen to‘ve by no means met somebody, odds are they know that too. There’s no level in mentioning the plain — you do not wish to waste treasured LinkedIn request actual property main with a proven fact that each of you recognize.
You‘re additionally giving them trigger to not settle for your invitation — for those who’re a complete stranger, why ought to they belief you? Equally, you wish to steer clear of statements like “We’ve by no means met, however … ”or “Though we’ve by no means spoken earlier than … ”
What to Say As a substitute:
Relatively 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, slightly flattery normally helps your possibilities.
Right here’s an instance:
- “I got here throughout your profile whereas searching 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 may drop on a prospect. You seeing a prospect‘s profile and wanting to attach is actually the sequence that brings everybody to connection requests. If you happen to didn’t do each of these issues, you would not be sending a request within the first place.
It is also utterly targeted on your actions and needs. Prospects don‘t care about what you need — particularly for those who’ve by no means spoken to you earlier than. You wish to preserve issues prospect-centric when making an attempt to attach by way of LinkedIn, so this line is especially ineffective.
What to Say As a substitute:
Give attention to what the prospect desires, and which may not at all times be apparent — it’d require some detective work. For example, you may wish to do some digging on their Twitter to see in the event that they‘ve talked about any challenges they’re dealing with at work, or you could possibly evaluate their firm’s profession web page to search out positions you could possibly advocate a few of your connections for.
You possibly can additionally use that perception that can assist you discover a related useful resource for them. A type of traces might appear to be this:
- “I seen BiggerPlanet is searching for an information scientist — we simply crammed an identical place at my firm, and our crew discovered this hiring information extraordinarily helpful https://weblog.hubspot.com/gross sales/worst-linkedin-invitation-lines.”
5. “I’d like to discover how we are able to present worth to one another.”
In contrast to the final line, at the least this one focuses on the mutual advantages of connecting. Nevertheless, it’s nonetheless extremely problematic. If you happen to’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 take a seat round determining the way you two can assist one another. If that’s how gross sales labored, you’d already be at quota for all times.
What to Say As a substitute
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. If you happen to’ve completed your homework and you continue to can’t consider any approach to improve their life, give attention to creating rapport as a substitute.
Listed below 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 seen you listed ‘curler derby’ underneath 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.”
Strains like this are far too self-serving — you’re clearly trying to drive webinar site visitors and get the prospect into your funnel with out understanding if they might really 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 a substitute
Fixing this invitation killer is simple: 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 — you need to ship the hyperlink to a webinar you’re positive is related to them.
If you happen to’re tempted to make use of “I’d love … ” in a unique part of your message, Caputa recommends swapping this expression out for “Would you be fascinated about … ?”
7. “You’ve received an awesome profile — let’s join!”
Sadly, reps throw this meaningless line into their connection requests on a regular basis. Flattery might be efficient when making an attempt to attach with prospects — nevertheless it must be extra particular. This line might apply to nearly anybody on LinkedIn.
What constitutes a “nice” profile? And why is it purpose to attach?
The world won’t ever know — so please, don’t embody this one in your invite.
What to Say As a substitute:
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 really admire in regards to the prospect’s profession, checklist of achievements, and/or firm.
To offer you an concept, you may 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!”
If you happen to 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 steered default message whenever 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 a substitute:
Nearly something is healthier than this — apart from the seven traces above, after all. Reference how you recognize the prospect, touch upon a bit of content material they’ve posted, and add a substantive little bit of worth.
As soon as you have changed these cringe-inducing traces out of your requests, prospects might be a lot likelier to click on “settle for.” After that, you may slide into their InMail like a professional.
