How to effectively send LinkedIn connection requests effectively is an Art and Science and that’s we want to discuss with you. Just imagine you open your LinkedIn profile on your phone or on your laptop and you see a couple of requests from people stating “I would really love to connect with you”. Among the people who have sent you this request, there will be only a handful of people whom you really know and remember. So, the very first thing that you will start thinking is “who are these people sending you the connection request”, “Are they business associates, ex-colleagues, long forgotten ex-alumni, someone whom you met somewhere or some more salespeople”. In the meanwhile, you might have to rush through your routine. The thing that happens is you get busy, you hate brainstorming about random connections and forget about it. And the LinkedIn connection request sent by those people goes unnoticed. To overcome such situations, you must use LinkedIn Connection Request message templates that will not only help you create messages according to your needs , but also help you to stay connected with people.
So, here we will be discussing what not to do and what to do while sending LinkedIn connection requests.
What Not To Do While Sending The LinkedIn Connection Request Message
Most of the time while sending LinkedIn connection request the person just says “I would love to get in touch with you” but if they are writing a template for the connection request, people generally tend to write a lot about themselves and what they are doing. This practice should be avoided.
Here is a list of what not to do while sending a LinkedIn connection request
- Do not talk a lot about yourself
- Do not pitch someone indirectly
- Do not create the impression of selling something
Do not talk a lot about yourself
Here is an example of it and how it will not work
Hello ABC,
I am a research scientist and have worked with xyz firms and have X years of experience and would love to connect with you.
You may feel that there is nothing wrong with this format. But, the person might not like it & may not approve your request.
Do not pitch someone indirectly
Let’s take another example:
Hello ABC,
I am so and so. I would like to add you to my network of clients and invite you as a speaker to help you expand your business and work with you.
But, this may not work and the person is going to feel that you are indirectly trying to pitch him in a negative manner. Meaning it is totally rude to say to help you expand your business. Being an experienced speaker the person has already expanded his business and who would not like to expand further.
Do not create the impression that you are trying to sell something
There were times that people used to accept such request for building connections. But, now the recipients are smart enough to understand that you are using them as a bait. For example
Hello ABC,
I have gone through your profile and would like to connect with you for business purpose
The reply you will get is your request may not be accepted. The reason behind this being the person will feel that 99 percent you have not gone through his profile and are using a blatant white lie. And the moment the request is accepted they will get some or the other offer to be sold to them.
What To Do For The LinkedIn Connection Request Message
Here are few tips to get your LinkedIn connection request approved and start a conversation. These tips are as follows:
- Personalize the invitation
- Focus and flatter the invitee
- No spamming
- Share your background
- The Part on good terms
- Make your question unbiased
Personalize the invitation
LinkedIn profile requests are direct requests and hence you should make sure that you write a personalized message for the invitation. Make sure you mention the name of the person and spell it correctly. Also, remind the person where he or she met you and the reason you would like to get in touch with him. This will increase the chances of your request being approved by the person. Also, it will also leave an open end for future conversation
Focus and flatter the invitee
Make sure that instead of talking about you and your achievements in the invitation, you study the person’s profile and praise his or her achievements. When you make an effort to praise their achievements and the work they are doing, it shows that you made a serious effort to study their profile. It also shows that you are really keen on having him or her on your contact list.
No spamming
Most of the time people use particular templates to send out mass emails on LinkedIn. This may not be a good idea to get in touch with. Try and send personalized messages to each and every contact. The very first line or the beginning of the email should clarify that you have made a good study on the prospect whom you are sending the message. Some prospect might find it offensive if they receive a mass email message and may put you under the category of a spammer.
Share your background
When you write down the message for sending an invite for LinkedIn connection, make sure you mention a little bit about your career and professional work before you bid goodbye to the invitee. This will help the other person to know you better professionally and to understand you better. This will also let the person know why you want to get connected with him or her. Also, you can find out something in common between you and your connection. You may get this information from the person’s information given on the profile. Finding out something in common between the two profile, the connectee may feel more inclined to accept your invitation.
The part on good terms
You have made it so far as to frame a good invitation. Taken care to send it carefully to the connectee. So in order to make a perfect impression, you may want to end your invitation on a good note. You should sign-off your invitation with a warm thank you or some final positive remarks about the person’s work and the company that they are working with. This may create a good impression on the other person’s mind and he or she may accept the LinkedIn invitation.
Make your question unbiased
If you have to ask a question in the invitation that you have sent to someone, then try that you don’t ask questions that only serve your interest. The question that you ask should be totally unbiased. If the person feels that you are asking the question to lead them to reply yes to your invitation, the invitee might get offended and not respond to your question. Instead if necessary keep the question unbiased, in a way that you are taking the other person’s opinion.
Here Are a Few LinkedIn Connection Request Message Templates
We will discuss a few different formats of the templates that you can use to send the different type of invitations on LinkedIn. Here is how you can write personalized LinkedIn invitations for various people
LinkedIn Invitation template For a colleague
When you are working in a small organization you know most of the employees. Writing LinkedIn invitation for a colleague is such case is a very easy matter. But, when you are working in a big organization and you want to connect with some employee whom you do not know. Then what to do. Here is the example for it
Hi XYZ,
I am really impressed with your work. I have heard really good things about you and how hard working you are. You are doing a great job. I am very eager and hope to work with you soon.
All the best,
ABC
LinkedIn Invitation template For A new co-worker
When a new employee enters the office, it is not easy for the new employee to adjust in the atmosphere. So, if the office staff is warm towards the employee, then the employee can adjust very easily. When connecting with new employees on LinkedIn, make sure that you say some good things about the work they have done in the past or what they are doing within the company. And make sure that you mention that you are looking forward to meet the new employee soon and work with him or her.
Hello XYZ,
I am so happy to have you on our team. You have done a great job in the past on your projects. I am really excited to work with you in our team. Do let me know if you need any help.
All the best,
ABC
LinkedIn Invitation template For a former co-worker
While sending the LinkedIn invitation to former co-workers, you usually tend to think that he or she remembers you easily. But, this may not be the fact. The person might have forgotten you. So, first of all, remind the person when and where you used to work with him or her. Then build up the further connection. The best example for this is
Hi ABC,
It was a pleasure working with you at so and so organization. I had been working in the organization from year XXXX to year XXXX. It was a great opportunity working with you. I appreciate the great work you are doing with your current company right now. Let us meet over coffee some day and discuss the opportunity.
All the best,
ABC
LinkedIn Invitation template For Someone you met casually
Suppose you met someone at a friends place and would like to connect with that person professionally. You can use a more casual tone, but make sure that you do not become too casual or do not sound too formal. You can ask to meet with that person.
Hello XYZ,
It was a pleasure meeting you at so and so dinner party. We had a great conversation. I was really impressed by the work that you are doing with so and so company and would like to know in detail about it. Let us find out some time and meet over coffee.
Thanks,
ABC.
LinkedIn Invitation template For the Unknown person you want to work with
When you want to work with some unknown person. Then while connecting on LinkedIn make sure that you praise the work that he or she is doing and make clear why you want to connect with that person. Also, give a detailed information on the work that you are doing and also explain the help that you want from that particular person. Here is an example of it
Hi ABC,
I have gone through your profile and love the work that you are doing and you have done in the past. I am doing on so and so work and have worked on a lot more projects. I am looking to work with the person having same kind of background as yours and would like to work with you. So, let us have a conversation and see if we can work something out together.
Thanks,
XYZ
How to contact a recruiter on LinkedIn?
When you want to send a LinkedIn invitation to a recruiter then one thing you should keep in mind that the recruiters have seen a lot of LinkedIn invitations. So, you should have something extraordinary or interesting in your LinkedIn invitation or in your profile. First of all make sure that when you send the LinkedIn invitation to any recruiter, find some common background that you have with the recruiter. Maybe you are in the same LinkedIn group or you are in the same kind of field that the recruiter is working in and have some experience in the field. Make sure you mention your strengths in the field when you send a LinkedIn invitation to the recruiter. Here is an example of it
Hi XYZ,
I have seen that you are working in the pharma sector. I am also working in the pharma sector and have experience of about 7 years. Whenever you have time, I would like to talk with you, if my experience will make me a potential candidate for any openings with you.
Thanks,
ABC.
LinkedIn invitation for someone you met at a networking event
When you have met someone at a networking event and you feel that you should be in contact with that person, then definitely try to connect with that person on LinkedIn. But, that person might have met so many people in so many events and may not remember. So, try to provide a specific reminder of the event and the particular conversation you had with that person. Here is an example of it
Hi ABC,
It was great meeting you at the networking tech conference in Ahmedabad. I loved the project that you are working on and really enjoyed the entrepreneurial journey that you shared. I am really interested in the product that you are developing and would like to talk more about it.
All the best,
XYZ.
Sending LinkedIn invitation to an Alumni
When you are sending a LinkedIn invitation to an alumnus of your school or college, it becomes very easy since it establishes a common ground of connection. You can remind him or her of the school or college days. Introduce yourself with some background of the work that you are doing. Tell him the year that you were studying in the same school or college. Let him know the purpose, why you want to connect with him. Here is the example of it
Hello ABC,
I have noticed you graduated from the same university that I graduated from. I am working in a similar kind of field like you. You have achieved a lot in the field and would like to have your expert guidance. Maybe we could meet up and discuss the possibility.
Thanks,
XYZ.
So, here are a few examples of how to write good LinkedIn invitations. You may use it to write LinkedIn invitations as per your need. Kindly share which template is the best and which template you are going to use in your next conversion over LinkedIn.
