Had a pretty good example of “how not to do LinkedIn right” this week, and it perfectly illustrates why most salespeople are failing miserably at LinkedIn prospecting.
You’ve probably experienced this yourself. You accept a connection request from someone who seems professional enough, only to be immediately bombarded with a hard-sell message that makes you want to hit that “block” button faster than you can say “unsubscribe.”
This particular interaction followed the all-too-familiar pattern. First came the connection request from a “business coach” whose profile tagline practically screamed “I’M GOING TO SELL YOU SOMETHING!” I accepted anyway, knowing full well what was coming next.
And sure enough, within minutes, my inbox was graced with three lengthy paragraphs about how she could catapult me onto the biggest speaking stages and into all the best magazines – if only I’d join her exclusive group call. Of course, she claimed to know I’d be perfect for her program based on my profile.
This time, I decided to test her. I responded with a simple question: “Tell me what specifically you have learned about me that makes me a good candidate for your program.”
Her reply began with the enthusiastic “I’m glad you asked!” followed by more generic “leaders like you” nonsense that could have been sent to literally anyone. When I didn’t respond, three more messages arrived in quick succession, each more desperate than the last, urging me to claim one of the “limited spots” in her coaching call.
Here’s the fundamental problem: LinkedIn is not a platform for mass, impersonal prospecting. It’s a relationship-building network that might – eventually – lead to business opportunities. The keyword here is “eventually.”
The best LinkedIn networkers – those that succeed at LinkedIn prospecting – understand this is a slow-play strategy. It’s about establishing genuine connections, providing value, and building trust over time. It’s not about sending hundreds of cookie-cutter messages hoping for that 1% response rate like you might with direct mail.
What many salespeople fail to grasp is that LinkedIn operates on a different timeline and with different expectations than other sales channels. When you treat LinkedIn connections like names on a cold call list, you’re not just being ineffective – you’re actively damaging your reputation and closing doors that might have opened later.
So what does effective LinkedIn networking actually look like? Here are the principles I follow and teach:
- Research before connecting. Take five minutes to actually read someone’s profile, posts, and comments. Find something specific that resonates with you.
- Make your connection request personal. Reference that specific thing you noticed. “I enjoyed your thoughts on sales enablement in your recent post” shows you’re not just randomly connecting.
- Don’t sell in your first message – or your second or third. Build the relationship first. Comment thoughtfully on their posts. Share relevant content that might interest them.
- When you do reach out directly, make it about them, not you. Ask questions about their business challenges. Offer insights without expectation.
- Provide value consistently before ever asking for anything in return. This might mean sharing their content, introducing them to others in your network, or offering genuine advice.
The coach who approached me broke every one of these rules. She saw me as nothing more than a potential commission, not as a professional with specific needs and interests. And because of her approach, she’s now blocked – meaning she’ll never have the opportunity to work with me, even if by some miracle she did have the perfect solution for my business.
Too many salespeople view LinkedIn as a numbers game, when it’s actually a relationship game. Yes, prospecting on LinkedIn can absolutely work – I do it successfully myself, and so do the people that I train. But it requires patience, personalization, and a genuine interest in the people you’re connecting with.
Remember, when someone accepts your connection request, they’re not saying “sell to me” – they’re saying “let’s start a conversation.” Honor that invitation, and you’ll find LinkedIn can become one of your most powerful business development tools.
So, how many hard-sell prospecting messages do you get per week? And more importantly, what are you doing to ensure you’re not the person sending them?
