LinkedIn Outreach 101: 7 Tips to Get More Leads [+ 3 Free Templates]

Hey there!

Word’s out you’ve decided to focus on LinkedIn outreach to scale your business quickly.

Good for you!

Having a well-thought-out LinkedIn outreach plan will make sure you’re not wasting.

💥Time 

💥Cash

💥Resources

By chasing the wrong kind of prospects. Or looking for leads in the wrong places.

Sounds like a lot, right?

Don’t worry. 

In fact, not so long ago, I was looking for ways to get more leads, and today, after years of trial and error -

I’ve worked with 30+ lead generation agencies while successfully running a LinkedIn lead generation agency and SaaS (Salesrobot) of my own.

But hey, I’m not saying this to brag about my achievements. Ok, maybe a little bit. 

But the most important reason is to show you that you can achieve all this and more!

Skip this guide, and you’ll miss out on how to 

✅ Approach someone on LinkedIn so that they really listen to you 

✅Create the perfect LinkedIn outreach strategy to bring in the warm leads that actually pay you.

Stick around as we 

Figure out why LinkedIn outreach is the bread and butter of your business.

Look at hacks for LinkedIn outreach automation that can turn your efforts into a well-oiled lead-gen machine.

Give away free LinkedIn Outreach templates. No. Not the done-to-death ones. I'm talking 3 LinkedIn outreach templates with a whopping 32%+ response rate. 

Learn how to perfect LinkedIn outreach so that leads keep pouring in.

Discuss the best way to do LinkedIn outreach without getting banned.

Now, I am about to spill what took me years to perfect. And I promise it won’t be like a long, boring monologue. 

So pour yourself a cup of coffee, sit back, and let’s get started!

What is LinkedIn outreach?

LinkedIn outreach is a smart way to connect with people who share the same interests as you and use that connection to grow your business. 

Imagine LinkedIn as a booming neighborhood you’ve just moved to. 

Here, your neighbors can help you score new leads, referrals, and all the good stuff. 

But only if you play your cards right. 

I mean, you can’t just randomly intrude into their lives and start asking for favors, can you? 

You need to make a good impression and create lasting connections 🤌

Which brings us to the next section.

Why is LinkedIn outreach important for your business?

LinkedIn stands out from other social media channels as it focuses mainly on connecting professionals. 

Whether you want to make new connections in your industry, find potential clients, or get a job interview, LinkedIn is the perfect place to make your career dreams come true.

And reaching out to people on LinkedIn is better than other methods like posting or running ads because it provides...

✅laser-focused targeting, 

✅increased engagement opportunities, 

✅better brand awareness 

✅better networking chances with key decision-makers in the industry

All these factors come together to increase your chances of generating high-quality leads.

Wondering how exactly you should go about it? Relax, there’s more on that in the next section.

What are the different ways you can reach out on LinkedIn?

Now that you’ve got a fair understanding of what LinkedIn outreach is and why it is crucial for your business, let's chat about the 4 ways you can reach out to someone.

1. LinkedIn connection request:

LinkedIn will not let you send a direct message to your 2nd and 3rd-degree connections, you have to send them a connection request first. 

You can include a small note telling the person why you want to connect with them. And guess what? LinkedIn gives you only 300 characters to write this note, so you should make good use of it.

2. Direct Messages:

Did your connection request get accepted? Awesome!

Now that they’ve become your 1st-degree connections, you’ll finally be able to Direct Message them. 

When you send them your first cold Direct Message, it will appear under “Focused” section in their LinkedIn inbox.

Connection requests rejected? Cheer up. 

There are still other ways to reach out. And that leads us to the next point.

3. InMail

LinkedIn InMail is a premium feature, which means you need to have a Premium Plan to access it. 

But…there is a way around it, and it’s this:

Even if you are on a free plan, you can send InMails to Premium Profiles who have enabled their account to receive InMails from anyone.

And it’s quite easy to identify those profiles as well.

What’s the benefit of using InMail? 

Well, InMails go directly to your prospect’s LinkedIn inbox, where people are more likely to read your message compared to connection requests

Now, since you need to make those InMails count, here are some tried and tested  LinkedIn cold message templates that increase response up to 5X!

4.  Message Requests

The biggest advantage of being in a LinkedIn Group or Event is that you can send messages to all the people who are in the same Group/Event as you.

However, instead of the “Focused” list where your Direct Messages land, these message requests will arrive in your prospect's “Other” list, where they might get lost amidst all the spam. 

But that’s not a big deal and I’ll tell you why soon.

Ok, now that we know all about the different ways of reaching out on LinkedIn, we need to work on a foolproof strategy to bag more leads, and this brings us to…

Top 9 tips for the perfect LinkedIn outreach strategy [To Get More Leads!]

Outreach, as you’ve already guessed by now, isn’t about shooting impromptu messages to random people. There’s a lot of planning that goes into it. 

If you’d like to learn more about how to perfect your outreach strategy, here are 10 sure-shot tips to bag more leads. 

Tip #1: Make First Impressions Count.

Your LinkedIn profile is the first thing your prospects are going to see. So,

✅If your profile is incomplete, complete it.

✅If your profile picture is shabby, change it to a well-lit, professional-looking one.

✅If your profile is missing a summary and headline, then add it to make your best qualities stand out. 

Want to know more?

We recently covered 40+ tips on creating the perfect LinkedIn profile.

Too pressed for time?

You can use our free tool to create a summary and a headline for you.

Tip #2: Identify your prospects.

Remember how we spoke of LinkedIn as a booming neighborhood?

Just like an actual neighborhood, LinkedIn also has all sorts of people with all kinds of interests. 

Some like loud music, and some complain if your music is too loud. See?

So, if you’re selling earplugs, you shouldn’t be selling to the guy with the loudspeakers. You need his next-door neighbor. 

That’s your ICP. (Ideal Customer)

But I know what you’re thinking: 

“All this is neighborhood talk, and I’m not even selling earplugs!”

Well, the rules are pretty similar when it comes to LinkedIn outreach, as well. 

Reaching the right audience is crucial, and there are some excellent tools to help you along the way.

Let’s take Sales Navigator, for instance. 

Sales Navigator helps you filter leads through various search filters so that you get a list of people who are most likely to turn into potential clients.

When you club it together with a LinkedIn automation tool like Salesrobot, there’s a good chance your inbox will buzz with prospects asking you to share more about your services.

You can do this in less than 7 minutes, saving you hours and perhaps a couple of migraines.

Like to know how?

Simple.

Just go to LinkedIn and search for your target lead using LinkedIn Search or LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and you’ll find a list of your prospects.

For example, Search for Founder and use the filter to refine your result according to location, company, industry, etc., as shown below. 

But this is just half the battle. We still have to figure out how to start connecting with them

❌Without spending hours looking for leads.

❌Without copy-pasting the same old boring message.

❌Without writing personalized message sequences manually, 

❌Without even keeping a tab on follow-ups.

And this is precisely where Salesrobot can step in.

Salesrobot automatically reaches out and connects with 2500+ prospects using just the SalesNav or a LinkedIn Search URL in a completely safe way.

It uses AI to create LinkedIn campaigns automatically and send out super personalized cold messages based on your prospect’s pain points.

Once a prospect replies, the tool hands over the conversation to you. 

So you get to do all the creative work, and Salesrobot does the grunge work!

Sounds interesting? 

Here’s my latest video to walk you through it:

https://video.drift.com/v/abjXoJvMD3BHQ2NKMBpTeyODoUmz6ssjmtev8GSCHK1ZQ/?bookMeeting=true

Tip #3: Go slow with your connection requests.

I understand the urge to send hundreds of connection requests as soon as possible. But that’s going to be a disaster.

Especially if you’re doing it on your own or using an unsafe automation tool.

Why?

Excellent question.

You see, LinkedIn tracks your account for any suspicious activity.

And when that happens, well, let’s just say your account can get into all sorts of trouble. 

It can get flagged, restricted, or worse - banned!

Well, there are ways to bypass LinkedIn's limitations, but more on that later. 

For now, here’s how many requests you should be sending per day when you’re starting out on Linkedin.

• 10 requests on days 1 to 3
• 15 requests on days 4 to 6
• 20 requests on days 7 to 9
• 25 requests on days 10 to 12

And so on, just remember that LinkedIn doesn't let you send more than 100 connection requests per week.

As you crank up your requests, keep sight of the pending ones. 

Also, keep an eye on the acceptance rate. If it's below 40%, then you need to ease up a little. 

If all this seems like a bit much to do on your own, then, as always, there’s Salesrobot to the rescue! 

You can use it to warm up your account before you start sending out requests to keep it out of LinkedIn’s radar.

To do that, head over to

Settings > Configuration > Warm Up,

Click “Warm up” and you'll spot two toggle options. Enable both.

• Auto Accept: Enabling this will make the bot accept all connection requests on your behalf.
• Auto Connect: This makes your bot send connection requests to users suggested by LinkedIn based on your network's activities while keeping your account safe.

Why do these settings matter? 

Simple—it makes your LinkedIn activities look more human-like and takes you off LinkedIn’s radar. 

Tip #4: Automate lead-gen campaigns.

24 hours seems too short a time to achieve all your LinkedIn outreach goals?

Let AI automate your online lead gen campaigns to free up your time and bring you quicker results. 

And speaking of, it takes less than 3 minutes on Salesrobot to do just that.

Salesrobot will help you reach out to over 200 prospects every day with hyper-personalized messages,  likes, and insightful comments without putting your account at any risk. 

The campaign even pauses when someone responds, allowing you to step in and engage in meaningful conversations. 

All this, coupled with smart follow-ups, shoots the acceptance rate to more than 40%

Intrigued, but don’t want to go all in?

I get it, and that’s why we offer a 14-day FREE trial without asking for your credit card or phone number.

Tip #5: Get your cold outreach message sorted.

Cold messaging on LinkedIn can be a bit tricky, you need to

• track down leads and then 
• find the right words to message people you’ve never interacted with before.
  

Now, even though finding folks on LinkedIn is easy enough, messaging them is a whole different ball game.

No worries, though. 

I've got some killer tips on how to slide into those LinkedIn DMs

• Keep it short. 
• Find mutual connections and use them as ice-breakers. 
• Make it relatable by finding some common interests. 
• Add value with something useful, like a free e-book/guide. 
• Keep it conversational; the initial goal is a connection, not selling. 
• Follow up – consistency is key. 

Even with these super tips, however, sending out messages can be quite a time-consuming and emotionally draining process.

Imagine going through the trouble of researching and writing personalized messages to each of your prospects every single day, only to get turned down. 

It ruins your confidence and makes you question everything. 

(Been there, done that, my friend 🥹)

And that’s why I built Salesrobot. 

With this powerful tool on your side, you can grab a bowl of popcorn and binge-watch your favorite shows while connection requests and personalized messages get sent on autopilot.

How personalized?

Glad you asked!

It will pick up tiny details from profiles (like which volunteering work they did, which college they went to, and so on) and include these in the messages to make them sound like you did some amazing research on them.

It will even go that extra mile and create hyper-personalized images like this:

Cool, right?

‍‍Tip #6: Ask, don't assume.

Making assumptions about a prospect is not a good idea. I’ve learned this the hard way.

Maybe the person you're reaching out to doesn’t even have the problems you’re trying to fix.

That’s why it makes perfect sense to start with short, pointed questions to understand their needs and build a rapport. 

So, ask if they're grappling with a particular problem. 

And if they are...then

Seize the moment ✔️

Offer the solution ✔️

Sometimes, you’ll find your prospects didn’t even know they had a problem till your questions made them figure it out.

Tip #7: Share free resources.

Here’s a truth no one can deny: everybody loves freebies. 

Handing them out has been an age-old marketing strategy, but it’s not just done to make people like you more. 

✅It shows the value you bring to the table. 

✅And implies that you’re not here just to talk shop; you genuinely want to help them grow.

There's a touch of psychology here as well – when you give something for free, people want to give something back. It's like that free sample of a cookie at the mall that makes you buy a whole box.

Now, bring this to LinkedIn. Whether it's an eBook, newsletter, case study, white paper, blog post, or a nifty guide, this freebie could just be your ticket to win them over. 

But hey, a word of wisdom: always ask for permission first. No one likes a pushy vibe. So, let your freebies do the talking. 

Tip #8: Get Sales Navigator

The basic LinkedIn search doesn’t have those excellent 30+ advanced Sales Nav filters that let you pick your prospects quickly. 

Sales Nav will also give you unlimited search options, making it easier to find high-quality leads in record time.

Tip #9: LinkedIn Groups/Events

If you're planning a webinar, consider hosting it on LinkedIn and turning it into an Event. This way, you can get your hands on the LinkedIn profiles of all those who attended.

Once the webinar is over, you can reach out to these people and start conversations to see if it gets you somewhere.

And, if you need help with messaging people on LinkedIn Groups and Events, Salesrobot has your back there, too. 

It will help you reach out to potential clients through these Groups and Events and rapidly grow your network.

Now that we have our strategies sorted, we need to find a way to make those plans work without burning us out, and that brings us to the next section.

How can you automate your LinkedIn outreach?

When you let an online tool take care of all your LinkedIn networking activities, you’re basically automating your LinkedIn outreach. 

And here’s why you should certainly take advantage of it:

LinkedIn has over 950 million members across 200+ countries, making it a B2B powerhouse for lead gen. 

Finding your target audience, sending them a perfectly crafted message, and keeping in touch is one mega task.

It’s time-consuming, competitive, and soul-crushing.

And you can’t dump the same boring message into everyone’s inbox, too. You’ll be left hanging or worse - marked as spam and blocked.

Now, if you’ve decided to deal with the entire outreach process all by yourself, chances are, you’re spending way too many sleepless nights trying to keep up with your never-ending to-do list. 

Coupled with that is this nagging feeling of not doing enough for your business. But seriously, how much can you even achieve in just 24 hours?

The numbers may be against you; however, automation isn’t. And how can I not talk about Salesrobot when we’re discussing LinkedIn automation?

Here’s how to use Salesrobot with LinkedIn Sales Nav to create a LinkedIn outreach campaign:

1. Log in to Salesrobot and create a new campaign

2. Next, Click on “Create campaign using SalesGPT.” 

Once you do that, SalesGPT will ask you some basic questions.
Then, it will create buyer personas for you. 

Next, It will share pain points and key metrics of your selected buyer persona, and based on that, it will suggest a message sequence. 

3. Once the sequence is created, it will ask you to paste the search URL. 

To get the search URL, search for your buyer persona using LinkedIn Search or LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

Ex: Search for CEO on LinkedIn and copy the URL as shown below

4.  Copy the URL and paste it. 

And that’s it, your campaign is ready! 

Now, all you’ve got to do is just wait for 24 hours to get an inbox full of prospects asking to share more about your services. 🙌

Finally, moving on to what you’ve been waiting for, here are the 3 free templates that you can use to craft the perfect LinkedIn message sequence:

3 LinkedIn Outreach Templates to Get 32%+ Response Rates.

Communication on LinkedIn is an art. This art begins with penning the perfect message for the right audience. 

However, if you’re suffering from a bit of writer’s block, chill.

As promised, here are 3 free outreach templates that have a history of generating more than 32% responses from our prospects.

Thank me later.

Template #1 – Just Read Your Post!

Hey, <Name>,

Just read your post on <Add topic>, and it really blew my mind.

I’d love to connect and learn more about how you deal with <pain point>.

It works because

You took the time to go through their post and value their opinion.

For an extra touch, take a second to leave a meaningful comment on their posts.

Too busy for all that?

No problem; as mentioned, Salesrobot is designed to engage with your prospect's content in a personalized, human-like manner. 

From following them to liking and commenting on their posts, it sets the stage for your connection request.

Template #2 – A quick follow-up

Hey again <firstName>, 

Maybe I caught you at a busy time. No worries. If you're ever interested in improving <pain point>, feel free to reach out.

Catch you later!

It works because

Inboxes are often overcrowded, and your prospects might miss your initial message. However, remember not to send more than 2 follow-up messages because that might make you look too pushy.

Template #3 – Asking for an opinion

Hey <name>

Do you mind if I ask you a quick question?

Most <job title> I talk to struggle with <pain point1>, <pain point2> <paint point3>. 

Do you face any of these challenges, or am I completely off base here?

It works because

You value their opinion and are asking them pointed questions instead of making ill-informed assumptions. 

LinkedIn outreach, as I’ve mentioned before, must be done with a lot of caution because LinkedIn is very particular about keeping the platform spam-free.

Careless messaging, too many connection requests, and doing things against its community guidelines can land your profile in trouble. 

That’s why the next section of this blog is dedicated to keeping your profile safe while you’re acing outreach. 

How to do LinkedIn outreach without getting banned?

Do you know there's a cap of 100 connections per week on LinkedIn? 

This means if a new profile suddenly starts sending loads of requests, LinkedIn might suspect there’s a bot behind it. 

So then, how do we bypass those limits to outreach without getting banned?

Don’t worry; I do have a few tricks up my sleeve.

Use Invite by email. 

When you sync your Gmail contacts on LinkedIn, LinkedIn will search for their email IDs and connect you with them. 

But if you don’t have your prospect’s email IDs then 

Import your Sales Navigator search, and Salesrobot will: 

• Go through its whopping database of 7 million users to find those profiles and 
• Get their emails at a cool 30 to 40% rate 
• Let you connect with them without putting your account in trouble.

Use Free InMails

Though LinkedIn has limited InMail credits, roughly between – 15 and 50. 

There’s a cool hack -

Visit a profile on Sales Navigator, and if it has a golden LinkedIn icon, it means they're a premium user, and you can send them an InMail without losing your credits.

And if you have a Sales Nav plan, you can send up to 800 open InMails per month to other open accounts. 

Message on LinkedIn Groups and Events 

Search for LinkedIn Groups/Events to get a direct line to get a direct line of communication even if they aren’t your 1st-degree connection. 

Also, did you know you can send 200 messages to Group/Event members every single day? 

Quality Over Quantity

The more TLC you put into each connection request, the better. 

Because the receiver might remember it. 

So, focus on – sending 10-20 small, thoughtful, and personalized messages with the help of a safe LinkedIn automation tool like Salesrobot.

Engage More

For 2 key reasons. 

1. It helps you build meaningful relationships with your potential clients. 
2. It keeps in LinkedIn’s good books as the platform appreciates engaged users. 

And there are 2 ways to go about it:

1. You can read their posts and personally engage with them, or 
2. Use Salesrobot to pick information and send engaging comments on autopilot. 

Conclusion: Get your LinkedIn outreach sorted for better leads.

High 5! 🖐️

You made it all the way here.

It was quite a journey we took, so here’s a quick recap of all that we unpacked

• We spoke about what LinkedIn outreach is and why you should care about it.
• Explored the 4 different ways you can outreach on LinkedIn.
• Figured out what should be your ideal LinkedIn strategy to get more leads.
• You got 3 Free LinkedIn Message Templates

And while going through this guide, I’m sure you noticed Salesrobot came up quite a few times (ok, a lot).

So, do check out our website when you find the time, and we’ll help you write attention-grabbing messages and get you warm LinkedIn leads on autopilot.

Need more reasons to come on board? Sure! Try our features risk-free with a 14-day FREE trial. No credit card or phone number needed — just your email, and you're good to go!

That’s it for today.

See you around.

Happy outreach till then!