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LinkedIn Messaging: Write and Respond to Build Your Business

Once you’ve identified your ideal clients on LinkedIn, you need messaging to invite and give them a reason to connect with you. When you’re set up and ready to increase your leads and see results, you’ve got to start feeding your messaging machine! With the right messaging, you can generate sales appointments when you want to grow your business.

✒️ Personalize your messaging

While it’s helpful to use templates to standardize your LinkedIn messaging and include everything you need to every time, you’ve also got to make it personal. You can keep your initial messages a bit more generic, but as relationships grow, you’ll want to appeal to your potential clients’ personalities, interests, and life events. Including your prospects’ first names in messages and asking about not only their professional interests but also about recent vacations or holidays can be a great place to start. They not only let your message recipients know you care about relationships but also help maintain a personal aspect of business. After all, your dealings are person to person even though they’re business-to-business sales.

? An introductory template

Now that you know what you’ll need to add, you can start building your templates. Introducing yourself to other professionals via a message can seem a little awkward, which again sheds light on the importance of your LinkedIn messaging. For your first message, it’s important to speak to the recipient like a friend. A simple hello followed by how you found the recipient’s profile can establish a friendly conversation. When you add a reason why you could connect, like a common interest or , your recipient has a chance to see how he or she could benefit from the relationship and may be more likely to connect with you.

Here’s an example of a great introductory message:

Hi Bill, I came across your profile today and noticed we share common experience working with professional service firms. Let’s connect and explore how we might benefit by being connected. Thanks, Mark

? Your messaging machine

Sending or receiving email on laptop. Email icon.

As you add more connections to your network, your constant messaging campaign can help you stay in front of your prospects and clients while building rapport and demonstrating your expertise. From a simple hello and request for a connection, you can move into offering webinar invitations, exclusive eBook prereleases, invitations to events, and more to your inner LinkedIn circle. You can even work these special offers into your messaging process, but remember to make these interactions meaningful: They should never be sales pitches.

So, what should your messaging plan look like? After you introduce yourself and — hopefully — get the connection you requested, send a simple “thank you.” Let your new contact know you appreciate being part of her or his network and are available should he or she want to reach out.

When you begin these conversations, keep them going! Failing to respond to a LinkedIn message is allowing an opportunity to pass you by, just like hanging up halfway through a promising sales call. Don’t overwhelm yourself by sending out too many introductory messages and leaving yourself unable to respond to the prospects who message you back. Finally, don’t be afraid to follow up if you don’t get a response. However, be respectful and allow two to three weeks between messages with no response. You want your recipients to see gentle reminders — not spam. When they see you attempting to continue a genuine relationship, they’re more likely to understand that you value their connection and begin to build trust in you.
[cta]Want a hand developing your messaging machine to work for you? Contact me, Mark McIntosh, RevGrow CEO and founder, today by calling 972-998-5132. I would be happy to help you discover how you could be using LinkedIn to generate leads.[/cta]
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