LinkedIn outreach best practices to connect authentically
With only 3-5% of your potential customers ready to buy at any given time, your standard connection request with an immediate sales pitch won't cut it anymore. Modern B2B buyers want to research, consume valuable content, and engage on their terms before talking to sales.
That’s why you need an approach to LinkedIn outreach that respects this while still generating quality leads. This is something we are familiar with… We focus on building genuine connections and delivering value first—perfectly aligning with how today's B2B buyers make purchasing decisions.
Ready to make LinkedIn outreach work? Here’s what you need to know. ⬇
Your ICP: The foundation of effective outreach
Successful LinkedIn outreach starts with a crystal-clear understanding of exactly who you're trying to reach.
Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) needs to be ultra-specific, especially for LinkedIn targeting. Instead of targeting broad industry categories—you need to target the exact professionals who need your solution.
Consider:
What specific job titles do they hold?
Which industry challenges keep them awake at night?
What metrics are they personally measured against?
Where do they typically look for information?
The more precisely you define your ICP, the more effectively you can create messages that resonate and target your outreach efforts. Of course, this detailed understanding also helps you avoid wasting time on prospects who aren't a good fit. That's why we always start client campaigns by defining or refining their ICP.
Know your LinkedIn audience segments
We tend to find that LinkedIn users generally fall into two distinct categories:
Heavy grifters: These power users are constantly active, posting frequently, and are heavily engaged in networking. They're often industry influencers, sales professionals, or entrepreneurs.
Casual users: This segment comprises the majority of professionals on LinkedIn. They check the platform occasionally, rarely post content, and use it primarily as a digital CV or to stay updated with industry news. (Most of your customer base likely falls here.)
Understanding which segment your prospects belong to helps determine the appropriate cadence and style of your outreach.
Essential LinkedIn outreach tools
While authentic connection remains the goal, several tools can help streamline and scale your outreach efforts:
LinkedIn Sales Navigator: LinkedIn's premium prospecting tool allows for advanced searches, saved leads, and relationship-building features.
Evaboot: A plugin that enables data export from LinkedIn profiles. When using this tool, capture LinkedIn profiles, emails, and postal addresses to enable multi-channel outreach.
Dux-Soup: A platform specifically designed for LinkedIn outreach automation that helps manage your connection workflow.
The proven LinkedIn outreach sequence that works
Here is a refined LinkedIn outreach sequence that respects the buyer's journey while generating meaningful conversations. This sequence creates multiple touchpoints without being pushy or sales-focused:
Visit their profile (Day 0)
This creates subtle initial awareness as they see you in their "Who's viewed your profile" section
Spend a few minutes reviewing their recent activity to understand their interests
Take note of any mutual connections or shared experiences for potential conversation starters
💡Pro tip: Check if they've published any content that you can genuinely engage with later
Follow them (2-3 hours after profile visit)
This strengthens the initial awareness without being intrusive
Following instead of immediately connecting shows respect for their space
It creates a second notification that keeps you on their radar
This step is often skipped, but we've found it significantly increases connection acceptance rates
Send connection request (Day 1)
Keep it completely empty – no pitch, no agenda whatsoever
Allow them to accept on their terms without feeling pressured
If you must include a note, keep it neutral
Avoid mentioning your services at this stage
Send a short message (Day 2, after connection acceptance)
Lead with genuine value: "Did you know [relevant statistic or insight specific to their industry]?"
Make it clear you're not asking for anything: "I thought this might be relevant to your work at [Company]"
Offer additional value: "I recently created a short guide about how [relevant challenge] can be addressed. Would you find that helpful?"
Keep it brief – 3-4 sentences maximum
Personalised follow-up (Only after positive response)
Switch to fully manual communication – this is where the real relationship begins
Send something highly valuable like a Loom video (2-3 minutes maximum) explaining how your approach addresses their specific challenges
Reference something from their profile or recent posts to show you've done your homework
Ask for genuine feedback: "Was this interesting for your current situation at [Company]?"
Continued conversation
Follow their lead on timing and tone
Focus on being helpful rather than pushing for a meeting
Look for natural opportunities to suggest a conversation: "It might be easier to discuss this via a quick call if you're interested"
If they go quiet, gentle follow-ups are fine – then leave it
The beauty of this sequence is its respect for the prospect's time and boundaries. Acceptance rates average 25% with this approach (compared to 10-15% with more aggressive methods).
By the way, timing is crucial here. We recommend starting with small batches (15-20 per week) and personally managing the entire sequence rather than trying to automate everything.
Keep your content engine running
Remember that 97% who aren't ready to buy right now? They're still watching, learning, and forming opinions about who they'll turn to when the time comes.
That’s why your LinkedIn outreach efforts should be backed by consistent, valuable content that addresses your audience's challenges and positions you as a trusted resource. This aligns perfectly with our core belief at Roo & Eve that demand generation content marketing drives sustainable, long-term growth.
Maintain a consistent content presence across:
Your company LinkedIn page (thought leadership, case studies, industry insights)
Your personal LinkedIn profile (more personal perspectives on industry trends)
LinkedIn articles (for deeper dives into complex topics)
Comments on relevant discussions (showing your expertise without self-promotion)
💡Important note: Content consistency matters more than frequency. For your personal profile, sharing valuable content once every two weeks is sufficient to maintain visibility without overwhelming your audience or sacrificing quality.
At the same time, it’s also important to ensure your content addresses different stages of the buyer journey:
Awareness content that highlights industry challenges
Consideration content that explores potential solutions
Decision content that subtly showcases your unique approach
This multi-level content approach works hand-in-hand with your direct outreach, creating multiple touchpoints that build familiarity and trust with prospects over time.
I know what you're thinking: "Who has time to create all this content?" The truth is, you don't need to start from scratch each time. Repurpose existing content, break longer pieces into smaller snippets, or transform client questions into valuable posts. The most important thing is consistency and relevance.
Want to see how we could transform your LinkedIn presence without adding to your workload? Book a free 30-minute consultation and let's look at how our approach could work for your business goals.
Key LinkedIn outreach principles
A best practice LinkedIn outreach strategy is built on two foundational principles that consistently deliver results while maintaining integrity and authenticity:
Pitch by invitation only
Avoid leading with a sales pitch in your first message
Wait for signals of interest before discussing your solutions
Ask permission: "Would it be helpful if I shared how we've helped similar companies with this challenge?"
View each interaction as building trust, not closing a sale
Respect boundaries—if they're not interested, gracefully move on
Demand and expect nothing
Focus on delivering genuine value with each interaction
Approach conversations with curiosity rather than an agenda
Be helpful even when there's no immediate benefit to you
Share insights, resources, and connections freely
Understand that professional relationships develop at their own pace
View rejection or non-response as normal, not personal
These principles stand in stark contrast to the typical "connect and pitch" approach that floods most LinkedIn inboxes. We've found that patience and value-first engagement not only generates better quality leads but also protects your professional reputation.
The truth is, buyers can sense when you're genuinely interested in helping versus simply making a sale. By adhering to these principles, you position yourself as a trusted advisor rather than just another salesperson—creating relationships that often lead to not just one sale, but ongoing business and referrals.
Let me guess—you've received plenty of connection requests that immediately launch into a sales pitch? How many of those did you respond to? Exactly. By following these principles, you'll stand out in a sea of pushy outreach and build connections that actually convert.
Timing and pacing: slow and steady wins the race
LinkedIn's algorithm and user experience both favour authentic engagement over high-volume outreach. We recommend:
Max around 20 connection invites per week
Gradual scaling as relationships develop
Maintaining a "soft sell" approach – invitation only, never pushy
This measured approach preserves your account health and reputation while yielding higher-quality connections.
Supplementary tools for enhanced outreach
Beyond the core LinkedIn tools, consider these additions to your outreach stack:
AI-powered research: Use Bing Copilot or ChatGPT to identify directory or trade body member listings. For example, ask: "Where can I find a directory of trade body members listing financial services businesses in the UK?"
Hunter.io: For email address verification and data enrichment, creating opportunities for multi-channel outreach.
Creating messages that connect
At Roo & Eve, we've refined the art of messaging through countless campaigns over the last 15 years. We've learned it requires a different approach than traditional sales communications:
Acknowledge the interruption: Every cold outreach interrupts someone's day. Respect their time with messages that are concise, relevant, and valuable. Skip the fluffy introductions and get straight to why you're messaging them.
Be emotive or entertaining: Choose one approach based on your audience. For technical decision-makers, lead with surprising data points. For operational roles, consider a more emotionally resonant approach tied to their day-to-day challenges.
Make them care immediately: Frame your opening around their priorities, not yours. We always research the specific challenges facing their industry, their company, or their role before drafting any outreach. For example, "Many CTOs in the financial sector are struggling with compliance issues around their data storage—is this on your radar?"
Keep it simple and conversational: Use plain language as if you're speaking to a colleague. Avoid jargon, marketing-speak, and complex sentences. We test our messages by reading them aloud—if it sounds unnatural, we rewrite it.
Lead with a thoughtful question: Ask something specific that makes them think about their business challenges. Generic questions like "How are you finding the current market?" get ignored. Specific questions like "Have the recent changes to data protection regulations affected your customer onboarding process?" get responses.
Support with relevant statistics: Add credibility with data that matters to them. When working with our clients, we always identify industry-specific statistics that highlight the problem our client solves. For example: "73% of B2B buyers research solutions independently before contacting vendors. Is your content capturing this early-stage research?"
Structure like news content: Put your most important point first, then add supporting details. Never save the "big reveal" for the end—most people won't read that far.
We've found that the most effective messages are those that make the recipient think, "That's actually relevant to my current situation." This relevance is what separates messages that get responses from those that get ignored.
Of course, creating these messages takes time and insight. That's why many of our clients rely on us to develop their outreach frameworks and message templates—ensuring their LinkedIn communication aligns with how today's B2B buyers prefer to engage.
Align LinkedIn outreach with the buyer's journey
Today’s B2B buyers want to consume high-quality content, gather insights, and seek peer advice before engaging with sales. Your LinkedIn outreach strategy should reflect this reality.
By combining thoughtful outreach with consistent value-adding content, you create a dual approach that both captures the 3% who are ready to buy now and nurtures the 97% who will be ready in the future.
Remember, effective LinkedIn outreach isn't about quick wins or aggressive tactics. It's about establishing your brand as a valuable resource in your prospect's professional network – someone they'll naturally turn to when they enter that critical 3% who are ready to buy.