Action Item #1: View Profile
Day 1: By viewing the prospect's profile, your name will show up in the prospect's "people who have viewed your prole" list on LinkedIn. This increases the likelihood of them engaging with follow-up messages.
Example:
[Firstname], I see we share some mutual interests. It would be a pleasure to connect with you.
Action Item #2: Invite your prospect to connect
Wait 1 day: Create an invitation message with 300 characters or less. DO NOT SELL. Regardless of your end goal, your first message should only be an invitation to connect.
Action Item 3: Briefly explain WHY you connected with your prospect
After a prospect has connected with you, give them the context about who you are and what you do. Write two to three sentences along with your preferred call to action (I.e. book an "appointment with me", or, "reply with a good time to follow up").
Example:
"Thanks for connecting {firstName}! I'm a business advisor here in{city}, I'd love to be a resource if you need it. We have a number of listings for [businesstype] in your area that may be good acquisition targets for you. If you are interested in chatting, schedule some time on my calendar here:
[calendar.com/your_link].
- [YOURNAME]"
Action Item 4: Endorse for a skill
LinkedIn allows users to "endorse" their 1st-degree connections for a skill. This is a professional gesture that adds credibility to the recipient's profile. After receiving an endorsement, the prospect will get a notification letting them know that you've endorsed them.
Action Item 5: Send a message
Now is the time for a few "check-in" messages. Schedule these messages to be sent approximately 5-7 days apart.
Example:
[FirstName], circling back around on my previous message. I'd like to be a resource for you if you're looking for a change."Here's a great resource for succession planning I developed. [link] I hope it's a useful resource for you!"
Messages 3, 4, and 5.
Tip: LinkedIn is a powerful tool when consistently used to engage and cultivate connections. Automating the process of lead cultivation requires a human-like engagement experience. LinkedIn does not allow for more than 400 new connection requests per month and sends a warning if a user abuses the system and tries to connect with too many users too fast. For this reason, it’s important to spread the process out over time and rely on the pre-configured settings of CASTANET. The key to maximizing lead generation effectiveness is to create a series of messages and actions, or "Sequences" as we call them, that will get you noticed and open a dialog with your new prospects.
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Refs:
1. How to get started with CASTANET
2. How to Create Message Sequence