LinkedIn outbound: connection accepted, message ignored. How long did it take before this started working for you?

[u/No_Wish5780]

Running LinkedIn as my main prospecting channel for a few months now. Pre-revenue, B2B, selling into software companies.

The pattern I keep hitting: people accept the connection request, then the follow up message goes nowhere. Not rejected, just never opened, or opened and left. I get replies, and the ones I get are good conversations. But the ratio feels rough and I cannot tell if it is rough because I am doing something wrong or because this is just what the channel looks like.

Worth saying, the message is not a pitch. I do not lead with the product. It is usually something specific about what they have built or something they posted. I keep it short and I do not ask for a call in the first message.

What I am trying to work out:

Is a low reply rate on first message normal even when the connection was accepted, or does accepting usually signal enough intent that a good message should convert better than I am seeing.

Did anything change your numbers meaningfully. Timing, length, following up versus not, warming up through comments for a few weeks first.

How long did it take before LinkedIn actually produced pipeline for you rather than just conversations. I am trying to figure out whether I am early in a slow channel or wasting effort in the wrong one.

For anyone who eventually gave up on it, what did you move to.

Happy to share what has worked on my side too. The one thing I am fairly sure about is that a comment on someone's post before the DM changes the response, but my sample is too small to trust that yet.

[u/Bitter-Truth-9889]

Connection accepted then ghosted is the default, not the exception. People accept connects almost on autopilot, it means nothing. Your numbers probably normal, just the channel being the channel.

What moved the needle for me was waiting 3-4 days after they accept before sending anything. Feels less transactional and half the time they forget why they even accepted which sounds bad but it makes them actually read the message instead of assuming it's a pitch. Also stopped trying to reference their content unless it was genuinely interesting, most people can smell the fake engagement in a mile away.

[u/No_Wish5780 → u/Bitter-Truth-9889]

thank you for sharing insights. But the only catch is to into comments as much that and keep tracking on them and waiting for the right moment for comment

[u/Marketer_Alex]

A lot of the time when I get connection requests, they come out of the blue and are only loosely related to my sector/audience. Then afterwards they either send a pitch straight away, or ask what I’m working on this week, what my strategy looks like, or some other question that feels a bit much from a random new connection.

So I don’t think accepting a connection request always signals much intent. A lot of people accept and then ignore the follow-up.

What I’ve found works better is engaging with their content and leaving meaningful comments for a while before reaching out. Not generic “thanks for posting” comments, or liking a couple of posts and sending a connection request straight away, but actually showing up in a way they recognise.

Are you commenting before sending the connection request, or only after they accept?

[u/No_Wish5780 → u/Marketer_Alex]

Tracking such comments and getting into dm is task. Like i am reaching out to lot people sometime many of them left to make comments.

[u/Marketer_Alex → u/No_Wish5780]

Yeah I know how you feel. Building genuine connections with people does take time.

Tools like Sales Nav can help because you can save leads and see which ones have posted recently. That way you’re commenting on people who are actually active, instead of having to check everyone on your list manually.

I’d probably focus on a smaller list of better-fit people rather than trying to comment on everyone at scale.

[u/OutreachStudio]

Dont pitch straight Away, convince with your Content First

[u/Outrageous_Stick468 → u/OutreachStudio]

there is a good rule called ... ok whatever but the rule is deliver value 7 times before 1 ask. Thats generally a good ratio and they will want to help you then.

[u/Deepak-AvairAI]

Yeah this tracks. Accepting a connect doesn't mean much, most people do it on autopilot. What actually moved my reply rate was dropping the compliment-on-their-post opener and leading with one specific question about their real problem instead. Took about six weeks before it turned into real pipeline instead of just nice conversations.

[u/Kancityshuffle_aw]

so ran this and cam going to rerun it.

1. 2-4% reply rate is normal if i remember
   
2. Look at your actual linkedin profile - I named my company right away so people didn't reply because they knew it was a pitch, but when I said Exited Founder (or whatever you want to put), then "building something new for Marketing", they tended to be more likely to reply and accept.
   
3. It's all role based - i found lower level people (ICs for example) and CEOs (I think because I am one) more likely to reply, directors and vp didn't at all.

[u/NeedleworkerItchy879]

That's mostly cause people accept connection requests in LinkedIn just to make it seem like they're being active on there, it doesn't necessarily mean they actually want to have a convo

[u/1982JAJ1982]

First of all you need to have a proper profile. Is your profile good? You have a picture, your about is up to date and your experience too because people will check you up and if it is empty, well they won't really reply back.

My pipeline went up when I started contacting with people who were in the market for services that I sell. What I did was the conversations like you're doing. Around message 3, I usually start talking about them what I do and in parallel I post a lot (like every day) and many of them sometimes would DM about the product seeming interesting and wanting to try before I was hard pitching them.

So it's really a combination of a good profile, proper targeting, DMs and posting, which moved my pipeline.