Most prospects have tens (and even a whole lot) of pending LinkedIn invitations to reply to — which implies that once they lastly get to yours, it’s solely getting mere seconds of consideration. And in such a brief span of time, a single dangerous line can condemn your invite to the “ignore” pile.

In order for you your invitations to make all of it the best way to your prospects’ inboxes, by no means use these eight clunkers once more.

1. “We’re each members of [LinkedIn group].”

You at all times need to discover widespread floor together with your prospect — so mentioning a LinkedIn group you each belong to looks as if a no brainer, proper?

Not essentially.

Being a part of the identical LinkedIn group is not a very particular draw. A consumer can belong to as much as 100 teams on the platform, and lots of teams of a whole lot of 1000’s of members — making this line fairly uncompelling and leaving prospects questioning, “So what?”

What to Say As a substitute

You possibly can nonetheless allude to LinkedIn teams when making requests on the platform, however be as locked-in as attainable — which means becoming a member of smaller, extra targeted, unique teams and connecting with prospects based mostly on their engagement inside them.

As an illustration, in case your prospect belongs to a bunch with fewer than 100 folks, hone in on it. Request to hitch, and when you‘ve been permitted, attempt to discover a remark or submit they’ve made. Then, reference that contribution in your opening line.

Going with, “I appreciated your useful [comment, post] on [topic] in [group name],” will yield higher outcomes than the imprecise line on the prime of this part.

2. “Would you be open to a fast telephone name to debate how [product] may help you?”

A telephone name is a reasonably large ask to guide with — it‘s a basic case of “an excessive amount of, too quickly.” You might want to develop some form of rapport together with your prospect earlier than they’re keen to offer you that form of time and a focus.

Asking for a telephone name in your LinkedIn invite is like making an attempt to greet a primary date with a kiss. For those who lead with this line, you would possibly wind up being denied and even reported for spam. Strike this phrase out of your LinkedIn vocabulary and have just a little endurance.

What to Say As a substitute:

At this stage of the sport, you may have one easy objective: Persuade the prospect you’re value together with of their LinkedIn community. From there, you can begin to develop the form of belief and rapport it is advisable schedule a gathering, down the road.

Give them a purpose to just accept — and that may embrace a little bit of flattery. Ask to maintain up with their profession. For instance, you would possibly write one thing to the impact of:

• “I am hoping to turn out to be part of your community so I can comply with your work in biotech.”

3. “I do know we don’t know one another.”

For those who‘ve by no means met somebody, odds are they know that too. There’s no level in declaring the plain — you do not need to waste valuable LinkedIn request actual property main with a incontrovertible fact that each of you recognize.

You‘re additionally giving them trigger to not settle for your invitation — in case you’re a complete stranger, why ought to they belief you? Equally, you need to keep away from statements like “We’ve by no means met, however … ”or “Though we’ve by no means spoken earlier than … ”

What to Say As a substitute:

Somewhat than acknowledging you’ve by no means crossed paths together with your prospect, clarify the way you discovered their LinkedIn account within the first place. Not solely will this make your request appear much less random, it additionally offers you the chance to go with them. Once more, just a little flattery often helps your probabilities.

Right here’s an instance:

• “I got here throughout your profile whereas searching for skilled company communications specialists, and was impressed by how a lot you’ve completed within the final eight years.”

4. “I noticed your profile and needed to attach.”

That is the obvious line you possibly can drop on a prospect. You seeing a prospect‘s profile and wanting to attach is actually the sequence that brings everybody to connection requests. For those who didn’t do each of these issues, you would not be sending a request within the first place.

It is also utterly targeted on your actions and wishes. Prospects don‘t care about what you need — particularly in case you’ve by no means spoken to you earlier than. You need to preserve issues prospect-centric when making an attempt to attach by way of LinkedIn, so this line is especially ineffective.

What to Say As a substitute:

Deal with what the prospect desires, and that may not at all times be apparent — it would require some detective work. As an illustration, you would possibly need to perform a little digging on their Twitter to see in the event that they‘ve talked about any challenges they’re going through at work, or you could possibly evaluation their firm’s profession web page to search out positions you could possibly suggest a few of your connections for.

You could possibly additionally use that perception that will help you discover a related useful resource for them. A kind of traces may appear to be this:

• “I observed BiggerPlanet is searching for a knowledge scientist — we simply stuffed the same place at my firm, and our workforce discovered this hiring information extraordinarily helpful https://weblog.hubspot.com/gross sales/worst-linkedin-invitation-lines.”

5. “I’d like to discover how we are able to present worth to one another.”

Not like the final line, at the very least this one focuses on the mutual advantages of connecting. Nonetheless, it’s nonetheless extremely problematic. For those who’re not already clear on how one can assist the opposite individual, then why attain out?

Moreover, this remark assumes the prospect has the time, vitality, and curiosity to take a seat round determining the way you two may help one another. If that’s how gross sales labored, you’d already be at quota for all times.

What to Say As a substitute

Don’t wait to “discover” your choices: Present worth to the prospect beginning out of your first interplay and kick off the method your self. For those who’ve executed your homework and you continue to can’t consider any strategy to improve their life, deal with creating rapport as a substitute.

Listed below are two examples:

• “I additionally hail from the nice state of Nebraska — Huskers for the win! It might be nice to attach on right here.”
• “I observed you listed ‘curler derby’ below your pursuits — that’s fairly darn cool. How true-to-life was the film ‘Whip It’?”

6. “I’d like to have you ever be part of my webinar. Register right here: https://weblog.hubspot.com/gross sales/worst-linkedin-invitation-lines.”

Strains like this are far too self-serving — you’re clearly trying to drive webinar visitors and get the prospect into your funnel with out understanding if they may really profit from the dialogue.

Second, it begins with “I’d love … ” Databox CEO and former HubSpot VP of Gross sales Pete Caputa advises reps to chop “I’d love,” “I’d like,” or “I need” from their vocabulary. As he places it, “Who cares what you need? Your prospects do not care about you. They care about themselves, their wants, and their very own agenda.”

Harsh, however true.

What to Say As a substitute

Fixing this invitation killer is simple: Spotlight it and press “Delete.” When you’ve related with a prospect and familiarized your self with their distinctive scenario, pursuits, and potential ache factors, then — and solely then — it’s best to ship the hyperlink to a webinar you’re certain is related to them.

For those who’re tempted to make use of “I’d love … ” in a distinct part of your message, Caputa recommends swapping this expression out for “Would you be focused on … ?”

7. “You’ve acquired a fantastic profile — let’s join!”

Sadly, reps throw this meaningless line into their connection requests on a regular basis. Flattery could be efficient when making an attempt to attach with prospects — but it surely must be extra particular. This line may apply to just about anybody on LinkedIn.

What constitutes a “nice” profile? And why is it an excellent purpose to attach?

The world won’t ever know — so please, don’t embrace this one in your invite.

What to Say As a substitute:

Once more, reward is persuasive when it’s each particular — and much more when it is real. With that in thoughts, search for one thing you really admire in regards to the prospect’s profession, record of achievements, and/or firm.

To offer you an concept, you would possibly write: “I began utilizing the HubSpot CRM a month in the past, and I’m by no means going again. It’s highly effective however straightforward to make use of — thanks for constructing a improbable product!”

For those who needed to commend the prospect themselves, strive one thing like, “Three promotions in six years? You’re on fireplace.”

8. “I’d like so as to add you to my skilled community on LinkedIn.”

This phrase is LinkedIn’s prompt default message if you request to attach with any person -— and in case your prospect sees it, they’ll know you made precisely zero effort to customise your outreach.

What to Say As a substitute:

Virtually something is healthier than this — aside from the seven traces above, in fact. Reference how you recognize the prospect, touch upon a chunk of content material they’ve posted, and add a substantive little bit of worth.

As soon as you have changed these cringe-inducing traces out of your requests, prospects can be a lot likelier to click on “settle for.” After that, you possibly can slide into their InMail like a professional.