How to get more replies to your direct messages on LinkedIn

If you're like many consultants, you wish you could get responses to the direct messages that you send on LinkedIn. It's frustrating when you spend time figuring out who to message, only to have the messages you send ignored.

You know how important it is to have a reliable way to connect with potential clients, so learning how to direct message is a worthwhile pursuit. When you know how to convert direct message conversations into discovery calls and sales, you get to feel and be in control of your client pipeline.

Once you’ve honed this skill and have prospects replying to your messages on the regular, you won't have to rely on taking any clients that show up at your door. You’ll be relieved knowing you can create client opportunities whenever you want. Your messages will feel natural and flow well, because you’ll know you’re offering real value and solving others' problems. And you’ll no longer feel icky when sending them!

In this blog post, I'll share five strategies to get more replies to your direct messages. Let's dive right in.

Strategy 1) Make your messages personal.

Prospects can spot a generic or copy-and-pasted message instantly, and that degrades trust and reduces your response rate.

When sending messages, mention something specific about your prospect's business and ask thoughtful questions that show genuine interest. Pay careful attention to what they said to you, and respond to that. Your goal is to sound like a human, not a robot, which builds trust and makes people more likely to respond.

If you're stuck with what to say, picture you're at a conference or in-person event and what you'd say to a prospect there, and adapt it for your online message. Feel free to borrow and customize either of these templates:

• Hi (first name), I noticed that (something specific about the prospect). How has that been going?

• Hi (first name), thanks for liking my post today about (topic)! Have you been focused on (relevant topic)?

• Hi (first name), your comment on my post today was insightful. If you don't mind me asking, (insert question about their comment)?

Strategy 2) Don't pitch so quickly.

Many consultants believe that pitching in your first message is the fastest way to a new client. This strategy often requires sending hundreds of messages and doesn’t feel aligned with how you want to run your business. I call this the "spray and pray" method, and while it may have worked in 2018, it doesn't work today.

That’s why I don’t recommend pitching right off the bat. Instead, I suggest you first build trust with your prospect and get to know their situation. This path leads to strong relationships that result in signed client contracts. Here's a template you can use when you get an incoming connection request on LinkedIn:

• Hi (first name), thanks for the connection request. If you don't mind me asking, what inspired you to connect with me?

Think about it like this: you want to make a new friend at a social event. You wouldn't go up to them and immediately invite them to coffee. Right? You'd first take a few minutes to get to know them and understand what's important to them. The same applies online.

Strategy 3) Reach out to the right people.

It can be tempting to send messages to many of your connections at once, hoping something will stick. However, I don't recommend doing this because you'll end up talking to folks who aren't a good fit for your service. This will irritate your prospects, and feel discouraging to you since you won't get results and will therefore dread sending messages.

Instead, I recommend contacting those who are most likely to benefit from your offer, starting with the folks already in your network. In my coaching program Leads on LinkedIn, I'll teach you the exact strategies to identify those poised to have above-average interest in your services.

For example, we'll cover the nine ways to identify above-average interest, and six types of conversation openers, and customize these strategies to fit your business model and preferences.

As a result, you'll have better and more fruitful direct messaging conversations, and those conversations will actually lead to booked discovery calls.

(Many business owners dread sending direct messages. In this article, I outline the three primary reasons business owners dread them, and provide practical strategies for how to overcome them so you can get more leads and clients on LinkedIn.)

Strategy 4) Create and update your lead list.

I think of your leads as the fruits of your marketing labor. You work so hard to find those leads, so you don't want all that work to be for nothing.

Even if you have an amazing memory, it's nearly impossible to remember every potential client without the support of a reliable system. Meanwhile, it's also important to keep your lead tracking system easy to maintain, so that you have a clear list of your prospects that you maintain, without wasting your time.

In my coaching program Leads on LinkedIn, I provide you an AirTable template to help you get started. It's the ideal system to keep your business development efforts organized and to make the most of your work on the platform. Alternatively, if you already have a lead tracking system, I also provide detailed feedback on how to improve it.

As a result of installing a new lead tracking system or improving your existing one, you'll know exactly how and when to use your lead tracking system, and leads will no longer fall through the cracks.

Strategy 5) Follow up with your prospects.

It's easy to assume that if someone doesn't reply once, they're not interested in your services. However, your prospects are busy, and a lack of response doesn’t always mean a lack of interest. Actually, it often doesn't mean that!

The stats support this: only about 2% of sales are made during the first contact, whereas 80% of sales require 5-12 follow-ups in order to close (GrowthList)!

Thoughtful, timely follow-up will keep the conversation alive and move prospects closer to working with you and getting the support they need. However, be sure to craft your follow-up messages thoughtfully. Ideally, you will use proven templates for follow-up messages that open communication loops and get responses.

I share dozens of proven follow-up templates in my coaching program that have been used across industries and professions, and provide personalized feedback on the direct messages you send. I wanted to share one of my favorites with you here so you can visualize what I'm talking about.

This one is simpler than you might expect, and works better than you'd expect!

• Hi (first name), did you see my last message?

Here's an example LinkedIn conversation where I used this message, so you can see just how well it works (with identifying details removed):

Now that you know what mistakes to avoid, you might wonder, "But who should I message?"

Here's the approach that I recommend to my students inside my coaching program Leads on LinkedIn. To start, I recommend sending messages to ideal clients who are already in your network. You can search your existing network for specific keywords. For example, if you're a lawyer who primarily works with CEOs, you can search "CEO" or "Chief Executive Officer".

If your network isn't tailored for your ideal clients, you may first need to broaden your LinkedIn network so that you're connected with the right folks. You can do this by sending connection requests to those who match your ideal client characteristics.

When you target the right people, your messages are more likely to be well-received, and you'll create stronger connections with those who can become clients.

By taking a strategic approach to LinkedIn messaging, you'll get more replies and build genuine relationships with your prospects. You will choose who you work with, generate leads when you need them, and feel good about it in the process.

The next steps you can take to get leads on LinkedIn

I want you to receive replies to your messages and know that the time you spend on LinkedIn is worthwhile, as it leads to booked discovery calls.

While I've provided an overview of common pitfalls to avoid in this post, I've only scratched the surface of the strategy that makes direct messaging work for consultants.

Here's how I can help you implement these strategies and get leads for your business:

Step 1: When I start working with a small business owner, we always start with a Profile Optimization so that you clearly explain your credibility, who you serve, how you serve them, and what action the profile viewer should take.

This process takes about 3 weeks from start to finish, and provides you with a profile that captures the attention of your ideal clients and gets them to take action.

Step 2: Once your profile is optimized, we create your LinkedIn strategy so you can get visible to the right audience and attract more interest in your offerings through my coaching program Leads on LinkedIn.

This program takes two months. We focus on two main skills - LinkedIn posting and direct messaging. These skills bring the right clients into your orbit so you can consistently grow your business without relying on time-consuming strategies like video and expensive strategies like ads. 

Within just a month, you'll have identified and contacted 30 prospects for your business. You'll have the skills and systems to do it again whenever you want an influx of leads. And, this rinse-and-repeat process gets more effective every time you do it!

Step 3: After that, we create a habit of LinkedIn marketing through my coaching program so that you can count on ongoing leads for your business. We integrate LinkedIn with your other marketing strategies, such as email and in-person networking, to prevent duplicate work and create a marketing ecosystem that gets you leads and clients.

Learn more and enroll to work together here.