Transcription
In this short video, I'm going to build in real time a LinkedIn outreach sequence that will land you clients by positioning you as an authority rather than a desperate, spammy salesperson. This exact sequence has helped explode my business and has been refined over 8 years and over 100,000 messages. And it's going to take you just a few minutes to do.
So, let's jump straight in with step number one. Because without this, the rest of the steps will be absolutely useless. Why? Because LinkedIn stops you from messaging people unless you're actually a first-degree connection. But loads of people try to get new first-degree connections the wrong way. Because when you target people that aren't even active on LinkedIn, it's like trying to start a conversation in an empty room. And unsurprisingly, nobody responds.
So, how do you find the active people? Well, the most effective approach is with LinkedIn Sales Navigator, which is actually a paid subscription with LinkedIn. But not many people know there's actually a free way that I'm going to show you in a moment. But first, LinkedIn Sales Navigator. And you want to make sure you use the lead filters and highlight people who posted on LinkedIn in the last 30 days. And pro tip, target people in your local geography first if you can because research shows that humans are naturally wired to trust people from similar communities.
And now here's that simple free hack that gives you all the best features of LinkedIn Premium without paying LinkedIn any money. So again, start local. And number two, type this into Google with the job title and location. And boom, there are all the leads you need for free. And the best bit about this is that Google tends to rank active profiles. So the ones at the top tend to have posted recently, too.
And now we've got all these people to target. What do we actually say in the connect message? So they accept and you get a flood of new connections that can become clients. Well, here's what most people get wrong. They treat connection requests like they're proposing marriage, spending hours planning and overthinking every single word. But the most successful LinkedIn entrepreneurs do the exact opposite. They treat LinkedIn more like speed dating, making quick decisions, and just connecting with a blank connect request.
And why does this work so well, you might be thinking? Because here's the truth about LinkedIn that nobody tells you. People don't care about a few words. They look at your headline, photo, and then make the decision. I've seen it over thousands and thousands of connects. And so, let's sort them out in 2 minutes with these simple hacks.
And first, run your profile photo through this free software. Make sure you rank above eight for all of authority, likability, and trustworthiness. I've seen people double their connection acceptance percentage from this one change alone, and I'll link the software below. But firstly, more importantly, if your current image doesn't score high, use this brand new AI portrait software. I created these two highly rated headshots by taking 10 quick selfies in just regular clothes and letting the artificial intelligence do the rest.
And then for your headline, remember that people are only going to see the first 8 to 10 words. So, all you need to do is answer the question your prospects are asking: "Can this person help me?" That's it. So simply name the type of person you help and then include one very specific outcome that matters to them. For example, "I help SaaS founders increase demo bookings by 40%."
And now people are going to start accepting your invite. And you might be wondering, what's the first thing we need to say so the conversation doesn't go dead? Well, we need to take what all the LinkedIn coaches tell you, which is to introduce your services or ask a question or link to content to build your authority and turn 180 degrees in the opposite direction and instead create what I call a non-needy frame.
And you might be thinking, what's a frame? Think of it like this. If you bought a beautiful piece of expensive artwork from a local gallery for a few thousand, but then put it on the wall with duct tape, it would look terrible, right? But with a beautifully handcrafted wooden frame that matches the decor in your environment, the same piece of art looks absolutely stunning. And LinkedIn works exactly the same way. You control the frame you present to first clients. And the first message determines how they see everything after.
So don't present your services. Don't link to content. Don't ask any questions because that's neediness. Instead, simply write something simple like, "Hi [Name]. Great to be connected. Looking forward to learning more about whatever they do on their profile." And you'll be amazed at how many people say thank you.
But you might be wondering, well, that sounds good. How do I now steer the conversation towards business without coming across as salesy and breaking all that valuable goodwill and rapport we just built? Until I understood what worked, I'd just jump straight into asking if the person has a problem related to my expertise, essentially fishing for pain points. So then I could position myself as the solution. But let me show you why this doesn't work anymore.
Number one, people see it coming a mile off and they know you're selling. And salespeople on LinkedIn are as welcome as a telemarketer at dinnertime. So, you're immediately positioning yourself as being below that person in status. But more importantly, it's just not how the world works. Think about when you're having a problem at work or in your business. Who do you turn to first? Usually, it's that peer on the same level or that authority you know in the office or your business, not the vendor trying to sell you something. So the most important thing here is to position as a peer, equal, or authority, and not a salesperson desperately chasing leads.
And here's the message that works for me and my clients over 8 years: "Hey [Name], that must have been a big transition from whatever they were doing before. When I did it, it was a lot. Was it as scary as I remember?" And boom, in one short message, you recognize their past. You get people doing the one thing they love, which is talking about themselves. And you also sneak in there that you've done it yourself.
But this perfect script is useless if you don't time it right. And before I understood this next hack, I thought people were ignoring me. And then I realized I was making one of the most common mistakes on LinkedIn that makes prospects think I was more desperate than a Labrador looking at a plate of sausages. And it turned them right off.
So what do we need to do instead? Think of it like this. LinkedIn psychology is exactly like dating psychology. What do I mean? Boy meets girl. Girl likes boy. Boy starts frantically chasing, and suddenly girl no longer likes boy. When we pursue somebody too eagerly, they instinctively pull away. So what's the solution? Well, it's something we all have access to: time. So never message somebody the second they accept your request, not even the same day. Instead, wait a day, ideally two, to reinforce that powerful frame of non-neediness. And make sure you use this time to: number one, like a couple of their posts; and number two, drop a thoughtful comment below them. This gently introduces your name into their awareness and makes your response rate in messages way higher.
But even with perfect messaging and smart use of time, I still found that some of my outreach went unanswered. And then I realized a mistake that a lot of people make on LinkedIn. I was sending messages blindly. It was a bit like dropping mail at empty houses when nobody was at home to receive them. And this waste of effort was completely unnecessary.
So, let me show you a little-known hack that the top LinkedIn entrepreneurs use to guarantee that their messages land at the perfect moment. It's like having X-ray vision to see exactly when somebody's at home to receive and open the mail. You see those green circles in your message inbox? They're actually a secret code LinkedIn doesn't tell you about, and hardly anybody knows. A hollow green circle means that the person has mobile notifications turned on. And a solid green circle means they're online right now. And when I started prioritizing these signals, my response rate to these messages tripled overnight.
And in a moment, I'll show you exactly what to say to turn these messages into clients and revenue. But first, there's an elephant in the room. Can you see it? We need to address this, or none of this is going to work.
And, let me ask you all a question. Post below if you like. Have you ever hesitated before you send a slightly salesy message, and you start second-guessing everything you've written? I know I have. And that all changed when I realized that as human beings, we're all selling all of the time, whether we like it or not. Maybe not a product or service for money like we do in business, but maybe we're selling new beliefs, ideas, or concepts, like teaching my kids how to behave at the dinner table or convincing friends to watch that Netflix show you've been obsessed with.
And so, ever since then, I've realized that in every conversation everywhere, somebody is buying and somebody is selling. And all I'm doing on LinkedIn is helping people discover solutions to things they already need help with, just like telling a friend about that perfect restaurant when they're hungry. And I felt empowered to approach people. And my business growth exploded.
And now let's learn exactly what to write so you land those clients. And before I figured this out, the conversation would often go dead because I jumped in too early, inviting connections straight to sales calls, which feels like asking somebody to marry you on the first date. Way too high commitment. So, I needed something lower commitment. But when I switched to offering downloadable resources like a lead magnet or checklist, I hit another wall. In today's world, sending more PDFs is like selling snow to an Eskimo. Nobody needs more information they'll never read. They've got it all from AI.
So, what do you do instead? Well, think about how luxury real estate agents sell million-dollar homes. They don't just email property photos and expect you to buy. Instead, they invite you to no-pressure viewings where you can experience the space, ask questions, and imagine yourself living there. And in a similar vein, Tony Robbins doesn't just sell his top-end programs with PDFs. He creates experiences through events and community where people can feel his energy and witness his expertise firsthand. And your LinkedIn connections right now need that same kind of safe, medium-commitment step.
This is why the most effective LinkedIn strategies right now follow this simple three-step framework on screen around events and communities. And that might sound like a lot of work, but this can be super easy when you use the right message template. And before I found out which ones worked, I used to send the same message to get people into these communities regardless of what industry or position they were in. And then I discovered that certain industries tend to have certain thinking styles, like you can see on screen. So we need to make sure we tailor the message on screen to our industry.
But there's another critical mistake people make even with this perfect template. They send it and then disappear when nobody replies and think it isn't working. The money here isn't in the first message. It's actually in what happens next. Because the majority of sales happen after several contact points, but most people give up after two.
So, let me show you the exact follow-up sequence that turned my LinkedIn strategy into a predictable client-generation machine and turned silence into a flurry of leads that became clients, sometimes without even needing the event or the community. Actually having it in a message was enough.
And before I figured this out, I'd paste AI-generated follow-ups. But even with Shakespeare-level writing, text messages alone still come across as desperate. Why? The majority of communication is in fact nonverbal, which means written messages simply can't convey that non-needy energy we've been talking about and you'd have in person.
And here's how to solve this problem. I like to use Loom, which is the best video solution for this. So, number one, make sure you're on their profile. Turn it on so that they can see that you're on their profile, then hit record and use a simple script like you see on screen. They'll see the thumbnail with you on their profile because of the integration, and they won't be able to resist opening it. They'll notice your genuine interest in their content, and you'll get a great relationship and response without looking like that Labrador we mentioned earlier looking at all those plates of sausages.
Doing this is absolutely going to land you clients. But you do need to increase your reach so that more people see your profile and are familiar with you. And check out this video here. 170,000 views. Can't be wrong. It'll help you explode your reach on LinkedIn.