Q&A: When to follow up with new connections and when to try again

You have a new connection, now what?

Knowing when and how to engage with your LinkedIn connections is critical to success, especially your new connections.

In this Q&A blog post, we'll explore two aspects of your LinkedIn strategy: the timing of your messages and keeping the conversation alive.

When you do this well, you'll be surprised by the number of meetings you’re able to book and the pipeline sourced from your LinkedIn strategy.

First Question: When to Send a Follow-Up Message After a Connection Accepts on LinkedIn?

Answer: As soon as you possibly can.

In my experience, I am top of mind for only a few moments when someone accepts my connection request. If you can send a message within an hour or so after they accept, you'll likely be able to book a meeting or engage them in a conversation during that first round of messages.

This is because they are already on the platform, checking their messages and notifications. If you don't manage to follow up that quickly, you'll have to wait until they log in to LinkedIn and check their messages again – and there's no way to predict when that will happen.

Of course, we don't live in a perfect world, and you can't always be on LinkedIn waiting to immediately engage with everyone who connects with you. However, there are ways to make it easier to be responsive.

One strategy that has worked for me to reply quickly is to set up alerts on my phone, iPad, and computer. When someone accepts my connection request, I receive a notification. If I'm able to respond right away, I'll jump on it.

Question: How do I follow-up when my first request doesn’t work?

Answer: Keep track in your CRM (or another tool) to reach out consistently and try alternating between LinkedIn and email. Leverage multiple nuggets to get the conversation going. Avoid being annoying.

Here's my strategy when my initial message doesn’t get a response.

First, keep track of your connection requests: I keep my outreach organized in my CRM. I recommend using a tool like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, your CRM, or a spreadsheet if you’re just getting started. This helps me stay organized and keep track of my efforts.

If they’re not responding, I try to reach out about once a month on LinkedIn. This frequency is reasonable and prevents me from being perceived as annoying or overly persistent. 

Consider alternating between LinkedIn and email. This allows you to reach out more often without your connection seeing all your messages in the LinkedIn message thread. I wouldn't recommend being too persistent, as it can be off-putting and harmful to your brand and the potential relationship.

One friend of mine remarked someone’s outreach was so frequent, he said, “They just kept showing up like a bad rash.” Don’t let that be you.

You also want to leverage multiple nuggets when you’re trying to get them to engage. By alternating between platforms and staying consistent in your outreach, you'll increase the likelihood of establishing a meaningful conversation.

What’s worked for you when following up after your initial message? What questions do you have for me and Phil?

About the Author: Candyce Edelen is founder of PropelGrowth, where she teaches B2B entrepreneurs and sales professionals to build authentic, human-to-human relationships on LinkedIn. Her strategies have helped clients shift from spammy automation to genuine outreach, resulting in higher-quality leads and increased sales. Candyce is passionate about helping professionals build trust and create a reliable, predictable sales pipeline. She's also a firm believer that you can't automate a relationship.