Why You Should Never Automate LinkedIn Outreach

A salesperson decided they needed some new leads. They heard about a networking meeting going on at a local chamber of commerce event and rushed over to the meeting with a box of business cards and a ream of brochures.

Upon arriving, they entered the networking area and saw lots of people chatting. Above was a balcony going all the way around the room.

Excited, the sales person ran upstairs to the balcony and started tossing business cards and brochures over the heads of all the networking professionals. They shouted, "my company can help you with XX. Call me to buy my stuff!" and went home to wait for the phone to ring.

Ridiculous, you say? I agree! But how is this different than automating LinkedIn outreach to "scale" your sales efforts?

I get automated connection requests and messages on LinkedIn every day that are essentially using this strategy.

If you're considering automating, stop and think about how your messaging is coming across to your prospects. It's time to start behaving on LinkedIn like we would in person. Be human, start relationships, get acquainted and understand a lead's needs before pitching. I promise, your results will skyrocket.

Automating LinkedIn is Tempting

It's tempting to try it, I know. There are at least a dozen different technologies out there purporting to use AI and machine learning to intelligently send connection requests and messages. They promise that you can just sit back and watch the leads flow in.

It seems like this kind of technology could make us much more efficient with our outreach. It should help sift through the people who aren't interested and quickly get to those who are good prospects. 

I understand that temptation. I even succumbed to it myself and tried out two different AI solutions for automating my outreach. The results? Lousy.

No matter how I tweaked my messaging, I didn't come anywhere close to the kinds of results I get when I send super-personalized messages. 

But It's Also Rude

In retrospect, I also think it was rude to treat my connections that way. Let's look at it from their perspective...

It basically tells my prospect that I'm not willing to take the time to look at their profile and figure out how to be helpful to them. Is that really how I want to start my relationship with them?

How It Feels to the Buyer

To understand how your prospect feels about getting these untargeted solicitations on LinkedIn, check out this article on LinkedIn. William Arruda describes how he feels when he gets untargeted pitches. Read the comments too. I think it will open your eyes about how people perceive unsolicited sales pitches on LinkedIn. 

Then, think about how you can modify your approach so you don't come across as spammy, obtrusive or annoying.

If you want help with this, please enroll in my master class. I walk through lots of examples of how I engage with prospects in order to book hundreds of sales calls with qualified prospects. 

Get more info about our advanced master class and sign up here. 

LinkedIn is an AMAZING tool for sales, if it's used properly. 

My course has a 100% guarantee. If you're not satisfied, I'll give you back your money. So there's no risk. 

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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.