While it is very easy to connect with prospects on LinkedIn, it can be very difficult to figure out how to cold call LinkedIn connections. This is because becoming connections can, in some ways, seem like a friendly gesture, and you might not want to follow that gesture up with some sort of sales pitch or cold call. In this block post, I will provide both a process and cold call script you can use for cold calling your LinkedIn connections.

 

Change Your Mindset

The first thing that you need to do when thinking about how to cold call LinkedIn connections is to change how you view the people you connect with. Whether you are networking virtually on LinkedIn or in person at networking events, there are three different categories that you can put the people you meet in:

  1. Potential prospects: These are people who could potentially buy from you at some point.
  2. Networking partners: These are people who will probably never purchase from you, but they could be individuals you can exchange value with in terms of information, introductions, referrals, etc.
  3. No fit at all: These are people who will likely never buy from you and don’t fit with you at all in terms of being able to collaborate in any way.

With quotas to hit and commissions to make, it can be understandable for salespeople to view the people they connect with as potential prospects. But to improve how you use LinkedIn, try to shift to primarily looking for networking partners. This is simply a shift in what you are trying to talk about when you interact with someone. For example, if you meet someone and have the mindset of looking for networking partners, you are more focused on learning about the other person and exploring if there is some sort of opportunity to exchange value in terms of sharing tips, introductions, referrals, etc. Sure, your conversation may lead to identifying the other person as a potential prospect, but the first thing you are thinking about is networking with him or her.

This mindset shift can change how you talk with someone on LinkedIn as it will help you to be less about yourself and more about the other person. Not only will this help you to make a better impression, but it is also actually more advantageous to find networking partners than prospects. A good networking partner can lead to multiple introductions, referrals, and new customers, whereas a prospect can only lead to one customer in most cases. And in situations where you end up identifying that someone you meet while networking is a great prospect for you, he or she might be more open to hearing about what you sell if you first started the conversation by treating him or her as a potential networking partner.

 

Cold Call Script

Changed your mindset and what you are looking for will drastically change your approach for how to cold call LinkedIn connections because your message and cold call script become more about networking than talking about your product.

Introduction

Hello, [Contact’s Name]. This is [Your Name] from [Your Company]. We recently became connections on LinkedIn. Have I caught you in the middle of anything?

Recap

Great. The reason for my call is that I try to reach out to my connections on LinkedIn to learn about what they do to try to see if there are any ways that I can help them to be more successful.

Sales Takeaway

I actually don’t know if you are interested in building new networking relationships, but that is why I am reaching out.

Close

Are interested in scheduling some time to talk in a little more detail? I would like to learn more about what you are doing and working on.

As you can see, this cold call script and approach is all about scheduling time with the connection to have a networking conversation. In that meeting, you may find ways to work together, or you might find out that the connection could be a potential prospect.

We hope this gives you some ideas for how to cold call LinkedIn connections.