Here's How Slide into My DMs...on LinkedIn

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Today I want to show you how to DM someone on LinkedIn.

Cold DMs can be very impactful and can turn into real business, but how they are first delivered is the most important part.

If they are not done right, they will leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Was this newsletter forwarded to you?

There are numerous reasons why these cold DM strategies won’t work.

• Not personalized or engaging to me

• Has no idea what I am focusing on (or who I want to target)

• Selling your services right off the back with little to no interest in getting to know who I am

• Did we…actually meet in Miami?

LinkedIn statistics show that 85% of LinkedIn InMail messages are opened by the recipient. These two examples above are lazy attempts to generate leads.

LinkedIn allows you to have a very impactful first impression, make that impression count. It’s a reflection of you and your business.

Want to stand out? You need to be impactful in generating leads, offering value, and developing deeper and personalized engagement with current and new clients.

I have a 3-touch approach that you can pack a lot of punch with value through sliding into their DMs.

Let’s dance.

First Touch - Share Something Useful

It’s important to make the first impression very personal and impactful.

Most senior-level decision-makers are busy, they utilize LinkedIn for engagement, learning, and staying in the loop with our peers across their niche, industry, and other areas of interest.

When you reach out to a specific individual, give them a compelling reason to respond and interact with you. If you don’t hear back, there could be a handful of reasons why they didn’t respond immediately. Want to stand out? Offer them some value when you reach out.

I’d recommend sharing something personal, relevant, and not having an ask at the end. You’re building a relationship, not trying to hit it out of the park on the first at-bat.

1. Talk about a recent post/presentation/blog/etc. that they made and provide brief positive thoughts on it from your perspective ← Relevant

2. Get specific. For example, in digital marketing? Give them a brief review of their website and a way to help them improve their conversion or if something might need to be fixed ← Useful

3. Close out the initial DM with a polite goodbye (i.e. Cheers, respectfully, etc.). ← Zero Ask

Don’t just tell me about my business or your business. I know my business, I know my internal and external problems. Give me a solution and offer a suggestion. That’s all. Don’t have to dive too deep for your first engagement.

Second Touch - Turn Up the Volume on Value

Part of your DM strategy should be to consistently provide value and be aware of relevant conversations to your business.

An easy and effective way to do this is to turn on notifications for the individual who you are talking with (the bell on the right corner of their LinkedIn profile). Any activity that they are in, you will get a notification on.

Post positive comments on their LinkedIn page and their company’s page. Have your comments be engaging, and be able to discuss the post in more detail.

See what else they are publicly discussing outside their main page(s) across LinkedIn and search for those keywords and phrases. Here’s what you do:

1. Go to the LinkedIn Search bar

2. Search what you want (i.e., construction, digital marketing, real estate, etc.)

3. Click on “Posts”

4. Click on “All Filters”

5. Niche down to any level of specificity that you want

Your potential lead might have made a post about looking for your services/product, you would be able to find a specific post and be able to reference that directly back to the lead when engaging with them.

Additional (free & paid) tools you can leverage to enhance value creation:

• GummySearch- An audience Research tool for Reddit. Search for pain points, solutions to be built, content ideas, and sales leads

• X Pro - You can set up an account for X (formerly Twitter) so you can monitor for certain keywords and phrases to see what people are talking about and be able to engage on them

If you have started to engage with a potential lead and you see them continuing to post, add a comment under their most recent post that is positive. You can also DM them on a recent article your company published that is relevant to them.

Still, keep adding that value!

Third Touch - Show Your Skills

Let’s not forget that conversations are two-way streets. If you feel that a conversation with a potential lead is a one-way street at the moment, then the timing might not be right. But if the engagement is there, continue to build on it.

If there has been back and forth between you and the potential lead, questions engaged on both ends, build towards that meeting.

If you and the potential lead are in the same area, sit down for coffee, invite them to a tradeshow you’re attending, and be able to show them after all the initial engagements that you’ve started, you can show them your expertise.

You can show them your human side. T

You have built up from a DM to talking with someone you know that you are invested in helping them, not selling.

As I have mentioned in the past, we are in the relationship business. We are building from a DM, so start small and continue to foster a new relationship.

Pack Some Additional Punch

Here are a few tips to really hit it out of the park when reaching out

1. Send during the week, responses on Friday and Saturday get a lower response rate

2. Keep your messages less than 400 characters. The more characters significantly decrease the chance of having engagement. Shorter is sweeter!

3. Not connected yet? Leverage the “Add a note” when you connect, make it personal and not blind. Every little effort helps.

The human touch goes a long way in today's digital landscape.

Build towards it, don’t jump the gun.

Leave the robotic, sales-driven messages behind. Your goal is to spark a conversation, not close a deal on the first interaction.

Ask insightful questions, share relevant personal anecdotes (without oversharing), and prioritize building trust through authenticity.

Compare this type of exchange to the other exchanges you’ve received.

One effective authentic DM can help you land a great client.

Maybe you can’t do it at scale, but it sure is quality over quantity.

See you next week.

Whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:

1. Unlocking Hidden Potential - Reconnecting with Past Clients for Explosive Growth - Check out my free eBook on how you can find hidden gems in your past clients and help you crush your sales goals.

2. Build your Sales CRM - Download our free Sales eBook on How Your Sales Team Can Maximize Your CRM Tool. Whether it’s Hubspot, Salesforce, or another CRM tool, make sure you leverage it to your advantage.

3. Awesome Sales Resources - Transform your sales engagement and capabilities across Social Selling, CRM, Lead Generation, Enablement, and more.