Fazley RabbiWhy nobody replies
"I send connection requests every day. Some people accept, but when I message them, nothing." If this sounds familiar, the cause is usually one of these:
- The first message after connecting is a sales pitch, often with a company profile attached.
- The message is clearly copied and pasted to hundreds of people.
- The people you contact don't decide on, or care about, what you sell.
- Your profile reads like a sales account, so people expect a pitch before they read a word.
LinkedIn works best as a place to start conversations, not to close deals. Once you treat it that way, the whole approach changes.
Fix your profile before you send anything
When someone gets your request, they look at your profile first. It should answer three questions quickly: who you help, with what, and why they should believe you.
- A headline that names the customers you serve and the problem you solve, not only your job title.
- An about section in plain language, describing the work you do and the markets you serve.
- A clear photo and a company page that looks alive.
- A few posts or comments that show you know your field. They don't need to be long.
For IT firms and exporters in Bangladesh selling abroad, a profile that shows real work, a real team and a real location builds more trust than polished slogans.
A sequence that starts real conversations
- Choose a narrow audience. One role, one industry, one or two countries. "Operations heads at mid-sized logistics companies in the Gulf" is far better than "business owners".
- Read before you reach out. Look at their profile and recent activity. Find one genuine reason to connect: a post they wrote, a shared industry, an event you both attended.
- Send a short, honest request. If you add a note, mention that reason. No pitch, no link.
- After they accept, start with them. Thank them and ask one simple question about their work or their view on something in their industry. Then listen.
- Offer something useful only if it fits. A relevant article, a short checklist or an introduction. Not a brochure.
- Ask for a call when there is interest. If the conversation shows a real need, suggest a short call and make it easy to say no.
- Follow up once, then stop. If there is no reply, one polite follow-up after a week or two is enough. Respect anyone who says they are not interested.
Commenting thoughtfully on someone's posts for a while before you message them often makes the first message feel natural rather than cold.
Trade-offs to be honest about
- Automation tools. Many tools promise to send requests and messages for you. Some of them break LinkedIn's rules, and accounts that use them can be restricted. Check LinkedIn's current terms before using any tool, and never let one send a message you haven't seen.
- Volume versus quality. Fewer, better-researched messages take more time each, but they cost you far less reputation.
- Patience. LinkedIn conversations often take weeks to turn into a meeting. Track them so they don't get lost.
What to keep in-house, and where help is useful
The conversations themselves should come from you or your sales lead, because buyers want to talk to someone who knows the work. Help is useful for defining the audience, researching prospects, rewriting the profile, preparing message templates that you then personalise, and tracking every conversation. If AI drafts any message, a person reads and edits it before it is sent. For finding the right people in the first place, see reaching B2B decision makers.
The smallest useful first step
Rewrite your headline and about section this week. Then pick ten people who fit your narrow audience, read their profiles properly, and send ten personal requests without any pitch. See lead generation and B2B outreach, or contact me if you'd like help setting it up.