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LinkedIn SDR

When to activate

• You are running a B2B prospecting campaign and need to scale outreach on LinkedIn without violating platform ToS
• You are optimizing connection acceptance rates, message reply rates, or conversion to qualified meetings
• You need to audit your LinkedIn sales motion for safety compliance, SSI decay, or engagement quality
• You are building a content-led outreach strategy where engagement precedes the ask
• You need decision logic for Sales Navigator segmentation or warmup sequencing

Do NOT activate for: personal networking, internal sales team training, consumer-facing campaigns, or accounts under 2 weeks old.

When NOT to use

• If you lack a complete LinkedIn profile with photo, headline, and summary (fix first)
• If you are sending 100+ connection requests daily or automating with third-party tools that violate LinkedIn ToS
• If your Sales Navigator filters are: broad seniority + no activity filter (you'll hit inactive prospects)
• If you have not validated your ICP (ideal customer profile) — shotgun approaches fail fast
• If you are targeting prospects in countries with GDPR/CCPA restrictions without consent mechanisms
• If your account is under 30 days old or has been flagged for spam (LinkedIn shadow-bans aggressively)

Instructions

Phase 1: Profile & Safety Foundation

Pre-outreach checklist (non-negotiable):

1. Complete profile: Professional photo, headline with keyword (e.g., "B2B SaaS Revenue Accelerator"), 150+ character summary, 3+ recent posts or shares, endorsements on 5-7 relevant skills.
2. Current SSI (Social Selling Index): Check at sales.linkedin.com. Target: 70+. If below 60, spend 2 weeks on engagement before outreach.
3. Warm-up your account: 15-20 min/day engaging with 3-5 industry posts (like + comment) for 7 days before first outreach. LinkedIn tracks "establishing pattern" and rewards accounts with consistent early engagement.
4. Set outreach guardrails in your calendar/CRM: Max 20 connection requests/day, max 50 messages/day, stagger sends (not all at 9am), pause if acceptance rate drops below 25% for 3 consecutive days.

SSI improvement formula (if starting below 70):

• Daily engagement: 5 likes + 3 substantive comments (5-15 words, not "great post!") = +2-3 SSI points/day
• One post weekly (text, article link, or document): +10 SSI over 2 weeks
• Inmail acceptance rate: Keep above 30% (matters for LinkedIn algorithm visibility)
• Profile completeness: Photo, headline, summary, skills = +15 SSI floor

Phase 2: Sales Navigator Filtering (The Precision Layer)

Non-negotiable filters:

1. Seniority: 
   - For enterprise: C-suite + VP + Director (3 titles only, no "manager")
   - For mid-market: Director + Senior Manager
   - For SMB: Founder + VP + Director

2. Function: 
   - Match to buying committee: Typically VP Sales, VP Marketing, VP Ops, CFO, CTO
   - Avoid: HR, Operations Coordinator, Recruiting (wrong DM conversations)

3. Company size: 
   - Search: "company_headcount" filter + your ICP range
   - E.g., 50-200 for high-touch, 500-5000 for mid-market

4. CRITICAL — Activity filter: 
   - "Posted on LinkedIn in last 30 days" (checkbox in Sales Navigator)
   - This 10x improves reply rates; inactive prospects cost cycles
   - Remove: Anyone inactive >60 days

5. Optional refinements: 
   - Industry vertical (if applicable)
   - Skills keyword (e.g., "Salesforce" for ops-focused outreach)
   - Engagement rate: If public profile shows <5 posts in 6 months, deprioritize

Weekly list building: 30 minutes Sunday night. Build 3 lists of 50 people each (150 total for the week). Check "posted recently" on each. This prevents spray-and-pray.

Phase 3: The 3-Step Warmup Sequence

Step 1: Content Engagement (Days 1-3, before any outreach)

Action: Engage with their last 2-3 posts. Like + comment (non-spammy).

Template for comments (be specific to post content):

"[Name], this resonates — I've seen [specific finding from their post] drive 30% higher [metric] in [context]. 
Have you measured [follow-up question] in your [industry/team]?"

Why: LinkedIn's algorithm surfaces your profile in their notifications. You become "a face" before you ask. Comment like engagement: 2-3 per post, substantive, no emoji spam.

Step 2: Connection Request with One Specific Hook (Day 3-4)

Rules (strict):

• Max 300 characters including message
• Zero product mention
• One and only one specific reference: recent post, mutual connection, shared group, or achievement
• Conversational tone (not "let's synergize")

Templates by hook type:

Recent post hook:

Hi [Name] — Loved your post on [specific topic]. We work with [similar context] and seeing [similar result]. 
Would be great to stay connected. -[Your name]

Character count: ~120-150. Safe.

Mutual connection hook:

Hi [Name] — [Mutual contact] speaks highly of you. I'm [your role] at [company] focused on [your domain]. 
Would love to connect.

Character count: ~100-130. Safe.

Shared group or event hook:

Great to see you in [LinkedIn group/event]. Also following [specific topic you both engage with]. 
Let's connect. -[Name]

Character count: ~90-110. Safe.

Company achievement hook (funding, new hire, product launch):

[Name] — Saw [Company] just [achievement]. Congrats! We work with teams scaling similar [domain]. 
Happy to connect. -[Your name]

Character count: ~110-140. Safe.

Sending: Spread 20 requests across 24 hours (2-3 per hour, random times). 9am, 2:45pm, 7:30pm (vary daily).

Step 3: Message 48 Hours After Acceptance (Exact Timing)

Critical rule: Wait 48 hours minimum. LinkedIn flags "instant messaging" as bot-like. Wait time signals you're human.

This message structure:

• Length: Absolute max 50 words (pre-write, count, trim)
• Format: One open question, zero product pitch, zero links
• Tone: Conversational, specific to their profile or recent activity

Template:

Hey [Name], thanks for connecting! 

I noticed you've been [specific activity — e.g., "posting on AI in sales processes"] lately. 

What's driving that focus right now?

Word count: 28 words. Send at random time (not business hours: try 11:15pm, 6:47am — mimics human behavior).

Why this timing and structure:

• 48-hour wait: Acceptance notification clears their inbox; your message lands fresh
• 50-word limit: 47% of LinkedIn DMs go unopened; brevity wins
• One question: Triggers response obligation (psychological reciprocity)
• No product: You're asking, not pitching — maintains curiosity
• No links: LinkedIn suppresses messages with links in delivery priority; save for message 4+

Phase 4: The Voice Note Tactic (2-3x Reply Lift)

When to use: After connection acceptance, if the prospect is your 1-1 target (not mass outreach).

Benchmark: Voice DMs achieve 45-60% reply rate vs. 12-18% for text. This is not marginal.

The mechanics:

1. Send text message (from Phase 3) first
2. Wait 2-4 hours (let them read text)
3. Send 30-second voice note via DM

What to record (script structure):

[Greeting — use their name, warm tone]
"Hey [Name], it's [Your Name] from [Company]."

[Specific observation — must reference their profile, post, or company]
"I saw your [recent post about X / company just announced Y / you're at Z company]. 
Really impressed by how you're [specific thing they did]."

[One personalized question — natural, not salesy]
"Quick question: [question specific to their role/industry/recent activity]. 
How are you thinking about that right now?"

[Soft close — no ask]
"Happy to continue here or jump on a quick call if you prefer. Talk soon!"

Delivery rules:

• Speak conversationally, not script-read (one take, authentic)
• 28-35 seconds (auto-cuts at 60; stay under for full play-through)
• Call them by first name (informality signals authenticity)
• Specific enough that it could NOT be templated (personalization is the entire value)

Example voice note (full script — 32 seconds):

"Hey Sarah, it's Mike from Velocity. So I was scrolling through LinkedIn and saw your post last week about 
implementing AI in the sales process — really sharp take. We've been working with teams doing exactly that. 
Quick question: how are you thinking about the change management piece with your sales team? 
That's where most folks hit friction. Anyway, would love to hear your thoughts. Talk soon!"

Why this works:

• Intimacy: Voice is 10x more human than text
• Signal: You spent 60 seconds on them (scarcity signals respect)
• Commitment: Voice is harder to ignore than text (45% of people listen vs. 80% who read)
• Callback: They feel obligated to respond in kind (reciprocity)

Limit to: 5-10 per day (this is a precision tactic, not a volume play).

Phase 5: LinkedIn DM Conversation Flow (Messages 2-5)

Message sequence benchmark: 18% reply to first message → 42% eventually respond if you follow this sequence.

Message 2 (12-18 hours after Q1 reply):

• If they answered: "Love that you're thinking about [their answer]. Quick follow-up: [build on their answer]"
• If no reply to Q1: Send different angle — reference something from their profile, not the question.
• Max 40 words, one open question still.

Message 3 (24 hours after M2):

• Shift from questions to insight
• "Given what you said about [their context], I've seen teams move faster when [specific pattern]. Any of that apply?"
• First allowed soft value placement (not product, but methodology/insight)
• 45 words max, one question.

Message 4+ (only if they're engaging, 2+ day spacing):

• "Might be worth a 15-min call to talk through [specific business outcome they care about]. Open [day] or [day]?"
• First allowed specific ask (meeting, not product)

Zero links rule: Don't send links in messages 1-2. LinkedIn suppresses delivery. Message 3 onward, one link is acceptable if it's embedded in context ("Our research report on [topic]" + link).

If they go silent (message 2+ no reply):

• Don't send another message for 7 days
• Engage with their next post publicly (like + comment)
• Send one more DM 8 days later: "Saw your post on [topic], definitely agree on [point]. Still think a quick conversation could be valuable — 15 min?"
• After that: Move to nurture (quarterly re-engagement), don't force.

Phase 6: Content-Led Outreach (The Multiplier)

This flips the script: They reach out to you.

The mechanism:

1. Weekly content rhythm (1 post every 4-7 days):

   • Topic: One core theme you own (e.g., sales process optimization, AI in enterprise, revenue intelligence)
   • Format: Text post (3-4 sentences max) + link OR native article (LinkedIn articles get 2x reach)
   • Angle: Share specific data, contrarian insight, or customer case (anonymized)

   Example post:

   "Analyzed 200 sales teams last quarter. #1 blocker preventing AI adoption: 
   Not the tech, but change management. 78% of teams that tackled this first 
   saw 20%+ productivity lift in 60 days. Rest are stuck in pilots. 
   What's your biggest friction point?"
   

2. Identify engagers: Anyone who likes or comments on your post is a warm lead (they validated your problem space).

3. Outreach with context (send within 24 hours of their engagement):

   Hey [Name], 
   
   Saw your comment on my post about [topic]. You mentioned [their specific comment]. 
   That's exactly what we're seeing with [your customer context]. 
   Would be valuable to compare notes — 15 min this week?
   

   This is NOT cold. It's warm because they engaged first. Acceptance rate: 40-50%.

Why this compounds:

• You post 1x/week = 4 posts/month = 20-40 engagers/month
• Each engager is a warm lead (25-30% conversion to meeting vs. 3-5% cold)
• Your content establishes authority (SSI +20-30 from regular posting)
• LinkedIn algorithm rewards consistent posters → Your other outreach gets better delivery

Frequency guardrail: 1 post per 4-7 days. 3+ posts/week triggers "self-promotion" penalty (algorithm suppression).

Phase 7: Safety & Compliance (Absolute Rules)

LinkedIn ToS violations that trigger shadow-ban (30-90 days):

1. Batch automation:

   • Never send 50 messages at 9:00:00am (looks robotic)
   • Randomize all send times (use a CRM like HubSpot, Salesloft, or Outreach that stagger-sends)
   • Minimum 45-60 second gap between each action

2. Connection request spam:

   • Max 20/day (LinkedIn's stated limit; go higher = algorithm detection)
   • If acceptance rate drops below 25%, STOP for 3 days (pause/diagnostics)
   • If below 20%, your messaging is weak — audit template

3. Message volume:

   • Max 50 DMs/day
   • Never DM the same person more than once if they don't reply (wait 7+ days minimum)

4. Automation tools to NEVER use:

   • Mass message bots that send identical copy (LinkedIn flags, will ban)
   • Auto-endorse tools
   • Profile view bots
   • Fake activity generators
   • Tools that "guarantee" engagement (all flagged)

   Safe tools (align with ToS):

   • HubSpot Sales Hub (LinkedIn integration, respects rate limits)
   • Salesloft (native stagger-send, human-like timing)
   • Outreach (enterprise-grade, throttles properly)
   • Manual + Google Sheets (if disciplined on timing)

5. Account health signals (check weekly):

   • SSI dropping? Reduce outreach volume by 30%, increase engagement to 10 min/day
   • Connection acceptance rate drops? Audit template (reference too vague?), pause 2 days
   • Messages not being delivered? (They go to "Other" folder — means messaging is seen as spammy) Stop, engage 1 week, restart

6. Escalation decision tree:

   If acceptance rate < 20% for 3 days:
     → PAUSE outreach
     → Audit connection request messaging (is reference specific enough?)
     → Increase engagement to 15 min/day for 5 days
     → Resume at 10/day (not 20)
   
   If reply rate < 8% to DMs:
     → Question not compelling enough
     → Rotate to different questions (see templates Phase 3-5)
     → Consider voice note tactic
   
   If SSI drops >10 points in week:
     → Engagement penalty (algorithm detected low-quality engagement)
     → Stop outreach immediately
     → 2 weeks: 20 min/day engaged comments on industry posts
     → Rebuild SSI to 75+
     → Restart at 50% of previous volume
   
   If account shadowbanned (messages go to Other folder, connection acceptance halts):
     → 30-day pause on ALL outreach
     → Profile engagement only (like, comment, post)
     → Contact LinkedIn support if it persists
   

Geography/compliance note:

• GDPR (EU): Only message prospects who have explicitly opted in or work in B2B (B2C stricter)
• CCPA (California): LinkedIn is covered; ensure business context is clear
• No scraping (prohibited); manual list building only

Phase 8: Weekly Cadence & Measurement

Time allocation (assuming 2-3 hours/day on LinkedIn):

Monday: 
  - Build weekly target list (30 min, 150 people)
  - Engagement on 5 prospects' recent posts (30 min)

Tuesday-Friday:
  - Outreach: 8-12 connection requests (staggered, 30 min)
  - DM follow-ups to warm connections (20 min)
  - Content engagement (10 min, stay visible)
  - One content piece drafted (30 min)

Friday:
  - Voice notes to 5-8 top prospects (15 min recording, 15 min listening to replies)
  - Audit metrics (15 min)

Weekend:
  - Post once (30 min writing/editing)
  - Engagement deep-dive (1-2 comments on 10 industry posts, 20 min)
  - Next week list prep (15 min)

Metrics to track weekly (in spreadsheet or CRM):

Monthly review checklist:

• SSI sustained >70 (else, pause outreach this month)
• Content calendar for next month (4 posts minimum, themes set)
• Top 3 performing connection request templates (benchmark: >30% acceptance)
• Top question that drives replies (benchmark: >15%)
• Safety audit: Any near-violations? Adjust volume.
• Conversion rate from message to meeting (aim: 5-8%)

Example

Real scenario: B2B SaaS RevOps tool, targeting revenue operations directors at Series B+ funded companies.

ICP definition:

• Revenue Operations Director at 50-500 person companies
• SaaS, FinTech, or B2B2C
• Company raised Series B+ in last 18 months
• Posted on LinkedIn in last 30 days

Week 1 setup:

1. Profile audit: Headline updated to "Go-to-Market Revenue Acceleration | Revenue Ops Advisor | 200+ companies scaled"
2. SSI check: 72 (good, proceed)
3. Warm-up: 5 days of 15 min/day engagement (like + comment on 10 RevOps/CRO posts)
4. List build: 150 targets (3 lists of 50), filter by "posted recently" checkbox
5. Content: Schedule one post: "We analyzed 340 companies. Orgs that unified sales + RevOps planning saw 28% faster quota attainment. Usually separated: data silos, misaligned targets, rework cycles. Worth the conversation internally?"

Week 2-3 outreach:

Connection request to first target (real example):

Hi James,

Saw your post last week on implementing AI in revenue forecasting. 
Sharp take on the change management piece — that's exactly what we're 
seeing with our customer base at [Company]. 

Would be great to stay connected. - [Your name]

Character count: 243. Specific (his post), no pitch, reference to shared challenge.

Send at: Tuesday 2:47pm (random time).

Result: James accepts Wednesday 11am.

Wait 48 hours exactly. Send message Friday 1:33pm (different time):

Hey James,

Thanks for connecting! 

I noticed you've been diving deep into revenue forecasting 
and AI adoption lately. What's the biggest friction point 
your team is hitting right now?

Word count: 29. One question, zero pitch.

Result: James replies Saturday morning: "Biggest issue is getting alignment between sales and finance on forecast inputs."

Sunday 8:15am (next business morning, random time), voice note:

"Hey James, it's [Your name] from [Company]. So I listened to what you said 
about the sales-finance alignment on forecasting — that's the #1 thing we're 
seeing too, especially as companies scale to Series B. Quick question: 
have you mapped out who the specific stakeholders are that need to agree on 
the inputs? That's usually where the log-jam is. Talk soon!"

32 seconds, specific to his problem, conversational.

Result: 58% chance of reply (voice note rate).

If he replies (Monday):

Love that you said finance is pushing for 60-day lookback. 
That's the exact tension we solved with [customer context]. 
Be worth a 15-min call to compare notes — 
either Weds 10am or Thurs 2pm work for you?

This is meeting ask, safe because he's engaged 3+ times.

Month-end outcome:

• 104 connection requests sent (5 per day, staggered)
• 31 accepted (30% rate, above target)
• 18 first-message replies (12% rate, at target)
• 7 voice notes sent (5 replied, 71% rate, above 45% benchmark)
• 4 meetings booked from this cohort
• 1 qualified opportunity in pipeline
• SSI sustained at 74
• 2 posts published; average 38 engagements per post
• Zero safety violations

Key insight from this run: Voice notes on 5 high-potential prospects were the conversion lever. They took 20 minutes to record but moved 5 conversations from "curious" to "ready to talk."