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The 7 Types of LinkedIn Requests (Don't Skip This)
Published October 27, 2022 · 70 views on YouTube
Key takeaways
- There are seven common, mostly annoying LinkedIn connection-request patterns: the fake-common-ground opener, the total-stranger ask for time, the buzzword-chaser, the vague 'I can help you with whatever you do' pitch, the mass spray-and-pray request, the 'too busy to write a note' request, and the connect-then-immediately-pitch.
- Sending mass, generic connection requests in hopes of one sale tends to alienate far more people than it converts.
- The better approach is to always add a note when connecting that gives a specific, genuine reason for reaching out, which deepens the relationship instead of skipping straight to a pitch.
- Most people try to skip from connection straight to sale; building a relationship and creating content in between is what actually opens the door to an opportunity.
- LinkedIn has a large global membership (cited around 850 million at the time) and a notably high average professional income compared to platforms like Twitter or Facebook, which is part of why it works well for higher-priced products and services.
What Are the 7 Types of LinkedIn Requests to Avoid?
The video identifies seven recurring, mostly unwelcome LinkedIn connection-request patterns: the fake-shared-interest opener (“we both have blue shirts in common”), the total-stranger ask for 15 minutes of time, the buzzword-chasing pitch that name-drops whatever is trending, the vague “I can help you with whatever you do” message, the mass spray-and-pray blast sent to as many people as possible, the “I’m too busy networking to write a note” non-note, and the connect-then-immediately-pitch move.
Why Does Mass, Generic Outreach Backfire on LinkedIn?
Sending a large volume of generic connection requests in hopes that one lands a sale tends to annoy far more people than it converts. The video describes this as the “spray and pray” method: even landing one sale out of a thousand requests still means alienating the other 999 people who received an impersonal, un-contextualized ask.
What Is the Better Way to Send a Connection Request?
- Go to the person’s profile and use the “More” button to find the Connect option, rather than the default one-click connect.
- Always add a personal note explaining specifically why you want to connect (for example, referencing something the person said or did, like attending a specific webinar).
- Give the note a real, specific reason rather than a generic compliment, so the recipient understands exactly why you’re reaching out.
- Use that note as the start of a relationship, not as a shortcut to a pitch or sale.
Why Does Relationship-Building Matter More Than Fast Conversion?
Most people try to skip directly from a connection request to a sales pitch, and in doing so miss out on the actual opportunity. A relationship is what creates an opportunity, and content plus genuine conversation is what deepens that relationship enough to educate and draw in an audience over time, rather than trying to force a transaction immediately after connecting.
Why Is LinkedIn Worth the Extra Effort Compared to Other Platforms?
LinkedIn is described as a global platform, cited in the video at around 850 million members, that is not limited to specific regions. It’s also associated with a notably higher average income among its users compared to platforms like Twitter or Facebook — the video cites roughly 58,000 dollars a year average on Twitter, 61,000 on Facebook, and 118,000 on LinkedIn — which is part of why it fits well for higher-priced products and services, including offerings ranging from a few thousand dollars up to tens of thousands of dollars a month.
Full video transcript
There’s seven types of LinkedIn requests that we all get, and I want to address that right out the gate. There’s the “I noticed we have blue shirts in common” — oh my God, exactly, you’re wearing a shirt, me too, let’s connect. Yeah, we’ve got, “Do you have 15 minutes to talk?” to a total stranger. There’s the buzzword artist — they might be dropping AI, whatever it might be, blockchain, whatever, trying to grab your attention on what’s hot right now. Love this one: “I run a team that can help you with whatever you do,” because I actually didn’t take enough time to go out and figure out what that is. All we’re doing is the spray-and-pray method.
The reason why I’m covering a lot of these is because a lot of people roll in and they leverage tools and AI and automation the wrong way to do these LinkedIn requests — they’re just hoping that if they send out a thousand connection requests and get that one opportunity, that one sale, “yay, I got the one sale,” and in essence all they did was piss off 999 people. There’s a better way to do it. You look at this one right here: “I’m so busy networking I don’t have time to write it out” — dude, I’m gonna tell you right now, I’m not playing, and this is why most people hate LinkedIn, because they’ve been playing Pokemon on the platform, they’ve been trying to collect them all, and it’s just not what we want to do.
I’m not going to accept anyone’s connection request that doesn’t actually at least put some reason why they’re connecting. “Hey, I saw you and Zachariah, the AI author, on the webinar, dude, loved it, would love to connect, this is what I learned” — things like that, you want to be able to do. And always love this one: you connect with someone, two seconds later they pitch you. Yeah, dude, the new thing that’s been happening to me — I connected with someone, I thought I did my due diligence, connected with them, they pitched me on LinkedIn, then they scraped my telephone number, they texted me, and then they emailed me, and I was like, dude, come on. That’s not going to get their average personal attention.
We’re in a world where most people want to connect with a real person, so I cover these different aspects because if we don’t do that to connect with someone like myself, you want to make sure you understand how to connect with someone. When you’re doing that, you want to go in and hit that “More” button, hit “Connect,” and make sure you always add a note. For me, I want people to come in and say, “I love Zachariah and I love Darby because of X, Y, and Z” — because if they connect with me after listening to this and tell me why they love the content, that deepens that relationship with me, with you, and with Darby as well, and now we can have a deeper conversation and understand where they’re coming from.
That’s the best way to connect on LinkedIn, and if I didn’t lay that out I would be doing everyone a disservice, because they’d just go, “okay cool, I’m gonna go create a whole bunch of content and expect opportunity to come to me.” I love seeing those kinds of archetypes of LinkedIn messages — it’s almost PTSD thinking of all my LinkedIn notifications. Everyone gets it, so I gotta hit that right at the gate, because we’ve all been there, we’ve all done that. We all relate on some level, and that’s why I always start off with that whole aspect, because I want to shift things and help people actually create opportunity.
On platform, on LinkedIn, and honestly anywhere, we’ve got to start a conversation to build a relationship, and a relationship creates an opportunity. Most people try to skip all the way from connection to sale, and if they do that, they’re missing out. That’s why we create content as well — to deepen that relationship so we can educate and really draw in our audience, and there’s a cool way I’m going to share about that today.
When we talk about LinkedIn, I love the platform because it’s not just specific to certain regions — I can connect globally. I think this number has changed, but we’re at about 850 million members all around the globe, so your audience is everywhere. It’s growing by the second. The reason why most people want to leverage LinkedIn, and why I’m on there, is because I work with a lot of clients that have high-end products and services — anywhere from three to five thousand dollars all the way up to one client with a fifty-thousand-dollar-a-month product. Being able to go in, we want to make sure the people on there can actually afford what we have to offer.
When we talk about average salaries across these platforms — it’s about 58,000 dollars a year average on Twitter, 61,000 on Facebook, and when you look at LinkedIn it’s 118,000 a year, and I know that number continues to grow. We’re talking about averages, so having an average that high means people are making so much more money, and I want people to have the disposable income to be able to make decisions to work with us.