Top 10 LinkedIn messaging templates for sales and business development teams

When you’re prospecting, making a strong first impression is crucial, especially when reaching out to potential clients or partners on platforms such as LinkedIn.

Whether you’re just starting to reach out to people on LinkedIn as part of your sales outreach method, or looking for ways to boost your existing messaging strategy, we’ve got some templates that can help elevate your first impression. 

This blog post introduces a collection of LinkedIn messaging templates tailored specifically for sales and business development professionals. These templates are designed for you to personalize and adapt to each prospect.

We also unpack 3 best practices you can take to avoid coming across as spam and introduce folk X’s brand-new feature that gives you access to your template library with just one click. 

3 ways to optimize your LinkedIn profile 

Before you make any outreach attempts, make sure your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date with relevant information. This will prevent you from coming across as spam, and will effect your personal branding.

The tips below can help make your LinkedIn prospecting efforts more effective.

Step one: Optimize your LinkedIn profile

There are a few things to focus on in this step. 

• Professional photo: Leaving this blank might make your message come across as spam.
• Clear headline: Your headline should not just state your job title but also highlight your value proposition or what you can do for your prospects.
• Clear summary: Use the summary section to tell your story, showcase your expertise, and explain how you can solve problems for your clients. 
• Recommendations and endorsements: These areas can help you build credibility. Ask colleagues, clients, and partners to endorse your skills and write recommendations.

Step two: Build a strong network

LinkedIn is a fantastic platform to build and nurture genuine relationships, as opposed to just selling. Avoid continuously posting about your company’s product. Instead, offer help and support when you can, and post content that adds value to your potential customers. This way, you can build a community and your credibility so when it comes to any outreach attempts, you’re already halfway there.

• Connect with people: Find potential clients through relevant LinkedIn groups, and contribute to discussions. 
• Build relationships: Focus on building genuine relationships. Offer help and 

Step three: Build a personal brand

At this stage, it’s all about what you want to be known for and why people should connect with you. Start by experimenting with your content and keep an eye on your analytics to figure out what is working, and what can be improved.

• Start posting: Share your insights and engage in discussions. Avoid posting things that are sales-related 24/7. 
• Experiment with your content: When you’re first starting out on LinkedIn, experiment with different content types. Engage with people by using polls. Experiment with different post types including informative carousels, different hashtags, text-only posts and emoji-filled ones. 

Now that your LinkedIn profile is optimized, let’s unpack some messaging templates you can use to boost your outreach method.

Ten effective LinkedIn messaging templates 

We’ve put together ten messaging templates your sales and business development teams can adapt and personalize. 

Template one: Initial message, no previous contact.

Hi [Name], 

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Great to see you’re doing [Insert something from your research]. 

At [Your Company], we specialize in helping [Brief line on your product’s value add]. Check it out and let me know if you’d like a demo. 

‍

Best regards,

[Your Name]

Template two: Follow-up after a networking event.

Hi [Name],

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It was a pleasure meeting you at [Event Name]. I enjoyed our conversation on [Topic]. 

As mentioned, I specialize in helping businesses with [problem your product helps solve]. Would be great to see if we can collaborate. Can we set up a call to discuss this?

‍

Best regards,

‍

[Your name]

Template three: Demo booking

Hi [Name],

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Saw your post about problems with [X]. This is something our product [Name] was built to help to solve. Check out a recent [case study/report here]. 

Would you like a demo to see how it might be able to help over a quick call? 

‍

Best regards,

‍

[Your name]

Template four: Follow up after a demo

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Hi [Name],

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It was a pleasure having you on call yesterday. I hope you found our presentation helpful.  Wanted to check in to see if you might have any follow-up questions I can help answer. 

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Looking forward to hearing from you,

‍

[Your name]

Template five: Follow up after a demo that revealed a particular pain point

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Hi [Name], 

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It was a pleasure having you on call yesterday. It’s exciting to hear about what you’re trying to achieve at [Company] and how our product can help. 

I followed up with the team on some of the pain points you mentioned yesterday to see exactly how our product can address it and we’ve got a few options we can help address these. Let me know when’s a good time for us to catch up. 

‍

Best,

‍

[Your name]

Template six: Follow up after an unsatisfactory demo 

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Hi [Name], 

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Thanks so much for your time yesterday. I understand that we couldn’t quite fit your requirements which is disappointing. To see if we might be able to fix this, I’ll be having a chat with the product team to see if there are any solutions we might be able to work something out. 

Meanwhile, if you come across anyone you reckon might need our product, please send them my way!

‍

Best regards,

‍

[Your name]

Template seven: Value-add approach 

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Hi [Name],

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I recently came across your profile and saw that you do [Their job title] at [Their company].

At [Your company]. We’ve just published this [Case study/Report/Whitepaper name] which I think will be helpful. You can access it here: [link to content].

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Hope this helps. 

‍

[Your name]

Template eight: The mutual connection approach

Hi [Name],

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[Mutual connection’s Name] suggested I reach out to you. 

Would love to have a chat at some point about how we can collaborate. Looking forward to connecting. 

‍

Best,

‍

[Your Name] 

Template nine: Webinar invite

Hey [Name],

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I wanted to personally reach out and invite you to our upcoming webinar on [Topic]. It’ll be live on [date and time]. 

I thought that [Topic] might be of interest for you and your team, as [similar companies] often reach out saying this is something they’re looking for help to solve. 

You can register for the event here: [link to registration form]. There’ll be a recording available that you can share with your team for those who sign up. 

‍

Hope to see you there.

‍

[Your Name]

Template ten: Congratulations 

Hi [Name],

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Just saw the fantastic news about your promotion – congratulations! Been following you for a while and have noticed your efforts in this area, it’s great to see it being recognized.

I’ve got a few resources that could help you with [Pain point or responsibility]. Please check it out at [link to content]. 

Would be great to book a follow-up call should you have any questions I can help address. 

‍

Congrats again, 

‍

[Your Name] 

3 helpful tools to boost your prospecting efforts

With this tech stack, you’ll be able to access your template library without leaving the page, prospect easily and improve your outreach efforts.

1. folk X

folk is a handy all-in-one CRM platform loved for its Notion-like design and ease of use from day one. Their Chrome extension, folk X is a game-changer. Especially if you hate having to switch platforms constantly. It helps you streamline your workflow process by allowing you to: 

• Import LinkedIn search lists in bulk directly to your folk CRM in one click. 
• Import contact information from anywhere on the web without leaving the page.
• Eliminate manual tasks by suggesting groups when you bulk import contacts.

They’ve also just launched a brand-new feature that allows you to access your template library with just one click. 

2. Lavender AI

Lavender AI is a data-driven email writing coach. It uses AI to analyze your emails and gives you a score. The higher the score, the higher your chance of getting a response. You can use it to get feedback on your message’s tone of voice.

Its Chrome extension gives you access to a cold email coach that can track your email performance and share insight on how you can improve it. 

Hunter.io

Hunter.io is well known for its professional email verification tool. Their extension, ‘Hunter for Chrome’ gives you access to information on who to contact as soon as you land on their website.

Conclusion

Leveraging well-crafted LinkedIn messaging templates can help you enhance your sales and business development efforts. Our collection of templates is designed to give you a head start, but your unique touch will make each interaction stand out. As you integrate these templates into your LinkedIn outreach, make the most of folk X so that you can access them easily with a single click.