• The Clever Letter
  • Posts
  • The personalized LinkedIn outreach formula that works like clockwork

The personalized LinkedIn outreach formula that works like clockwork

Read time: 3 minutes

Welcome To The Clever Letter!

Every Saturday, we’ll share an actionable lead generation guide that’ll help get your first (or next) 100 customers so you can take your business to the next level. This newsletter will remain Free forever. We hope you enjoy!

At Cleverly, we’ve helped 7,500+ customers book 224,700+ sales qualified leads generated with cold outreach. If you are struggling to grow your business, click here to learn more about how we can help.

One thing that's working incredibly well on LinkedIn right now?

Instantly building commonalities with your ideal clients.

We've got a trick that works really well.

It's all about finding things in common with the people you want to connect with.

What's Working Right Now

One of the best ways to make connections on LinkedIn is by quickly finding things you have in common with your ideal clients.

For example, you can use LinkedIn's "previous college" filter to find people who went to the same school as you.

When you reach out to these people, something cool happens. About 40-50% of them will accept your connection request.

Why?

Because you share something important - your college experience!

Why Does This Work So Well?

Think about the connection requests you usually get.

They're often boring, too salesy or just clearly ChatGPT.

They might say something like, "Hey, just wanted to network. Saw your profile, let's connect." Pretty dull.

People can tell that these messages are probably automated.

But when you mention something specific that you have in common, it stands out. It makes people feel like you really want to connect with them.

Here’s how to reach out to your college alumni:

It's Not Just About School

While reaching out to people who went to your school is a great start, you can use this same idea in Sales Navigator with other things you have in common:

✅ Companies you've both worked for

✅ Shared interests or hobbies

✅ People you both know

✅ Living in the same area

Here’s a reminder on where to find these search options:

The Most Important Part

The key to making this work is doing your homework.

Make each request to each persona unique.

When you show that you've taken the time to find a real connection, people are much more likely to say yes.

And once they accept, you've opened the door to starting a real relationship.

It's not just about adding another name to your list - it's about making real connections.

Putting It All Together

Now that we've talked about using things in common to connect with people, let's look at how you might use this idea in real life.

Here's a smart way to reach out to people you want to work with:

  1. Find a Connection: Look for something you share with the person. Maybe you both love the same sports team, or you're in the same industry.

  2. Make Contact: When you reach out, mention that shared interest right away. This makes your message stand out.

  3. Keep It Short: After they accept your connection, send a quick, friendly message. Ask how they're doing or about something related to your shared interest.

  4. Show How You Can Help: In your next message, briefly tell them how you've helped others in similar situations. Use real examples if you can.

  5. Suggest Next Steps: Offer to have a quick chat to learn more about their needs. Make it easy for them to say yes.

Why not start with the school approach we talked about?

You'll be surprised at how many more people accept your requests.


Whenever you are ready, there are 3 ways we can help you:

  1. Cold Email Lead Generation - Get booked sales calls with your ideal clients on a pay-per-lead basis. You pay a fixed fee whenever you get a response from your ideal customer. Click here to learn more.

  2. LinkedIn Appointment setting - Want a trained sales rep in your Linkedin inbox, speaking to prospects & booking sales calls onto your calendar? Our appointment setting service will do just that. Click here to learn more.

  3. LinkedIn Paid Advertising - Want to get in front of prospects you never thought possible? Our irresistible LinkedIn Ad funnels will help you grow your business rapidly. Click here to learn more.