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Sending connection requests to prospects

How to double your acceptance rates

Written by Denis Bauer

Extrovert can send connection requests for you, either after you've warmed a prospect up with comments or right away if you skip the warm-up. It sends blank requests, which research shows are accepted more often after engagement than requests with a note.

Available on all plans.

Why timing matters

Sending connection requests after you've engaged with prospects 2-3 times creates familiarity. They've seen your name in their notifications, read your thoughtful comments, and are much more likely to accept your request.

Expected results

  • 70% connection acceptance rates (vs 30%-50% industry average)

  • Natural timing - requests come after engagement, not out of the blue

  • No need to manually track when to send requests

  • Works even for prospects who don't post themselves

How it works

Connection requests are a single switch on the campaign's Outreach tab. Turn it on and Extrovert sends the request itself, without a note, as soon as the prospect is ready.

What counts as ready is decided by Warm up, the section directly above it on the same page. With Warm up on, the request waits until you have commented enough times. With Warm up off, there is no comment prerequisite and the request can go out straight away.

What decides when the request goes out

Warm up has four controls, and any one of them can release the request:

  • Comments on their posts - how many comments on the prospect's own posts finish the warm-up. Recommended: 2. Best for prospects who post regularly, because they have seen your name several times and recognise you.

  • Comments on posts they may see - comments on posts from people the prospect regularly engages with. Recommended: 3. Best for prospects who rarely post but read a lot. This needs indirect engagement turned on in the campaign's Feed settings, otherwise the path can never complete.

  • Warm-up time limit - after this many days the request goes out even if the comment target was never reached. Recommended: 14 to 30 days. It stops prospects sitting in your list forever when they give you nothing to comment on.

  • Go straight to outreach when there are no recent posts - if the prospect hasn't posted in the last 30 days there is nothing to comment on, so Extrovert skips the warm-up. Best for people who are completely silent.

The two comment targets do not add together. Hitting either one finishes the warm-up, so two comments on their posts plus two on posts they may see is not four.

Every field on that page, with its defaults and limits, is described in Outreach settings: warm up, connection requests, and DMs.

What to aim for

  • Prospects who post regularly: 2 comments on their posts, with the time limit at 14 to 30 days as a backstop.

  • Mixed list: both comment paths on, 2 and 3, plus the time limit. The first path fires for posters, the second for lurkers, and the limit catches the rest.

  • Mostly silent prospects: keep the no-recent-posts skip on, and add comments on posts they may see if you run indirect engagement.

  • Enterprise or high-value: raise the comment targets and lengthen the time limit so the warm-up goes deeper before you connect.

Setting up connection requests

For new campaigns

When creating a new campaign, choose a preset that includes connection requests:

  1. Click Create campaign

  2. Select People

  3. Choose a preset:

    • Warm outreach - comment warm-up, then the connection request, then DMs

    • Nurture - the same, on a slower ongoing cadence for people you want to stay in touch with

  4. Adjust the Outreach settings if needed

For existing campaigns

You can enable connection requests for campaigns you've already created:

  1. Go to your campaign

  2. Open the Outreach tab

  3. Turn on Connection requests

  4. Use Warm up above it to decide when requests are allowed to go out

Changes save as you make them, there is no Save button.

Tracking connection requests

Go to Prospects to see connection status for each prospect:

  • Connected (green badge) - Connection request accepted

  • Pending (orange badge) - Connection request sent, waiting for acceptance

  • Not connected (no badge) - No connection request sent yet

Daily limits

LinkedIn has weekly limits for connection requests. Extrovert respects these automatically:

  • Sales Navigator accounts: Up to 200 per week (~28 per day)

  • Basic LinkedIn accounts: Up to 80 per week (~11 per day)

Your current daily limit is shown inside the Connection requests section, with a link to change it. You can also adjust it in Settings → Daily limits. If you reach the limit, Extrovert postpones the remaining requests to the next day.

Learn more about limits and working hours.

What happens after connection

After prospects accept your connection request, Extrovert can suggest DMs to start conversations. You can also continue engaging with their posts.

With Direct messages enabled on the same Outreach tab:

  • A first DM: suggested once the wait after acceptance has passed, 3 days by default

  • Follow-ups on your own schedule: if the prospect stays quiet, each follow-up becomes due after the pause you set, and you choose how many to send before Extrovert stops

  • Sooner after a relevant post: a new post from the prospect can halve the current wait

  • Keep commenting: Don't stop engaging just because you're connected

Conversations that are due appear in the Recommended tab of the DMs page. See when Extrovert recommends a DM and the full guide to DM suggestions.

Learn more about warm outreach.

Integration with your outreach workflow

Connection requests work seamlessly with different outreach approaches:

With Extrovert DM suggestions (recommended)

  1. Create a campaign with connection requests and direct messages enabled

  2. Upload your prospect list

  3. Comment to warm them up

  4. Connection requests send automatically once the warm-up is satisfied

  5. After connection, Extrovert suggests a first DM once your wait has passed

  6. Review, improve the draft if needed, and send

  7. Follow-ups come back on the ladder you set, and sooner when the prospect posts something relevant

This keeps the entire flow in one tool - comments, connections, and DMs.

With sequencing tools

  1. Create campaign in Extrovert with connection requests enabled

  2. Upload your prospect list

  3. Comment to warm them up

  4. Connection requests send automatically when conditions are met

  5. Wait 3-7 days after connection acceptance

  6. Export prospect list and import to your sequencer

  7. Continue commenting during your outreach sequence

☝️ Pro tip: Use webhooks to automatically push connected prospects to your sequencer.

With manual outreach

  1. Create campaign with connection requests enabled

  2. Upload your prospect list

  3. Engage with their posts regularly

  4. Connection requests send automatically

  5. When prospects accept, keep commenting

  6. When they engage back (like or reply to your comments), send a personalized DM

Common questions

Can I customize the connection request message?

Not at the moment, but it's on the roadmap. Connection requests are blank because research shows blank requests after engagement have higher acceptance rates than requests with messages.

What if I'm already connected to some prospects?

Extrovert automatically skips prospects you're already connected with. No duplicate requests will be sent.

What if a prospect already sent me a request?

If a prospect has already sent you a connection request, Extrovert accepts their pending invitation instead of sending a new one. You connect right away, and it counts toward your connection limit like a normal request.

Can I disable connection requests for specific prospects?

Not yet. If you don't want to send connection requests to certain prospects, create a separate campaign without connection requests enabled.

If I turn Warm up off, do connection requests stop?

No. The three sections on the Outreach tab are independent. Turning Warm up off only removes the requirement to comment first, so requests start going out sooner rather than not at all.

What happens if I reach my daily limit?

Extrovert will automatically postpone remaining connection requests to the next day. You can adjust your daily limit in Settings → Daily limits.

Do connection requests count toward LinkedIn's weekly limit?

Yes. LinkedIn has weekly limits for connection requests (200/week for Sales Navigator, 80/week for Basic accounts). Extrovert respects these limits automatically.

Can I see which connection requests are pending?

Yes. Go to your Prospects page and look for the orange "Pending" badge in the Connection column.

Best practices

  • Don't rush it: Let the engagement build naturally before sending requests

  • Combine with posting: Your own LinkedIn content amplifies the effect of your comments

  • Keep engaging after connecting: Connection is just the beginning, not the end goal

  • Watch your limits: Stay within LinkedIn's weekly limits to maintain account safety

  • Monitor acceptance rates: If rates drop below 60%, raise the warm-up comment targets before connecting

  • Use different settings for different campaigns: Enterprise prospects might need more warmup than SMB prospects

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