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Sending connection requests to prospects

How to double your acceptance rates

Oleg Sobolev avatar
Written by Oleg Sobolev
Updated over 2 weeks ago

Extrovert can automatically send connection requests to prospects after you've warmed them up with comments. This helps you maintain high acceptance rates by timing requests perfectly and sends blank connection requests (which research shows have higher acceptance rates after engagement).

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

Extrovert tracks your engagement with each prospect and automatically sends connection requests when specific conditions are met. You set the rules, and the system handles the timing.

Connection request triggers

You can enable one or more triggers. When any trigger condition is met, Extrovert will send the connection request:

After direct comments

Send connection requests after you've commented a certain number of times on the prospect's own posts.

  • Recommended setting: 2 comments

  • Best for: Prospects who post regularly on LinkedIn

  • Why it works: They've seen your name multiple times and recognize you

After indirect comments

Send connection requests after you've commented a certain number of times on posts from people your prospect follows and engages with.

  • Recommended setting: 3 comments

  • Best for: Prospects who rarely post but are active readers

  • Why it works: Your comments appear in their feed when you engage with people they follow, creating visibility

☝️ Pro tip: You need to enable the indirect engagement feature in your campaign feed settings for this trigger to work.

After this many days

Send connection requests automatically after a specific time period, even if you haven't commented enough times.

  • Recommended setting: 14-30 days

  • Best for: Making sure you eventually connect even if prospects don't give you many opportunities to comment

  • Why it works: Prevents prospects from sitting in your list indefinitely

To non-posting prospects

Send connection requests immediately to prospects who don't post themselves and don't have enough indirect post activity.

  • Recommended setting: Enabled

  • Best for: Prospects who are completely silent on LinkedIn

  • Why it works: If there's no way to warm them up through engagement, you might as well connect early

Setting up connection requests

For new campaigns

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

  1. Click Create campaign

  2. Select Reach out to prospects and nurture pipeline

  3. Choose a preset:

    • Warm outreach - Comment 2-3 times, then send connection request

    • Nurture pipeline - Weekly touchpoints, send connection requests if not connected

  4. Adjust the connection request settings if needed

For existing campaigns

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

  1. Go to your campaign

  2. Click Connection requests tab

  3. Toggle on Send connection requests to prospects

  4. Configure your triggers (see recommended settings below)

  5. Click Save

Tracking connection requests

Monitor your connection request activity in several places:

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)

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

Learn more about limits and working hours.

What happens after connection

After prospects accept your connection request, your strategy should continue:

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

  • Wait before DMing: Give it 3 days to 4 weeks before sending your first message (depending on your strategy)

  • Post your own content: LinkedIn shows your posts to people who like your comments, so they'll start seeing your content

  • Watch for signals: About 15-20% of prospects will message you first if you continue engaging

Learn more about warm outreach.

Integration with your outreach workflow

Connection requests work seamlessly with different outreach approaches:

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.

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.

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%, increase comment requirements before sending

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

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