Zevari can reach a lead in four ways: warm-up touches, a connection request followed by messages, InMail, and email. Each has a cost and a best use.
Warm-up touches: view, like, comment
What they are: viewing a lead's profile, liking a recent post, and leaving a comment on it.
Why they work: each touch puts your name in the lead's notifications. When your connection request arrives a day or two later, you're not a stranger. You're the person who left a thoughtful comment yesterday.
When they're worth it: for leads who are active on LinkedIn. A quiet lead won't see the like, so skip straight to the channels they do read. See Active vs quiet on LinkedIn.
Tip: a comment only helps if it's specific to the post. A generic "Great post!" does more harm than no comment at all, especially with senior or technical buyers.
Connection requests and messages
What they are: an invite to connect, then direct messages once they accept.
Why they work: a LinkedIn message from a real connection is the warmest cold channel there is. Most replies come from the first message after someone accepts.
What they cost: connection requests are the scarcest action your account has. The Safety Center paces every action like a person and counts each one against your account's limits, so spend requests on your 4s and 5s first.
Note or no note? Teams have had results both ways, and it's worth testing for your own audience:
- Without a note, the invite is quick to accept and nothing about it reads as a pitch.
- With a note, you give a reason to accept, which can help when the lead doesn't know you or rarely checks LinkedIn.
On a free LinkedIn account, LinkedIn only allows a note on a few requests a month, so most of your invites will go without one. Premium and Sales Navigator accounts get a far larger allowance.
If they don't accept: not accepting usually isn't a no. Most people simply never saw the invite. That's why the better templates have a fallback: InMail or email for everyone who didn't accept. Zevari can also withdraw connection requests nobody answered, so your pending invites stay healthy.
Already connected? Skip the invite entirely. A message to an existing connection can go out on day one.
InMail
What it is: a LinkedIn message to someone you're not connected to. You need LinkedIn Premium or Sales Navigator to send one.
Why it works: it reaches people without waiting for an accept, and it lands in their LinkedIn inbox.
What it costs: InMail credits are limited each month, and how many you get depends on your LinkedIn plan. Check your balance in LinkedIn before you plan a campaign around them.
When it's worth a credit:
- For your score 5 leads who didn't accept your invite.
- For your short list of most-wanted accounts, where you'd rather not wait on an accept at all.
- For quiet score 5 leads, alongside email.
Back every InMail up with an email when you have one. Credits are scarce, so give each one a second chance to land.
What it is: plain-text emails sent from your own connected sending account. Connect an email provider in Settings before you use any template with email steps.
Why it works: email reaches the majority of people who aren't active on LinkedIn, and it doesn't draw on your LinkedIn limits at all.
When it's worth it:
- As the main channel for quiet leads.
- As the only channel for score 3 leads, leads with no LinkedIn profile, local businesses and smaller deals.
- As the fallback when a LinkedIn lead doesn't accept.
Before you start: warm up new mailboxes for two to three weeks before sending cold email. If you plan to send a lot of cold email, send from warmed-up secondary domains rather than your main company domain, so your everyday email stays safe.
Leads without an email: in templates with an email fallback, a lead with no email address simply finishes at that step. Some teams only add leads who have an email to those templates; others add everyone and accept that some will finish early. Either works, as long as you know which you chose.
Picking channels by what you have
| You have | Channels you can use |
|---|---|
| A free LinkedIn account | Warm-up touches, connection requests (mostly without a note), messages |
| Premium or Sales Navigator | All of the above, plus InMail and more connection requests with notes |
| A connected email provider | Email, as a main channel or a fallback |
Picking channels by deal size
- Small deals: email only.
- Medium deals: email and LinkedIn.
- Large deals: email, LinkedIn and InMail, plus a phone call you make yourself, and maybe a gift.
Templates that use this
- Connect and say hi (connection request and message)
- Already connected: three messages (messages only)
- Connect, InMail if they don't accept
- Connect, email if they don't accept
- InMail, then email
- Three cold emails
- The full stack: every channel