The first 4 words of your message determine whether someone continues reading or immediately dismisses you.

The biggest mistakes people make in these crucial first words:

• Starting with "I" or "We" (instant turn-off)
• Generic openings like "Hope you're doing well"
• Obvious flattery that feels insincere

What works instead:

• Name + question format ("Sam, have you considered...")
• Observation-led openings ("Noticed your recent post...")
• Value-first statements ("Quick idea for your...")

Alex from Flying V Group shared: **

"We really want to stay far away from immediately selling early on in the sequence. In our connection requests, we simply shout out that we noticed they worked at the company, express an interest to connect and network - not trying to sell anything quite yet."

https://youtu.be/GxRgWxQFduA?si=kpvksQYKiKQHwDcN

Joey Kennedy from KMS Healthcare uses this approach with impressive results:

"I'm just sending an empty message request because I think that's the most effective - it doesn't look like you're trying to sell something. Then I go with a very super open-ended question because I want to get the prospect talking."

https://youtu.be/AOIYXi11zF8?si=tiQdLvM06TyZa-3h