What LinkedIn prospects actually say when they reply
Most replies are a way in.
Upscale Outreach ·
59% of first replies were an opening for a meeting: a yes, a thanks, a “not now”, a question, an objection or a pointer to somebody else. Those six opened 92% of the meetings that followed. 37% were a plain no, and just 1% were annoyed.
Outscale benchmarks, from 115,160 prospects reached in real campaigns.
Most replies are a way in
- 59%An opening for a meeting
- 37%A plain no
- 4%Something else
59% of first replies left a way in. Those openings started 92% of the meetings that followed. Which ones book best is in which kinds of LinkedIn replies turn into meetings.
Six ways in
- Thanks14%
- Yes11%
- Not now11%
- A question8.7%
- An objection7.2%
- Not me6.2%
A thanks is the commonest, at a median of 2 words. A “not now” takes 26: somebody who explains when they’ll be ready is telling you when to come back. A question tests how you answer. An objection hands you the reason to answer. And “not me” sends you to somebody else, sometimes by name.
Saying yes to a stranger feels like a commitment, so interest comes dressed as something smaller. The seller sorts the inbox into yes and no, and the middle waits. A thanks got a message back 43% of the time, against 72% for a reply saying interested.
A no is short and polite
37% were a plain no, at a median of 8 words. Saying no to a stranger feels rude, so people keep it short and soft. And the angry reply every seller dreads? 1% of first replies. One in a hundred.
What to do today
- Count the openings, as well as the yeses. Six kinds of reply start meetings.
- Answer the middle first. A thanks, a “not now” and a question are where meetings slip away.
More in benchmarks
LinkedIn reply rate by continent, and how much of it is positive
The easiest accept, the coolest reply.
North America replied most once messaged, at 31%, and the Middle East least, at 23%. The share of replies that were positive ran the opposite way to acceptance: Asia, which accepts the fewest requests, had the most (30%), and South America, which accepts the most, sat at the bottom with Europe (19%).
Read itLinkedIn acceptance rate by continent
A continent is too big to target by.
South America accepted LinkedIn connection requests most and Asia least: 65% against 33%, with every continent together at 39%. But within the same campaigns, the gap shrinks to 14%: most of a continent’s rate is the campaigns aimed at it.
Read itLinkedIn reply rate by department
The board and the sales team talk. Operations is busy.
Board members and salespeople replied most, 30% of them once messaged, against 26% overall. Operations replied least, at 20%. All three held within the same campaigns.
Read itWhat’s a good LinkedIn acceptance rate?
Above 47% is top quarter. And it barely buys you replies.
Anything above 47% puts a campaign in the top quarter. In real campaigns, the middle one had 37% of its connection requests accepted, the bottom quarter fell below 29%, and the top tenth beat 60%.
Read it