Why CEOs Don’t Accept Your LinkedIn Connection Requests

Over the past years, I have advised hundreds of executives through their career transition by helping them connect with the right decision makers and influencers. The topics have often been about how to position yourself in front of c-level executives and board members.

Since we are currently living in a “remote” meeting world, I wanted to put a specific emphasis on LinkedIn since its importance in making connections has just become fundamental.

In this article, I will elaborate how to craft LinkedIn connection requests if you are approaching top level executives.

First Things First

Before you even bother connecting with CEOs or Board Members on LinkedIn, you need to put your a-game on when it comes to your LinkedIn profile.

Optimizing your LinkedIn profile is an art and a science. And there is no right way or wrong way.

The most important thing is that it reflects who you are. If you’re an extroverted sales guy like me, it should reflect that DNA. If you’re an introverted data analyst, it should reflect that.

Do Your Homework

Take the first person you want to connect with on LinkedIn. Then Google them. Read their interviews, watch their talks and screen their social media posts. Gather the most interesting content about them. 

Then ask yourself “What’s the red thread that makes them who they are?”. Or in other words, what core values stand out? What does their sense of purpose seem to be?

For example, if somebody is on a lot of boards of life science companies, runs marathons and is an investor in life science startups, I would conclude that health, entrepreneurship, sports and empowerment is important to them.

Why is finding these values or red thread so important?

Because if you understand people well enough, you can connect with what’s most important to them. If you can do that, there is always space for you at their table. 

People are never too busy. There are simply priorities and not priorities. If you can become a priority, you win.

Connecting Values

After you have a sense for who they are and what’s most important to them, you can use that to craft a message that resonates with them.

What you do here is to connect the dots. Theirs dots with your dots.

Let’s say this CEO you want to connect with gave an interview on the importance of innovation in life sciences in order to be prepared for future outbreaks. And you are a top executive in life sciences, having driven several key innovations at your last company.

Now that you have a sense for what’s important to them, you can connect the dots.

CEO: Health, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Empowerment

You: Innovation, Prevention, Health

Crafting Your Connection Request

The most important thing you need to reflect in a message to somebody who doesn’t know you yet, is care. They need to understand that you care and why you care. Caring is one of the most powerful ingredients in connecting.

In the case from above, you could write something like this.

"Hi Mike, I read your interview in YXZ about the importance of innovation in life sciences to better manage future outbreaks. I loved your perspective and would like to learn more about how you are putting this into action”

What such a message does is show the other person that you did your homework and that you genuinely care.

What If Somebody Doesn’t Accept?

No matter how powerful I am trying to make my connection requests, I only ever get about a 50% acceptance rate. And that’s pretty high.

There are countless reasons why. People don’t check their connection requests. People are flooded with them. People want to keep a small network. They had a bad day.

No matter what the reason is, you can’t control your acceptance rate beyond the effort you put into creating the message.

However, you can do a lot more beyond the connection request.

Even if somebody has not accepted your request, you can still comment on their LinkedIn updates. You can also tag them when sharing an update. You can also send them an InMail directly on LinkedIn if you have enough credits or they have turned on the setting that anyone can contact them.

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Daniel is the World’s Most Caring Headhunter. He’s also the Founder of LeadersBridge.org, Switzerland’s leading cross-industry network for Digital Leaders, to collaborate on partnership, career & board opportunities.

Over the past 15 years, Daniel has advised 250+ global business leaders on career transition and business growth, and recruited 100+ professionals, executives & board members.

Learn more about Executive Career Transition Advisory here.

If you are looking for specific messages that have worked well in reaching top level decision makers in Switzerland, download this PDF called “23 Mental Triggers That Make Busy People Say YES”.