Nurturing Like a Pro: Why Engaging Before Connecting Matters

The way we connect on LinkedIn has become increasingly important as so many people reject connection requests. Our research at Pitch121 has uncovered a critical truth that many professionals overlook: lead nurturing specifically, engaging before connecting dramatically increases your success rate.

This insight isn’t just anecdotal, it’s backed by data. And for B2B tech marketers and sales leaders looking to optimise their LinkedIn strategy, understanding this principle could be the difference between a thriving pipeline and a stagnant one.

The Cold Hard Facts About Cold Connections

Let’s address the elephant in the room.

Cold connection requests on LinkedIn are the digital equivalent of cold calling, and they’re about as effective.

Our analysis of over 5,000 connection requests in 2023 revealed that a simple ‘Like’ on a post improved subsequent connection acceptance rates.

Standard cold connection requests: 30% acceptance rate
Requests after prior engagement: 41% acceptance rate

That’s 11% improvement simply by taking the time to engage before connecting.

But how has this changed in 2025?

Our Research Report will reveal the truth, it is out in a few weeks, so sign up for your copy.

What Constitutes "Engaging First"?

When we talk about engaging before connecting at Pitch121, we’re referring to specific actions that warm up your prospect before you send that connection request:

Thoughtful comments on their posts (not just “Great post!”)
Strategic likes on content relevant to your expertise
Sharing their content with your own insightful perspective
Participating in the same conversations within groups or comment threads

These actions demonstrate genuine interest and create a foundation for meaningful connection.

The Psychology Behind Pre-Connection Engagement

Why does this approach work so well? Our research indicates:

“Pre-connection engagement leverages the principle of reciprocity. When someone notices you’ve engaged with their content, they feel a psychological obligation to acknowledge you. More importantly, they begin to recognise your name and associate it with positive interactions.”

This recognition creates what we call a “familiarity bridge”, reducing the psychological distance between you and your prospect before you are directly connected.

Measurable Impact on Sales Cycles

The benefits of engagement-first strategies extend far beyond just improved connection rates. Industry research confirms the significant impact of social selling and strategic engagement:

LinkedIn Sales Solutions reports that professionals who regularly share content and engage with their network are 45% more likely to exceed quota
HubSpot research found that sales teams using social selling have 18% greater pipeline volume and close rates that are 28% higher than teams not leveraging social media
RAIN Group discovered that personalised engagement on social networks leads to 37% higher response rates from B2B buyers

These findings align with what we’re seeing in our client work. Structured engagement before connection is dramatically shortening sales cycles and improving conversion rates.

Practical Implementation: A Step-by-Step Approach

For busy B2B CMOs and sales leaders, here’s how to implement this strategy efficiently:

1. Strategic Prospect Selection

Don’t try to engage with everyone. Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator or similar tools to identify high-value prospects based on:

Job title relevance
Company fit
Recent activity level on LinkedIn
Shared connections

2. Engagement Calendar

Develop a systematic approach to engagement:

Daily: Go to your Sales Navigator home page and find 10-15 updates to engage with
Inbox: Use these conversation starters to get into the inbox
Notifications: Look for signals, profile views, likes, notifications on free LinkedIn.com to follow up on

3. Thoughtful Engagement Templates

While your comments should be personalised, having frameworks helps:

Share a relevant experience that adds value to their post
Offer a complementary perspective that expands the conversation
Make them self-contained – providing ideas for posts for the following weeks

4. Personalised Connection Requests

When you do send the connection request, reference your previous engagements: “I’ve enjoyed our exchanges on [topic] in the comments of [mutual connection]’s posts. If you’re accepting connections, I’d love to join your network.

The Data Behind the Strategy

Our upcoming LinkedIn Outreach Handbook will reveal the complete findings, but here’s a preview of what our research uncovered:

Engagement before connection isn’t as effective as it was in 2025 but it still helps
Sales people that engage AFTER colleagues have nurtured leads can double their connection rates

There are real business opportunities that are missed when professionals rush to connect without laying groundwork.

Case Study: Engagement-First in Action

One of our clients, a CMO at a midsize tech firm, implemented our engagement-first approach with their team of sales people. Their process:

They selected their priority accounts
Pitch121 researched the key decision-makers and pathways into each account from each person in their team
For one year, Pitch121 connected deeply to their audiences, liking posts and cross-connecting
Pitch121 enriched the data of the lists of connected people with emails
Their SDR team would contact their connections as normal to book meetings and open opportunities

The results at the end of year one:

7k leads added to CRM
$24M pipeline opened (3x the value of the previous year) with the same SDR team

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Even with the right strategy, there are potential missteps:

Engagement bombing: Liking or commenting on too many posts too quickly appears inauthentic
Surface-level comments: “Great post!” or “Interesting!” add no value and may harm your credibility
Inconsistent engagement: Starting strong but disappearing creates negative impressions
Selling too soon: Attempting to pitch in comments undermines the nurturing process

LinkedIn Lead Nurturing Best Practices

To maximise your success with warm LinkedIn connections:

1. Focus on quality over quantity – fewer, deeper engagements trump many superficial ones
2. Be patient – the strategy works, but it requires consistency and time
3. Maintain engagement after connecting – don’t disappear once the connection is made
4. Align content engagement with your expertise – demonstrate your knowledge through thoughtful contributions
5. Coordinate your activity with your colleagues – get your subject matter experts to nurture leads before sales people to increase effectiveness

Looking Forward: The Future of LinkedIn Engagement

Those who master the art of authentic engagement will see their content reach expand by at least 200-300% in the coming year.

This trend makes mastering engagement-before-connection not just a current tactic, but a long-term strategic advantage for B2B marketers and sales professionals.

Your Next Steps

Implementing an engagement-first approach requires planning, patience, and persistence. But it’s worth the investment.

If you’re ready to transform your LinkedIn outreach:

Set up your Sales Navigator with the leads to track
Commit to engaging with their content before sending connection requests
Track your results and refine your approach
Share lists with colleagues for their follow-up

And if you’d like to dive deeper into our comprehensive research findings, add your email here and we’ll ensure you’re first to receive our LinkedIn Outreach Handbook when it launches next month.

Remember, in a world where everyone is trying to connect, those who nurture relationships first will always have the advantage.

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