LinkedIn Prospecting: The 30 Connection Rule for SDRs

Apr 16, 2026 · 30 Minutes to President's Club
🎧 PodShort 20 min squeezed to 2 AI SprinklerAS Sales Tech New
Episode artwork
Kade Hinkel
SDR of the Year at Common Room
Alex Murphy
Account Executive at 30MPC
30 Minutes to President's Club
20 min squeezed to 2
Full episode from 30 Minutes to President's Club
Quotable Moments

If you're sending 30 a day, you're going to have at least five people accepting. And that's the lowest for my industry I sell to. I sell into go-to-market leaders. So I'm not sure what it'd be for others, but that's like the baseline for mine.

Kade HinkelSDR of the Year at Common Room
03:00

When you pitch somebody, if you see them post after, then comment on that. If you can comment on their post with something relevant, then they're going to go look at your profile because they probably don't get a lot of comments.

Kade HinkelSDR of the Year at Common Room
07:30

I'm calling to book a meeting with you. And that's been working really well. People are like, 'uh, okay, what do you, what do you talk, what do you talking about?' And then that's get straight into it.

Kade HinkelSDR of the Year at Common Room
16:45
Key Insights
  • Using videos for second messages, especially follow-ups, is more effective than a massive wall of text because it feels personal and takes only one to two minutes.
  • The '30 connection rule' involves sending 30 connection requests daily to ICP prospects, engaging with their posts, and also posting content yourself. This strategy aims for at least five accepted connections daily.
  • Once a prospect accepts your connection request, they will see your content in their feed, making you a familiar face for when the time is right to book a meeting.
  • When sending connection requests, it's often more effective to not include a note, unless you have a referral or a strong, specific reason like a job change from a competitor.
  • When pitching a prospect, if they post on LinkedIn, commenting on their relevant posts can lead them to check your profile and potentially respond to your previous outreach.
  • A highly personalized voice note that references multiple points of personalization, such as conversations with colleagues, current tools used, and details from their LinkedIn profile, significantly increases the likelihood of a positive response.
  • When cold calling, leading with just the prospect's name and then stating your intention to book a meeting can be a powerful pattern interrupt that elicits a response and allows you to gauge their mood.
  • A common bad habit in outbound sales is a lack of consistency in outreach across LinkedIn messages, emails, and cold calls, which hinders the ability to have more conversations with prospects.
Metrics Mentioned
  • 5 accepted connections (If you're sending 30 connection requests a day, you're going to have at least five people accepting.)
  • 90% of the time (Kade pitches 90% of the time, rather than softening up prospects.)
  • 75 prospect notifications (Kade has about 75 prospect notifications turned on to stay top of mind.)
  • 300 million cold emails (An analysis of over 300 million cold emails in partnership with Gong showed that making an offer of value is more effective than interest-based CTAs.)

RevBots.ai View:

  • AI Sprinklers bolt LinkedIn automation tools onto legacy outreach without integrating signals
  • The 30-connection rule creates artificial activity metrics vs ARM's relationship graphs
  • Video personalization works but scales poorly without AI-generated dynamic content
  • ARM replaces spray tactics with intent-triggered, sequenced multi-channel plays
🎧Full Episode:30 Minutes to President's Club →