> Enrich.chat gives AI agents verified work emails and mobiles. To use it from an agent, read https://enrich.chat/agents.md . This is the Markdown version of https://enrich.chat/blog/linkedin-prospecting/

# LinkedIn prospecting: a step-by-step workflow that stays inside LinkedIn's rules

Define who you want, build a list with search, warm people up by hand, send a short first note, follow up a few times and move willing people to email. Each limit below comes from a LinkedIn page we read on October 16, 2026.

By Enrich.chat Editorial. Updated October 16, 2026.

**Short answer:** LinkedIn prospecting works as a loop: define your ideal customer, build a list with search and saved searches, warm people up, send a short first note, follow up a few times, then move people who reply to email. [LinkedIn does not permit scraping tools or bots](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a1341387), so do each step by hand and get the email from a lookup on the profile URL.

## Key takeaways

- A free account can add a note to three connection requests a month, up to 200 characters each. Premium members can send unlimited personalized invitations, though request limits may still apply.
- LinkedIn publishes no weekly invitation cap. It restricts accounts that send many invitations quickly, or whose invitations are ignored, left pending or marked as spam. Most restrictions lift within a week.
- A Sales Navigator search shows up to 2,500 leads across 100 pages. You can save 50 lead searches with weekly email alerts, and a Boolean query can use at most 15 operators.
- A Sales Navigator InMail takes a 200-character subject and a 1,900-character message. LinkedIn says bulk InMails are not allowed and templates are not available.
- In Hunter's 2026 survey, LinkedIn was the preferred outreach channel for 50.5% of decision makers and email for 25%, so move to email only when the person has shown interest.

## What is LinkedIn prospecting, and what does staying inside the rules mean?

LinkedIn prospecting is the routine of finding likely buyers on LinkedIn and starting a conversation with them. LinkedIn's sales glossary calls it [a strategic process of identifying and connecting with potential buyers](https://business.linkedin.com/sell/resources/sales-terms/prospecting). This guide covers the person-by-person work, in six steps (Figure 1). Ads and Lead Gen Forms are a different route, covered in our guide to [generating leads on LinkedIn](https://enrich.chat/blog/generating-leads-on-linkedin/) with the native limits and a weekly routine.

**Figure 1: A six-step LinkedIn prospecting workflow.** Six steps in two rows. Step one, define the ideal customer, happens outside LinkedIn. Steps two to five, search and save, warm up, send a first note and follow up, happen on LinkedIn and are done by hand. Step six, look up the work email and write the email, happens outside LinkedIn and only for people who replied.

*The six steps. Only step 6 uses a lookup, and only for people who replied. Sources: [User Agreement](https://www.linkedin.com/legal/user-agreement), [prohibited software](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a1341387), [invitation limits](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/46662).*

Staying inside the rules means a person does every step on LinkedIn. Section 8.2 of the [User Agreement](https://www.linkedin.com/legal/user-agreement), effective November 3, 2025, bars software, scripts, robots, crawlers and browser plugins or add-ons that scrape or copy profiles. It also bars bots that add contacts or send messages. LinkedIn's [page on prohibited software](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a1341387) says members who use such tools risk having their accounts restricted or shut down. The [Professional Community Policies](https://www.linkedin.com/legal/professional-community-policies) add a spam rule: no untargeted or repetitive messages, and no promotional messages sent through the invitation feature to people you do not know.

So this workflow leaves out extensions that export search results, tools that send invitations for you, and tools that comment or post for you. It gives no steps for any of them. For the background, read [our guide to the rules](https://enrich.chat/blog/is-linkedin-scraping-legal/). What remains is slower, but it does not break them. You search, read, write and send. You use a lookup only for the one thing LinkedIn does not give you, a work email.

## How do you define your ideal customer and a target list?

Write your ideal customer profile (ICP) in one short paragraph before you open LinkedIn. It tells you which filters to set and which people to skip. Our [ideal customer profile guide](https://enrich.chat/blog/ideal-customer-profile/) has a full template. Here you need only the parts LinkedIn can filter on.

- **Role.** Two or three job titles, the function, and the seniority of the person who buys or signs off.
- **Company.** Industry, headcount range and headquarters region.
- **Timing.** One reason to talk now, such as a new job in the last 90 days or a recent post. Our guide to [sales signals](https://enrich.chat/blog/sales-signals/) lists more.
- **Exclusions.** Titles and industries you will skip, plus your customers and competitors.
- **Why they would care.** One sentence on the problem you solve for them. It becomes the center of your first note.

Keep the first list small. A suggestion: 50 to 100 people, each ranked A, B or C for fit, with the A rows first. That size is our assumption, not a LinkedIn figure. It also suits how LinkedIn meters free search: the [commercial use limit](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a564226) counts profile searches and browsing that look like prospecting, and LinkedIn shows no number for it. A tight ICP means fewer searches. In Sales Navigator, [you can save 25 leads at a time](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a101025).

## Which search filters and saved searches should you use?

Use the filters that match your ICP, save the search, and read the new matches once a week. Free LinkedIn search and Sales Navigator work the same way. Sales Navigator has more filters and more room to save searches.

### Free LinkedIn search

LinkedIn's help page on [searching for people](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a525054) lists these filters under All filters: degree of connections, locations, current company, past company, school, industry, profile language and keywords, among others. Search also understands plain-language queries, but natural-language search does not support quotes. For exact matching, use Boolean search. A basic account can [save up to three searches and get weekly alerts](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a545596) on them, per LinkedIn's comparison of free and Premium accounts. Spend those three on your best segments.

### Boolean strings

LinkedIn's [Boolean search help](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a524335) says to type AND, OR and NOT in capitals, put exact phrases in straight quotation marks, and group terms with parentheses. Wildcards are not supported. LinkedIn reads quotes first, then parentheses, NOT, AND and OR, so NOT reaches only the next term or group. In Sales Navigator, a query can use [at most 15 Boolean operators](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a524411/boolean-query-limitations?lang=en). Here is a title string for the example buyer in this guide, a head of revenue operations:

```
("revenue operations" OR RevOps) AND (head OR VP) NOT (intern OR assistant)
```

That string uses five operators. Draft long strings in a text file and paste them in, so a typo does not change the meaning.

### Sales Navigator filters that matter

LinkedIn's [filter definitions page](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a1452817) lists dozens of lead and account filters. You need only a few for a first list. The table maps the ICP to the filter names LinkedIn uses.

| ICP trait | Sales Navigator filter | Free search |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Job title | Current job title | Keywords, with a Boolean title string |
| Seniority | Seniority level | Not in LinkedIn's list, so use title words |
| Team | Function | Not in LinkedIn's list |
| Company size | Company headcount | Not in LinkedIn's list |
| Industry | Industry | Industry |
| Place | Geography, by region or postal code | Locations |
| Employer | Current company, Past company | Current company, Past company |
| Timing | Changed jobs (last 90 days), Posted on LinkedIn (last 30 days) | Not in LinkedIn's list |
| People you already contacted | People you interacted with (saved, viewed or contacted) | Not in LinkedIn's list |

Two cautions. LinkedIn changes filter names and plan access, so check your own screen. And buyer intent filters such as Account has buyer intent depend on activity with your own company: InMail and ad engagement, Page views and profile views. A new account may have little to go on. Our guide to [intent data](https://enrich.chat/blog/intent-data/) explains when a plain contact list works better.

One Sales Navigator search [shows up to 2,500 lead results across 100 pages](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a106030), and LinkedIn applies the same cap on LinkedIn.com. If a search returns more, split it by region or industry so each saved search stays under the cap. You can keep [50 lead searches and 50 account searches](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a102024/), and each sends weekly emails and homepage alerts when new people match. For saved leads, LinkedIn can also [alert you when a lead changes jobs](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a105133), once you switch on those settings. Plans are in our [Sales Navigator pricing guide](https://enrich.chat/blog/linkedin-sales-navigator-pricing/). LinkedIn documents [no CSV export of leads](https://enrich.chat/blog/export-leads-from-sales-navigator/), so keep people in a list inside Sales Navigator and add to your sheet only those you decide to contact.

## What goes in a prospecting sheet?

A prospecting sheet has one row per person. It holds your list, your touches, the email lookup and your do-not-contact flags in one place. Copy this header row into a spreadsheet. The row under it is a made-up example, and its email columns are empty because Dana has not replied yet.

```
name,title,company_site,profile_url,fit,trigger,stage,last_touch,next_touch,work_email,email_status,do_not_contact,notes
Dana Whitfield,Head of Revenue Operations,example.com,linkedin.com/in/dana-whitfield-example,A,changed jobs 2026-10-02,requested,2026-10-14,2026-10-21,,,,posted about onboarding
```

| Column | What goes in it | Why it earns its place |
| --- | --- | --- |
| name, title, company_site | Copied from the profile by hand | The company website is the key for a name plus website lookup |
| profile_url | The public address that starts with linkedin.com/in/ | It is the lookup key for the email step |
| fit | A, B or C, from your ICP | Decides who gets the first note |
| trigger | Why now, with the date, and the saved search that found them | Shows which searches and triggers lead to replies |
| stage | listed, warmed, requested, connected, replied, emailed, meeting, closed or opted_out | One value per row, so you can count each step |
| last_touch, next_touch | Dates | Stops repeated or too-frequent messages |
| work_email, email_status | Filled only after the person replied | Keeps lookups to people who showed interest |
| do_not_contact | yes, or blank | Check it before every touch, and never delete the row |

Each Friday, count notes requested, notes accepted, replies and emails sent. Divide accepted by requested, and replies by accepted, then compare with your own last week. The LinkedIn reply-rate figures we found came from agencies and automation vendors, not from LinkedIn, so your own trend is the better yardstick. Change one thing at a time.

## What should your first message say, within LinkedIn's limits?

Say who you are, why this person and why now, and nothing that sounds like a pitch. The connection note has the tightest limit, 200 characters. The table lists what LinkedIn documents for each kind of first message.

| First message | What LinkedIn documents |
| --- | --- |
| Connection note, free account | Up to 3 personalized notes a month, 200 characters each |
| Connection note, Premium | Unlimited personalized invitations, 200 characters each. Connection request limits may still apply |
| Weekly invitation cap | No number published. Accounts can be restricted for many invitations in a short time, or many that are ignored, left pending or marked as spam |
| InMail, basic account | Needs a Premium upgrade. Subject up to 200 characters, body up to 2,000 |
| InMail, Sales Navigator | Subject up to 200 characters, message up to 1,900. No bulk InMails and no templates |

The sources are LinkedIn's pages on [personalized invitations](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/46662), [invitation restrictions](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/4800), [sending an InMail](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a546814) and [InMail in Sales Navigator](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a107018/compose-an-inmail-message-in-sales-navigator?lang=en). The two InMail pages give different body limits, so trust the counter in your own compose window. Our guide to generating leads on LinkedIn lists [InMail credits by plan](https://enrich.chat/blog/generating-leads-on-linkedin/).

LinkedIn's invitation help names three things a good note includes: how you found the person or what you share, why you want to connect now, and a clear, polite tone. Figure 2 shows a made-up note built that way. The Professional Community Policies bar promotional messages through the invitation feature to people you do not know, so the note offers no product and no link.

**Figure 2: Anatomy of a 200-character connection note.** A bar the width of the 200-character limit shows a made-up connection note of 156 characters in three parts: a reason it is this person, 86 characters; who you are, 23 characters; and why you want to connect, 47 characters. 44 characters are left over.

*A made-up connection note drawn to the 200-character limit. Parts and wording follow [LinkedIn's advice on personalized invitations](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/46662).*

Research before you write. LinkedIn's sales blog suggests the [3x3 method](https://www.linkedin.com/business/sales/blog/prospecting/10-sales-prospecting-tips-thatll-help-you-break-through): three minutes to find three relevant facts, such as events, past pain points or work history. The same post, from February 2023, claims prospects are 87% more likely to accept an InMail if your profile is complete, 86% more likely to accept your request if you viewed their profile first, and 13.1% more likely if you followed them first. It adds that people who changed jobs in the past 90 days are 65% more likely to accept an InMail. These are LinkedIn's own marketing figures, with no base rates or method shown. Treat them as a reason to warm up, not as a forecast.

After the person accepts, send a thank-you and one question. A [LinkedIn sales post from December 2022](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/blog/7/7-steps-attract-more-clients-with-linkedin) says not to pitch at that point, other than a website URL in your signature. It also says not to connect and pitch. The next section shows the messages that follow.

## How many follow-ups should you send, and when?

LinkedIn publishes no follow-up number, so set your own and keep it low. A suggestion: after the first note, send up to four messages over about three weeks, each with something new in it, then stop (Figure 3). The days in the figure are our assumption, not a LinkedIn rule.

**Figure 3: A suggested LinkedIn follow-up cadence of about three weeks.** A vertical timeline of six touches: warm up by hand, send a note of up to 200 characters on day 0, thank them and ask one question on acceptance, share one useful thing five days later, make a low-pressure ask on day 12, and close the loop on day 19. It ends in two branches: if the person replied at any point and wants more, look up the work email; if there was no reply by day 19, stop and do not email.

*A suggested cadence, not a LinkedIn rule. The days are our assumption. Limits and the spam rule come from [LinkedIn's policies](https://www.linkedin.com/legal/professional-community-policies) and [invitation help](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/4800).*

Two things shape that advice. LinkedIn's policies bar repetitive and unwanted messages, so a fifth reminder with the same ask is the wrong move. And one channel is rarely enough. The LinkedIn sales post cited above reports a survey of 160 B2B sales professionals in which [more than five touchpoints set up 54% of initial meetings](https://www.linkedin.com/business/sales/blog/prospecting/10-sales-prospecting-tips-thatll-help-you-break-through), and another 10% took more than 10. Those touchpoints were spread across email, calls and InMail, so they are not a LinkedIn-only count. Cleverly, a lead generation agency, describes a [four-touch sequence](https://www.cleverly.co/blog/linkedin-prospecting-tactics-that-work) that ends when the person declines, asks not to be contacted or clearly does not fit.

Here are example messages, with made-up people, for the touches in Figure 3. Each one adds something new:

| Touch | Example message |
| --- | --- |
| On accept | Thanks for connecting, Dana. You wrote that onboarding delays start with missing contacts. Is that mostly an ops problem for your team, or a sales one? |
| +5 days | Dana, here is the short checklist our team uses to find missing contacts before a carrier kickoff. No reply needed. Happy to answer questions on it. |
| +12 days | Dana, if carrier onboarding is a priority this quarter, I can send a one-page summary of how other ops teams handle it. Want it? A no is fine too. |
| +19 days | Dana, I'll stop here so I don't fill your inbox. If onboarding becomes a priority, I'm glad to help. Wishing you a good quarter. |

Stop when any of these happens:

- **The person says no or asks you to stop.** Set do_not_contact to yes and stop on every channel.
- **The last message gets no reply.** Mark the stage closed. Silence on LinkedIn is not a reason to start emailing.
- **It is the wrong person.** Fix the row or drop it.
- **A request sits unanswered for three weeks.** Withdraw it and leave the person alone. LinkedIn says that after you withdraw an invitation, you cannot resend one to the same person for up to three weeks.

Check your pending requests each week. LinkedIn restricts accounts with many ignored, pending or flagged invitations. For too many outstanding invitations, its [restrictions page](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/4800) says to wait up to a month before sending another.

## When should you move a conversation to email?

Move to email when the person has replied and wants something LinkedIn handles badly, such as a longer explanation, a document or a thread with colleagues. Do not move a silent contact to email just because you hold an address.

Staying on LinkedIn is often the better default. In [Hunter's 2026 report](https://hunter.io/the-state-of-cold-email), LinkedIn was the preferred outreach channel for 50.5% of decision makers, against 25% for email. Hunter sells an email finder, and the report does not state the survey's sample size, so read the figure as a caution about interrupting people. LinkedIn's own [sales post](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/blog/7/7-steps-attract-more-clients-with-linkedin) calls moving the relationship offline a critical step where many people fall short. It says to take that step once you have built rapport, and to talk before you pitch.

Good reasons to switch: the person asked for details, pricing or a document, asked you to continue by email, or needs colleagues to join or an attachment sent.

### How do you get the address?

Work down this list and stop at the first lawful answer:

1. **Ask.** A line such as "What is the best address to send that to?" is the clearest signal that the person wants the email.
2. **Check Contact info.** If you are connected and the person shared an email, it shows there. Our guide to [finding an email on LinkedIn](https://enrich.chat/blog/find-email-on-linkedin/) explains the settings.
3. **Look up the profile URL.** If the first two give nothing, run one lookup on the public profile URL in your sheet. The next section shows the request.

### What do you check before you send?

Read the status, compare the name, title and company with the profile, and check do_not_contact. Then check the email rules. This is general information, not legal advice, and our guide to [generating leads on LinkedIn](https://enrich.chat/blog/generating-leads-on-linkedin/) has the longer version.

- **United States.** The FTC's [CAN-SPAM guide](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business) says the law makes no exception for business-to-business email, and you must honor an opt-out within 10 business days.
- **United Kingdom.** The ICO says the PECR email rule does not apply to [corporate subscribers](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/business-to-business-marketing/), but sole traders count as individuals. If you collect a person's business contact details to send direct marketing, you must tell them and have a lawful basis. The ICO says this guidance is under review.
- **European Union.** [Article 14 of the GDPR](https://gdpr-info.eu/art-14-gdpr/) says that if you did not get the data from the person, you tell them the source, at the latest at your first message to them.

Keep the email short. Hunter found that decision makers preferred open-ended asks, such as offering more information, to a meeting request up front. In its data, three messages in total drew 6.8% replies, against 3.3% for one, and emailing one or two people per company beat three or more, 5.1% to 3.5%. Those figures come from cold email, and yours is warmer, so expect different numbers. See our [cold email guide](https://enrich.chat/blog/cold-email/) and the [email bounce rate guide](https://enrich.chat/blog/email-bounce-rate/).

## How does Enrich.chat handle the contact-data step?

Enrich.chat's `GET /v1/person` turns a public LinkedIn profile URL into a work email with a status label. It never logs in to LinkedIn or uses anyone's LinkedIn account, and the URL is only a lookup key. Use it for the people in your sheet who replied, one row at a time, at about one request a second.

Copy the address from the browser bar of the person's normal profile, the one that starts with linkedin.com/in/. LinkedIn describes that form in its help on [public profile URLs](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a522735). Copy it by hand, because Section 8.2 bans software that copies profile data. With no URL, use the name and company website. A company name alone is not supported. This illustrative example uses a made-up person on example.com:

```
GET /v1/person?linkedin_url=linkedin.com/in/dana-whitfield-example&fields=email
Host: enrich.chat

{"found": true,
 "name": "Dana Whitfield",
 "title": "Head of Revenue Operations",
 "company": {"name": "Example Freight"},
 "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-whitfield-example",
 "work_email": {"value": "dana.whitfield@example.com", "status": "verified"},
 "credits_used": 10,
 "free_lookups_remaining": 9}
```

The status is `verified`, `catch_all` or `unknown`. It is a label, not a delivery guarantee. A catch-all domain accepts every address, so treat those emails as risky. Each work email found uses 10 credits, and a reply of `{"found": false}` uses 0.

The credit maths favors looking up only people who replied. Say 150 people in your sheet get a note in a month and 30 reply. A lookup for all 150 uses 1,500 credits. A lookup for the 30 who replied uses 300. The 10 free lookups a day cover the smaller batch in three days. If you outgrow the free tier, 1,500 credits fit the Growth plan at $29 a month. This workflow needs no mobile numbers. A mobile found uses 250 credits, and calls and texts have their own rules, covered in our [TCPA guide](https://enrich.chat/blog/tcpa-b2b-cold-calling/).

To run the lookups through an AI agent, paste this prompt with your sheet:

```text
Use www.enrich.chat to find the work email for each person in my list who replied. Use the linkedin.com/in/ address in each row, one row at a time. Do not log in to LinkedIn or open any profile. Show name, title, company, work email and its status, and give me the total credits_used. If nothing matches, say not found.
```

Know the gaps before you rely on it:

- **No extension and no automation.** Enrich.chat has no Chrome extension, does not act on LinkedIn, and sends no messages or sequences. You write and send from your own tools.
- **No view into Sales Navigator.** It cannot read your searches, lists or alerts, and it offers no Sales Navigator export. You supply the profile URL, or the name and website.
- **One person per request.** Self-serve plans have no saved lists and no bulk export, so you keep the sheet. Enterprise exists as a custom plan for bulk files.
- **Not every row matches.** A lookup can return not found, which uses 0 credits, and then you ask the person for the address.

Agents get 10 free lookups a day per IP with no signup. Monthly plans have unlimited seats and no annual contract: Growth $29 for 100,000 credits, Scale $90 for 500,000 credits, Pro $299 for 2,500,000 credits. See [pricing](https://enrich.chat/pricing/), and use the [install page](https://enrich.chat/install/) to add the MCP server at enrich.chat/mcp. The [LinkedIn URL to contact API](https://enrich.chat/api/linkedin-to-contact/) page shows a full response. To test one profile, paste its URL into the free [LinkedIn email and phone finder](https://enrich.chat/tools/linkedin-email-finder/).

## Frequently asked questions

### How do you start prospecting on LinkedIn?

Write your ideal customer profile in one paragraph, then turn it into filters in LinkedIn search. Save the search, read each profile by hand, follow the person and comment once, then send a connection note of up to [200 characters](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/46662). Track every person in a sheet. Our [ideal customer profile guide](https://enrich.chat/blog/ideal-customer-profile/) has a template, and the steps on this page cover the rest.

### What should you write in a LinkedIn connection request?

Say who you are, why this person and why now, in 200 characters or fewer. [LinkedIn's help page](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/46662) suggests naming how you found them or what you share, and why you want to connect now. Do not pitch: the [Professional Community Policies](https://www.linkedin.com/legal/professional-community-policies) bar promotional messages sent through the invitation feature to people you do not know.

### How many follow-ups should you send on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn publishes no follow-up limit, but its spam policy bans repetitive messages. A workable plan is a thank-you with one question, one useful share and one low-pressure ask over about three weeks, then stop. A [LinkedIn sales blog post](https://www.linkedin.com/business/sales/blog/prospecting/10-sales-prospecting-tips-thatll-help-you-break-through) cites a survey of 160 B2B sellers in which more than five touchpoints, across channels, set up 54% of first meetings. So move willing people to email rather than adding LinkedIn messages.

### Can you use automation tools for LinkedIn prospecting?

No. Section 8.2 of the [User Agreement](https://www.linkedin.com/legal/user-agreement) bans bots that add contacts or send messages, and scraping software or browser add-ons. LinkedIn's [prohibited software page](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a1341387) warns that accounts can be restricted or shut down. Do each step by hand, and read [our guide to the rules](https://enrich.chat/blog/is-linkedin-scraping-legal/) for the background. Enrich.chat has no extension and runs no automation.

### How do you get a prospect's email from their LinkedIn profile?

Ask for it in the conversation, or check Contact info if you are connected and they shared it. LinkedIn shows an email only if the member allows it. Otherwise look up the public profile URL, the address that starts with linkedin.com/in/, in a contact data API. Enrich.chat returns a work email with a status and gives 10 free lookups a day with no signup. See [how to find an email on LinkedIn](https://enrich.chat/blog/find-email-on-linkedin/).

### What is the 3-2-1 rule on LinkedIn?

It is not a LinkedIn rule. Coffee, a vendor of prospecting software, [describes it](https://coffee.ai/articles/linkedin-prospecting-cadence-template) as a weekly pace: engage with three pieces of content, send two personalized connection requests to warm targets and send one value message to an existing connection. LinkedIn publishes no such number, so treat it as one company's suggestion and set your own pace from your sheet.

## Sources

1. [Sales prospecting: definition and strategies](https://business.linkedin.com/sell/resources/sales-terms/prospecting)
2. [LinkedIn User Agreement](https://www.linkedin.com/legal/user-agreement)
3. [Prohibited software and extensions](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a1341387)
4. [Professional Community Policies](https://www.linkedin.com/legal/professional-community-policies)
5. [Personalize invitations to connect](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/46662)
6. [Types of restrictions for sending invitations](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/4800)
7. [Search for people on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a525054)
8. [Use Boolean search on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a524335)
9. [Boolean query limitations](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a524411/boolean-query-limitations?lang=en)
10. [Difference between free LinkedIn and LinkedIn Premium accounts](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a545596)
11. [Commercial use limit](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a564226)
12. [Sales Navigator lead and account search filter definitions](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a1452817)
13. [Search results limit in Sales Navigator](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a106030)
14. [Save lead and account searches in Sales Navigator](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a102024/)
15. [View and save leads in Sales Navigator](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a101025)
16. [Sales Navigator alerts](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a105133)
17. [Send an InMail Message](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a546814)
18. [Send an InMail message in Sales Navigator](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a107018/compose-an-inmail-message-in-sales-navigator?lang=en)
19. [Find your LinkedIn public profile URL](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a522735)
20. [7 Steps to Attract More Clients With LinkedIn](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/blog/7/7-steps-attract-more-clients-with-linkedin)
21. [10 Sales Prospecting Tips: Either Backed by Data or Used By The Best](https://www.linkedin.com/business/sales/blog/prospecting/10-sales-prospecting-tips-thatll-help-you-break-through)
22. [LinkedIn Prospecting Best Practices: 10 Tactics for 2026](https://www.cleverly.co/blog/linkedin-prospecting-tactics-that-work)
23. [The State of Email Outreach, 2026 Report](https://hunter.io/the-state-of-cold-email)
24. [LinkedIn prospecting cadence template](https://coffee.ai/articles/linkedin-prospecting-cadence-template)
25. [CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business)
26. [Business-to-business marketing](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/business-to-business-marketing/)
27. [Art. 14 GDPR: Information to be provided where personal data have not been obtained from the data subject](https://gdpr-info.eu/art-14-gdpr/)

## Try this prompt

Look up emails for prospects who replied

```text
Use www.enrich.chat to find the work email for each person in my list who replied. Use the linkedin.com/in/ address in each row, one row at a time. Do not log in to LinkedIn or open any profile. Show name, title, company, work email and its status, and give me the total credits_used. If nothing matches, say not found.
```

## Related

- [Generating leads on LinkedIn](https://enrich.chat/blog/generating-leads-on-linkedin/)
- [Ideal customer profile template](https://enrich.chat/blog/ideal-customer-profile/)
- [Cold email: the data side](https://enrich.chat/blog/cold-email/)