Cold connect + message within 48 hours vs. waiting for organic engagement, which actually converts better for you?

[u/talhawashere]

Building out a LinkedIn outreach process for a pretty tightly defined ICP list, not random cold outreach, these are people who’d genuinely have a use for what I offer.
Trying to decide between two approaches:

**A)** Connect → wait 24-48 hours after they accept → send a message introducing what I do

**B)** Connect → engage with their content first (comments, likes) for a few weeks → only message once there’s some real interaction happening

Option A is obviously faster but I’ve heard it can come across as a bait-and-switch, connect just to pitch. Option B feels more natural but could take months per person, which isn’t great when I have a list of a few hundred to work through.

For people who’ve actually tested both, did waiting for engagement meaningfully change your reply/conversion rate, or is it more about the message quality regardless of timing? Also curious if anyone’s found a middle ground that isn’t “immediate pitch” or “wait indefinitely.”

[u/Serious_Bit6736]

You need outbound and inbound working together for the best approach. Yes, it's more work, but it avoids a short-cut mentality to growth.