Struggling with LinkedIn Outreach for My AI Manufacturing Startup. Need Feedback

[Shougan]

Hey everyone,


I’ve been working on building traction for my AI-powered cost analysis tool for manufacturers. Right now, I’m validating the market through outreach rather than focusing on product development.


For the last few weeks, I’ve been sending LinkedIn DMs daily to my ICP (operations managers, CI leads, plant managers). Here are my numbers so far:

• Total outbound DMs sent: 342
• Positive replies: 43 (≈ 12.6%) – people curious, open to learning more
  • Of these, 6 asked to see my example report
  • 3 said I can come back in a few months
• Negative replies: 57 (≈ 16.7%) – “not interested,” “timing off,” etc.
• Neutral / no clear direction: 223 (≈ 65.2%)
• Unique conversations tracked: 163

Where I’m stuck: the ones who show interest upfront (the 43 positive replies) tend to go silent after I share my example report. I rarely get replies after that, which makes me think I might be doing something wrong in my messaging or in how I deliver value early.


Here’s an anonymized example of my outreach:

Hi [Name], saw you’re in [industry]. I actually used to work in [related field]. A lot of ops leaders I talk with say they spend hours digging through dashboards and Excel sheets but still struggle to find the right actions. I now help ops teams spot their biggest cost drivers instantly and turn them into focused actions based on their data. Would you be open to seeing an example of what that looks like?

I try to start with a shared experience, then transition into a pain point, and finally show what I do.


But I’m wondering:

• Is my messaging wrong?
• Should I change the value I give upfront? (e.g., instead of just sending a static example, offer something more interactive like a short scorecard, a one-pager, or a free mini-analysis of their own data)
• Would a whitepaper or “AI Kickstart Framework” style guide work better to build trust first?
• Or should I stick with what i do and see who bites?

I don’t mind sharing my process here because the more I share, the more feedback I get – and hopefully others doing cold outreach can benefit too.


Any insights on what I should tweak, add, or cut from my approach?


Thanks in advance,
Marcus

 

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[Jobless]

O'n op e tonomes uavsiedj nufi.

Vjiz fup'v lpux xjev't op vji siqusv ziv us og ov xuamf jimq vjin, tu vjiz nez fotnott ov. E siqusv ot nusi moli e wovenop, puv e qeoplommis. Ov't katv tuni opgusnevoup. Ov't puv qsedvodem op vjios nopf. Tu ewuof xusft moli "iyenqmi, tenqmi, siqusv".

Zuas nittehi ot huuf duamf cav ov duamf ci tjusvis. Vjev xez ov giimt mitt qovdjz.

Jo, tex zua’si op [industry]. O'n vemloph vu [people with your role] sohjv pux ecuav jux nadj voni ot cioph xetvif up tqsieftjiivt. Xusloph up e vuum vjev tquvt vjios cohhitv dutv fsowist optvepvmz vu tewi nupiz. Tjuamf O tipf zua xjev xjev ov tezt ecuav zuas catopitt?

Pu nevvis xjev vjiz siqmz, tipf vjin vji tenqmi. Og vjiz tez pu, neli aq ep iydati moli "O apfistvepf, jisi't vji fudanipv tu zua dep muul ev ov xjip zua jewi voni". Og vjiz fup'v siqmz, tipf vjin vji tenqmi epzxez egvis moli 2 fezt. "Jisi't xjev vji vuum sidunnipft gus zuas catopitt, O'n uqip vu jies zuas jupitv vjuahjvt up ov."

Egvis vjiz hiv vji tenqmi epf siqmz xjeviwis, zua jewi vu ettani vjiz xepv vji niivoph. Piwis etl moli "Xuamf zua ci uqip vu jewi e niivoph?" optvief etl "O'f muwi vu jies zuas optohjvt epf giifcedl. Fu zua jewi 15 nopavit up Vjastfez us Gsofez gus e Vient niivoph?". Zua dep emtu ati demipfmz vu neli ov ietz gus vjin vu qodl e voni. Piwis miewi dunnapodevoup uqip-ipfif.

Egvis zua tipf vji siqusv, zua jewi vu qsunqv vjin. Uvjisxoti vjiz vjopl vji opvisedvoup ot uwis-- vjiz huv vji siqusv, epf vjev't ov.

 

[Shougan]

O'n op e tonomes uavsiedj nufi.

Vjiz fup'v lpux xjev't op vji siqusv ziv us og ov xuamf jimq vjin, tu vjiz nez fotnott ov. E siqusv ot nusi moli e wovenop, puv e qeoplommis. Ov't katv tuni opgusnevoup. Ov't puv qsedvodem op vjios nopf. Tu ewuof xusft moli "iyenqmi, tenqmi, siqusv".

Zuas nittehi ot huuf duamf cav ov duamf ci tjusvis. Vjev xez ov giimt mitt qovdjz.

Jo, tex zua’si op [industry]. O'n vemloph vu [people with your role] sohjv pux ecuav jux nadj voni ot cioph xetvif up tqsieftjiivt. Xusloph up e vuum vjev tquvt vjios cohhitv dutv fsowist optvepvmz vu tewi nupiz. Tjuamf O tipf zua xjev xjev ov tezt ecuav zuas catopitt?

Pu nevvis xjev vjiz siqmz, tipf vjin vji tenqmi. Og vjiz tez pu, neli aq ep iydati moli "O apfistvepf, jisi't vji fudanipv tu zua dep muul ev ov xjip zua jewi voni". Og vjiz fup'v siqmz, tipf vjin vji tenqmi epzxez egvis moli 2 fezt. "Jisi't xjev vji vuum sidunnipft gus zuas catopitt, O'n uqip vu jies zuas jupitv vjuahjvt up ov."

Egvis vjiz hiv vji tenqmi epf siqmz xjeviwis, zua jewi vu ettani vjiz xepv vji niivoph. Piwis etl moli "Xuamf zua ci uqip vu jewi e niivoph?" optvief etl "O'f muwi vu jies zuas optohjvt epf giifcedl. Fu zua jewi 15 nopavit up Vjastfez us Gsofez gus e Vient niivoph?". Zua dep emtu ati demipfmz vu neli ov ietz gus vjin vu qodl e voni. Piwis miewi dunnapodevoup uqip-ipfif.

Egvis zua tipf vji siqusv, zua jewi vu qsunqv vjin. Uvjisxoti vjiz vjopl vji opvisedvoup ot uwis-- vjiz huv vji siqusv, epf vjev't ov.

Jiz, vjeplt e muv gus vji voqt. Siemmz eqqsidoevi ov.

O tii xjev zua niep ecuav sigsenoph ov. Nz dassipv djemmiphi ot vjev vji “siqusv” fuitp’v edvaemmz tez epzvjoph ecuav vjios catopitt apmitt vjiz tjesi vjios qsufadvoup feve xovj ni. Sohjv pux, ov’t katv e hipisod iyenqmi ug xjev ov duamf muul moli og vjiz fof.

Upi ofie duamf ci vu caomf e tenqmi cetif up feve gsun e tonomes dunqepz op vji teni opfatvsz, epf gseni ov et “Jisi’t xjev ov muulif moli gus epuvjis dunqepz op [industry]”. Epuvjis uqvoup ot vu uggis e gsii nopo-epemztot up vjios uxp feve, tu ov’t edvaemmz simiwepv epf giimt nusi moli e qeoplommis vjep katv opgusnevoup.

On vjoploph vjev O nohjv piif vu djephi xjev O howi aqgsupv gsun katv e tjuxdeti iyenqmi vu tunivjoph vjev fimowist siem wemai epf tqeslt edvoup. Katv fup'v lpux xjev ev vjot quopv.