The first match on a dating app. You swipe right, they swipe right, excitement levels are high. What do you say first? You don’t want to be boring, but you also don’t want to come on too strong. That’s your first LinkedIn message. Get it right, and you’re in. Get it wrong, and you’re ghosted.
Waiting for the reply. You send a great opener, and now the anticipation begins, you are ‘in the game’. Every time your phone lights up, you check. That feeling? That’s what a new LinkedIn conversation should create, genuine curiosity and engagement.
Ghosted or green light? They reply, and now the back-and-forth begins. This is the honeymoon stage, where messages flow and you both enjoy the interaction. But mess up, too generic, too much too soon, and you’re left on read. The same applies to LinkedIn.
Today I want to talk about building deeper connections through your LinkedIn inbox.
The early conversations with a new connection should feel like getting someone's number at a party. You know that feeling at the start of a great conversation? The kind where every reply is exciting, the back-and-forth is effortless, and you actually want to keep chatting.
However, for most, the reality is that LinkedIn messaging is like being stuck next to a very loud drunk person at a party who only wants to talk about themselves. You’re trying to speak but they just keep going. Then, just as you see someone else you actually want to speak to, their equally loud and obnoxious friends show up, and you lose your chance entirely.
And the reason?
The platform’s inbox is fundamentally broken.
Your LinkedIn inboxes look like a junk drawer, cluttered, neglected, and full of things you don’t remember putting there.
It’s the equivalent of a group chat gone wrong, messages coming in from every direction, no clear way to organise them, and important conversations buried under noise.
For a platform designed to connect professionals, their messaging system is still stuck in 2004. It’s overwhelming, it’s chaotic, and worst of all, it makes us treat important conversations like an admin job. We skim, we ignore, we blast through messages like we’re on some kind of speed-run.
The reality is, LinkedIn isn’t a platform to sell, it’s a platform to build relationships. Sales happens on calls, in meetings, through proposals. LinkedIn is where these conversations should begin.
So, how do you make LinkedIn messaging actually work for you? How do we actually stay on top of messages, manage your connections properly, and use LinkedIn the way it was meant to be used?
Enter Kondo.
The Inbox Overhaul
Think of Kondo like Will Smith in Hitch, your smooth, strategic wingman for LinkedIn messaging, a tool designed to streamline LinkedIn messaging, bringing structure and efficiency to an otherwise messy process.
And just like Hitch, people in your LinkedIn inbox will start to fall in love with you because of who you are, not because of the tricks you try.
Kondo calls itself the Superhuman for LinkedIn and allows users to prioritise messages, tag contacts, snooze conversations, and ultimately treat LinkedIn like the networking platform it was meant to be.
If you’ve never used Superhuman for email, think of it as the productivity-obsessed person’s dream tool. Kondo applies the same principles, efficiency, organisation, and speed to LinkedIn messages. And it completely transforms the experience.
I recently tested just how bad LinkedIn’s inbox can get, letting my messages build up to over 500 unread conversations. The result? A chaotic, unmanageable mess. Being an OCD, inbox 0 kind of person, this was like having a heart attack.
Using Kondo, I cleared it in under an hour by using features that you can only find in Kondo. First of all I started with ‘clean up my inbox’,
This gives you the option of archiving all messages after a certain period of time. In my opinion, anybody that I have not spoken to for over 3 months is not relevant anymore and should be archived. If they decide to get in touch again then they will show up as a new inbox message for me to reply to.
Then I started to use the remind me option to move any messages to tomorrow that are not urgent for today.
These two steps got my messages down from 582 down to 30 in a matter of minutes. The mindset of snoozing is very important because without software, out of sight is often out of mind. However, with Kondo out of sight (remind me) just means it will be back in your inbox and your mind tomorrow to work on.
Now I was in a position where I could focus on those 30 messages that had huge value to me and that deserved my time and attention.
The Power of Voice Notes
One of my favourite ways to show authenticity? Voice notes. They add personality, tone, and warmth. You can say more in 30 seconds than you could in a long, typed out message. Plus, people appreciate the effort. And don’t worry about sounding too polished.
Your pauses, stumbles, and coughs? They make you human. Your imperfections are what make you memorable, and your vulnerabilities are what give people a chance to get to know the real you.
AI-generated perfection doesn’t build trust. Authenticity does.
Only through using Kondo can you record voice notes from your desktop, otherwise you have to use the LinkedIn app to record voice notes. This means that my process for replying to emails or replying to LinkedIn is all done on my desktop, outside of LinkedIn and hyper focussed.
Using Kondo, I cleared my full inbox of 583 messages in less than an hour and remained inbox zero everyday.
Here’s how:
Instantly see your unread messages. LinkedIn doesn’t even tell you how many you have!
Sort messages by priority. No more scrolling aimlessly in multiple LinkedIn inboxes.
Tag and label contacts. So you actually remember why you connected.
Replying to messages via voice notes: More efficient than typing and can be done via your computer without needing to use the LinkedIn app.
Snooze messages for later. Because playing it cool is part of the game, sometimes, the best move is to step back and let the conversation breathe.
Use templates and shortcuts. Have a conversation opener that works well? Save it to use for new connections.
Archive old conversations in bulk. Haven’t spoken in over three months? Byeeee…
Why This Matters
LinkedIn is often treated like a Friday afternoon admin job, check messages, skim responses, move on. The problem with this approach is that it turns relationship building into a series of transactions rather than meaningful conversations.
The right system can change that. The inbox mess creates stress, and stress makes you disengage, or have a panic attack if you’re a tidiness freak like me. Then you ignore messages, miss opportunities, and worst of all, start treating people like admin tasks instead of humans.
Think about how you handle real-life relationships? Do you grunt and send a thumbs-up emoji when a friend messages you? Do you ghost them because you’re ‘busy’? No. You put in the effort. You take time to connect. You show you care. That’s what sales is, building relationships over time, not treating people like checkboxes.
Your LinkedIn Inbox = Your CRM (Customer relationship manager)
Most early stage startups don’t need a full blown CRM. What they do need is a simple way to keep track of their conversations.
I often see founders juggling LinkedIn and a CRM, manually updating records because the two don’t sync properly. The result? Hours lost on admin instead of focusing on messaging and relationship-building.
By tagging contacts, setting reminders, and keeping your inbox tidy with Kondo, you’re essentially turning LinkedIn into a lightweight CRM. It’s an easy, structured way to stay on top of follow-ups, so no lead slips through the cracks.
Stop Ignoring, Start Connecting
As part of The Relationship of Sales, I only recommend software I personally use daily, and strongly practice testing before I teach.
I’m also a big believer that any good software should give you value within about 20 mins of trying it out.
Therefore, my challenge to you: take an hour, test Kondo, and see how close you get to inbox zero whilst actually enjoying the process of speaking to new people.
Try it out. Let me know how it changes your approach to LinkedIn and hopefully your approach to people, you will find that extra bit of attention can have a huge impact.
Kondo is also offering exclusive 1:1 onboarding just for The Relationship of Sales readers.
They’ll personally guide you through getting to inbox zero, making sure your email setup works smoothly from day one.
If you want to test Kondo out, you can sign up for a free trial and use this link to get a 10% discount. Remember to use code ROS to get your discount.
Talk soon, and remember, less automation, more human connection 🙌