Why LinkedIn Direct Messaging Is Your Best New Sales ToolIt may feel awkward at first, but it could also lead to the essential connections you've been lacking.

It's true: Sending cold solicitations can feel cringeworthy. We're exposed to so many cold emails and messages a day that sending one of our own feels like a step backwards. And yet, more businesses than ever are crediting cold LinkedIn messages with massive success.

As long as the message is well-crafted, spelled right and positioned to hit home, LinkedIn messaging can have a much higher ROI than other traditional forms of marketing, such as running ads. And even better, those who are on LinkedIn likely have money to spend, as arecent reportfound that the average salary of a LinkedIn user is $75,000.

If all that isn't convincing enough, consider these four other reasons why LinkedIn direct messaging is an underutilized avenue for sales.

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1. It's a direct line to business decision-makers.

There's nothing worse than investing time in a sale only to find out that the person you've been conversing with isn't actually a decision-maker at their company. Sure, they may now be convinced of why the company needs your product or service, but that could easily get lost in translation when they communicate that to the real decision-makers.

LinkedIn's marketing blogstates that 61 million LinkedIn users are Fortune 500 senior executives and another 40 million are decision-makers at their companies. That's a big pool of big fish.

2. It starts a conversation with prospects in a casual way.

Matt Young, thefounder of Realply, which specializes in LinkedIn messaging, shares one of the most pertinent reasons that LinkedIn messaging is so effective: It's casual. "We find that trust is established far quicker when the conversation feels light and casual, like you're meeting at a happy hour rather than in a formal setting," Young notes. "Plus, it's attached to your profile, which humbly lists your qualifications and accomplishments. It creates the perfect balance of casual and credible."

3. It's quicker than a cold email.

You have two messages waiting for a reply: One is a cold email sitting in your inbox, the other is a cold message waiting in your LinkedIn DMs. If you're running out the door, which one are you more likely to reply to? Likely the latter, simply because it's quicker. No need for formalities in this chat-like format.

Response times continue to be quick, too, simply because of how frequently the average user is on LinkedIn.Recent statisticsfound that the average user spends between 10-20 minutes on the site daily.

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4. It can be done at scale.

Finally, many LinkedIn users find that the messages are far easier to manage and scale than other forms of cold outreach. Whereas 10 cold calls can take more than an hour, 10 LinkedIn messages (factoring in the time to personalize the message, of course) can take as little as 20 minutes. Not to mention it's easy to flip back and forth between messages in LinkedIn's DM portal, meaning you can have multiple sales conversations at once.

So, if you haven't yet tried LinkedIn messaging for your business, it's high time you start. More and more business owners are tapping into the power of LinkedIn for sales and taking advantage of its impressive user statistics.