Quick Answer: Origami has a built-in LinkedIn sequencer that sends connection requests and follow-ups automatically — find, enrich, and sequence boutique M&A advisors from one dashboard. In 2026, the best outreach campaigns start with a targeted list built from a plain‑English prompt, refined for role and deal size, then launched with a 3‑touch sequence personalized to the lower‑middle‑market M&A advisor’s real pain points. Below is the exact campaign I’ve run and refined, including copy you can steal.

If you haven’t built your list yet, read how to build a list of Boutique M&A Advisors on LinkedIn first. This guide assumes you already have a list inside Origami — or you’re ready to build one and sequence it in the same sitting.

Step 1: Build the List in Origami

Even though you might have a list, starting from scratch takes under two minutes. Open Origami and type a prompt like this:

“Find boutique M&A advisory firm principals and managing directors in the United States, at firms with 2–20 employees, who specialize in sell-side advisory for lower middle market deals ($5M–$50M enterprise value). Include their LinkedIn profiles, verified work emails, direct phone numbers, and the tools their firm uses.”

Origami’s AI agent searches the live web, chains data sources, and returns a table with columns for full name, title, company, company size, industry, location, LinkedIn URL, verified email address, and phone number. It also enriches each contact with technographic signals when available (CRM, data providers, deal origination tools) — useful context later when personalizing.

You can run this on the free plan: 1,000 credits, no credit card required. One lead usually costs a few credits; 1,000 credits is enough to test a list of 50–200 boutique M&A contacts.

Step 2: Refine and Qualify the List

Not every name Origami returns belongs in a LinkedIn sequence. Spend 15 minutes cleaning and segmenting, and your reply rates will double.

Remove obvious mismatches

Firm size too large: If Origami pulled in a few principals from firms with 50+ employees, they’re likely middle-market or bulge bracket. Delete them. You want the true boutiques — 2 to 20 employees.
Role irrelevant: Remove associates, analysts, and back-office partners. Keep titles like Managing Director, Partner, Principal, Founder, or Director of Business Development (if the firm calls deal origination that). The person who sources and closes sell-side mandates is your target.
Geographic misalignment: If you only serve North American dealmakers, filter out profiles based in London or Singapore unless they have a US practice.

Segment by deal specialty and activity

Split the list into groups you’ll message differently:

Sell‑side only: Advisors who explicitly state “sell-side advisory” or “exit planning.” Lead with language about proprietary deal flow.
Buy‑side & sell‑side: Advisors who also represent acquirers. They respond better to messages about efficiently finding off-market acquisition targets.
Full‑service boutiques: Smaller firms that also do capital raising. The same person often sources M&A and debt/equity mandates; your messaging can be broader.

What “qualified” looks like

For a 2026 outreach campaign on LinkedIn, a qualified boutique M&A advisor:

Has posted or engaged on LinkedIn in the last 30 days (important — Origami doesn’t scrape activity automatically, but you can check manually or use LinkedIn Sales Navigator for a quick overlay).
Lists “sell-side M&A” or “lower middle market” in their headline or About section.
Works at a firm with a known deal history (a quick Google search of “firm name + deal” often surfaces a recent transaction).
Is not a one‑person registered rep shop masquerading as an M&A advisor; you can spot these by a lack of team, sparse web presence, or an address that’s a residential street.

I usually end up with 40–70 highly targeted contacts per campaign. Smaller lists, tighter relevance, and warmer messaging.

Step 3: Create the LinkedIn Sequence

This is where the campaign lives or dies. Origami gives you two paths to build your sequence — both work, but the choice depends on how much you want to control the copy.

Option 1: Paste your own templates

You write a 3‑touch sequence, save the templates inside Origami’s sequencer, and let it send with your chosen delays (Day 1, Day 3, Day 7 is common). The templated messages use dynamic fields like , , , and any enriched attribute (e.g., or technographic data if you have it). Origami auto‑fills them for each lead.

Option 2: Let the agent write it

If you don’t want to stare at a blank text area, ask Origami’s AI agent to generate a personalized 3‑day LinkedIn sequence for all your leads. The agent reads each lead’s profile (title, company, industry, and any enrichments) and writes a custom message. Every contact gets slightly different wording, yet the sequence follows your chosen narrative arc. You can tweak the agent’s output before launching.

For this audience, you’ll get better results with templates you’ve manually sharpened — boutique M&A advisors see generic “I help dealmakers” messages daily. Below is the exact sequence I’ve used with Origami, refined over hundreds of sends.

The 3‑Touch Sequence for Boutique M&A Advisors

Touch 1 — Connection Request Note (Day 1)

Hi , I help boutique M&A advisors surface off‑market sell‑side opportunities before they hit the usual networks. I’ve been watching your firm’s lower‑mid‑market focus — impressed by the deal flow you’ve published. Would be glad to connect and swap notes on origination trends in 2026.

Why it works: flattery + niche credibility in under 300 characters. It signals you’ve done your homework and aren’t pitching yet.

Touch 2 — Follow‑up Message (Day 3)

Thanks for connecting, . I know sourcing proprietary mandates is the big challenge for boutiques right now — especially with PE firms crowding the same auctions. Curious how you’re identifying companies open to a sale but not actively marketing. We’re seeing advisors use AI to flag those signals early. Worth a 10‑minute call if you’re interested in concrete examples? No pitch, just how we’re seeing the best boutiques fill their pipeline.

Purpose: name the pain point (proprietary deal flow), ask a relevant question, and offer proof without demanding a demo. 97 words, direct.

Touch 3 — Final Message (Day 7)

Last touch from me, — if I’m off base, genuinely no worries. But if you’re open to seeing how other boutique M&A firms are using AI to stuff their pipeline without relying solely on intermediaries, I’d love to share 2–3 real examples from the lower‑mid‑market space. Either way, best of luck closing your current mandates.

Soft close that gives them an out while dangling social proof. 78 words. Configurable in the sequencer to trigger only if no reply in the first two touches.

Feel free to adjust timing — for M&A advisors, an 11‑day cadence (Day 1, Day 5, Day 11) sometimes outperforms because they travel for conferences and due diligence. Origami lets you set custom delays per touch.

Step 4: Send the Sequence Directly from Origami

This is where the “one‑platform” promise gets its teeth. You don’t export a CSV or upload to a separate LinkedIn automation tool. Inside the same Origami workspace where you built and refined your list, you open the sequencer tab.

Paste or generate your sequence: If using templates, paste the three message blocks and map the dynamic fields. If using the agent, hit “Generate Sequence” and review each contact’s version.
Set delays: The default is Day 1 → Day 3 → Day 7, but you can drag and drop to something like Day 1 → Day 5 → Day 11. The sequencer will respect calendar days (skipping weekends if you choose).
Hit Launch. Origami’s built‑in LinkedIn sequencer will automatically send connection requests with the note, then follow‑up messages exactly on schedule. No further clicks from you.

Tracking and context inside the dashboard

Once live, you see a unified view: Sent, Opened, Clicked, Replied columns — right next to the prospect’s enriched profile. So when replies, you’re not scratching your head about who they are; you immediately see their title, company size, tools used, and any notes you added during the refinement step.

Automatic un‑enrollment: If a lead replies to any message (even “Not interested”), Origami removes them from the sequence. You’ll never send a breakup message to someone who already booked a call — a common embarassment with manual outreach or disconnected tools.

What response rates to expect

When your list is tightly refined (40–70 true boutiques), here’s what I’ve seen across 2025–2026 campaigns:

Connection acceptance: 35–50%. The note is personal, and boutique advisors are more open to connecting than bulge‑bracket rainmakers.
Reply rate (on the whole list): 8–15%. A well‑tuned sequence that references deal sourcing pain points regularly pulls 12–15% reply rate. Replies range from “Interesting, send me info” to “Not my focus but maybe my partner.”
Meetings booked: 3–7% of the total list, which in a list of 50 prospects means 1–3 real conversations.

These aren’t abstract benchmarks. Because Origami’s sequencer lives on the same dashboard as your enriched list, you can correlate replies back to firm characteristics — e.g., you might discover that advisors at firms using specific CRM tools respond at double the rate, and you can pivot your next list build instantly.

When to iterate on messaging vs. iterate on the list

If your connection acceptance is below 30%, tighten your Touch 1 note. Make it shorter, more about them, less about you. Remove any hint of a pitch.
If acceptance is high but reply rate stays under 8%, your Touch 2 is probably too generic or too pitchy. Try leading with a specific observation from their firm’s website or a recent deal they posted about. Origami’s enrichment data can help — for example, if a contact’s firm uses DealCloud or SourceScrub, mention how AI complements that stack.
If replies happen but don’t convert to meetings, your Touch 3’s ask is too weak or too strong. A soft close (like the one above) almost always outperforms a “check out my Calendly” hard ask with this audience.
If you’ve tweaked messaging and still see no movement, the list isn’t qualified enough. Go back to Step 2 and tighten your segments. Remove anyone whose last deal was more than 18 months ago or whose LinkedIn suggests they’ve pivoted to consulting.

Cost: sequencer is free on all paid plans

You only pay for the credits used to enrich leads. The built‑in LinkedIn sequencer itself costs nothing extra on the Starter plan ($29/month) or above. The free 1,000‑credit plan also lets you preview the sequencer, but the actual sending is available once you upgrade. Most boutique‑advisor campaigns consume 150–300 credits for list building and enrichment, well within the included credit bucket of most plans.

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How to Run a LinkedIn Outreach Campaign Targeting Boutique M&A Advisors in 2026