How to Generate High Quality Business Leads on Linkedin

Some marketers tout hundreds of leads per month on Linkedin, which could technically work for inbound marketing, (this can take time though) but if you’re interested in direct marketing,(outbound) expecting more than 2 qualified leads per day is unrealistic. 

(And if an outreach agency is promising you hundreds of quality leads, you need to be wary and ask them what their exact strategy is.)

Okay, yes, sometimes more than 2 leads a day could happen, but 200 leads or more a day, is like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. 

This article will discuss why this is the case, and share a Linkedin lead generation strategy that will guarantee you a realistic 1 qualified lead per day.

(If you are looking to partner up with a Linkedin Lead generation agency that guarantees 1 qualified lead per day, (or your money back) hop on a free 15-minute consultation call here.)

Why expecting hundreds of leads from outbound a month on Linkedin is unrealistic

So we know that Linkedin is a gold mine for lead generation. Countless stats on the internet show how there are millions of users on Linkedin. 

If you aren’t using this social media platform in your b2b marketing strategy you’re making a mistake. 

But expecting hundreds of leads a month from outbound is unrealistic.

(Side Note: When it comes to inbound marketing, you could easily generate 200 leads a day, but remember, it takes time to become a thought leader in your industry or to develop a following. You could use Linkedin Ads or sponsored content to have new leads find you, but this could take time unless you are selling something that solves prospects’ pain points right now. BUT even still, you need the right target audience.)

Here’s why.

With outbound, you need to have an ultra-targeted list of prospects. These prospects can’t just be bought off cheap data providers.

Because the chances of them being the ideal fit for your campaign is very slim.

You might think that a data program that allows marketers to find contact details using a Linkedin search is great.

Like the example below:

This is great for agencies if they want to find specific people who work at a company BUT it’s the worst place to find information on companies. 

The reason?

If you’re saying: “Okay, my client needs CFOs in the healthcare industry” and you are trying to find the info on Linkedin Sales Navigator, you are going to run into a wall. Linkedin’s industry filter is notoriously inaccurate. 

For example, an online health and fitness tracker like FitBit could list their Industry on LinkedIn as: “Hospital and Healthcare”, “Internet”, “Information Technology and Services”, “Health, wellness, and fitness”.

The industry filter on Linkedin is “user-selected”. Do not use it to find target prospects UNTIL you’ve first made a list of the companies you should be targeting (based on data).

So if you’re looking for prospects who are selling healthcare insurance, you could end up getting an entire pool of prospects who are the wrong fit.

This is why list-building based on data of your current buying customers is imperative if you want Linkedin outreach to be successful.  

And if you’re just adding hundreds of prospects on a list that aren’t super targeted hoping for the best, you might not even get 10 qualified leads that month. 

Your list has to be super defined and if you’re going after quantity, the targeted quality leads are not going to happen. Remember quality over quantity = Linkedin outreach success. 

Besides this…

If you’re going to send hundreds of Linkedin messages to potential customers, you stand the chance of getting your Linkedin account restricted.

Some lead generation agencies use crappy automation tools on Linkedin to send out hundreds of the same automated messages to users.

Also, consider… What is a lead?

If a lead means new connection requests, then it’s not really a targeted, high-quality lead. 

But if a lead means a positive reply to start a conversation with you, or book a call, then 200 “leads” per day is way too much volume.

Realistically, not many teams could keep up with that level of lead volume. 

How do we know this? 

Because at Salesbread, we have had some clients actually pause our activity after seeing 2-3 b2b leads per day, because keeping up with that amount of booked meetings is a lot for even some of the best sales teams. 

If you can get 200 or more targeted leads a day, then you’re a genius and you can name your price for consulting or services. (We think 1 qualified sales lead per day is pretty valuable.)

How big is your total market?

This is an important question to ask yourself. Some of our clients only have 200 target accounts in their entire market.

This high-volume metric approach is not appropriate for companies that have a few hundred or even a few thousand companies in their social networks. 

Remember quality over quantity. 

Rather have 50 qualified ultra-targeted prospects who say yes to a booked sales meeting because this equals higher conversion rates than thousands of leads a month who are the wrong fit. 

Here’s how to generate business leads from Linkedin that say “yes” to a sales call…

1. Have a killer Linkedin profile

Your Linkedin profile is a prospect’s first impression of you and your business.

So if your profile looks unprofessional, or reads like a resume, prospects aren’t going to be interested in engaging with you.

Instead of viewing Linkedin as a CV, rather view it as a sales page.

Have a clear professional photo of yourself, use the banner section to showcase your product or service, and make your “about section” as clear as possible.

Share how you can help your ideal client solve their pain points. 

Like the example below:

Don’t have a profile that looks like this, if you want to target Linkedin users: 

Create a page that makes prospects want to contact you. 

2. Build a profitable professional network on Linkedin

Don’t just connect with anyone on Linkedin.

Think about which people you would like to sell your product or service to and connect with those people. 

If you can build a professional network of your ideal clients from early on, then you can use your personal profile to your advantage. 

Example: 

Say you are looking for influencers in your field to give you life career advice.

Here is what you can do to get to a meaningful network of the right people on LinkedIn in 3 steps:

1. Start small 
2. Use low-hanging fruits
3. Make your dream connections

Watch this video to see exactly how to do it:

3. Obsess about list building

If a client says they need leads in the healthcare space, you need to look at this deeper. 

For example:

• Which healthcare space? Insurance, hospitals, clinics, non-profit?
• What job title are you after? CMOs, CEOs? VPs?
• What’s the location of your ideal prospect? Will these healthcare professionals be along the coast or inland? Are they located in a specific city or country?
• How many employees are under them? 
• How big is the company? 500+ hospital beds?
• What’s their annual revenue?
• Do they make use of marketing?

In order for your Linkedin lead generation to be a success, you have to build a super targeted list. 

How do you do this? 

Have a look at who your current buying customers are.

Take all your data from the past 6 months and start looking for patterns. This buyer intent data can help you figure out who your ideal buying customer is. 

For example:

• Are the prospects who are buying from you located in a specific area?
• Who is buying from you? Is it the decision makers of the company or managers?
• What are the demographics? Is there a connection between buyers?

All of this will help you create a clear picture of your ideal customer.

The video below will explain this in greater detail:

Once you have a clear idea of who to target, you can then use third-party lead generation tools to find the right people or target accounts to go after on Linkedin..

At Salesbread we use:

• Crunchbase  – CrunchBase is the best prospecting tool, in our opinion, for finding companies in a particular industry. (As mentioned before, the industry filter on Sales Navigator is probably the worst filter to find companies. So using a third-party data provider to find the right company names is worthwhile.)

• Bombora – Bombora measures prospects’ digital journey across 5,000+ premium B2B websites, so you know exactly what prospects are in the market for, letting you guide them to your solution.

• Zoominfo – Zoominfo has metrics that allow you to see which companies are actively searching for the products that you are selling, which is a great resource that can help you save time when you’re looking for qualified leads.

• Linkedin Sales Navigator

And many others. This helps us build even more defined lists.

We then plug each prospect into Linkedin Sales Navigator and filter through our client’s second-degree network and by recently posted. 

The reason for this?

It narrows down our list even more. Studies show if a prospect is in your second-degree network, they will be more willing to reply.

Also by filtering through recently posted, you know that you are engaging with prospects who are active on Linkedin. 

All of this in-depth research and filtering is how we find the right people to reach out to for our clients.

In fact, list building usually takes a week of work and refining before we even start with our lead generation efforts. 

The results? 1 guaranteed qualified lead per day. Which amounts to about 20
+  high-quality leads a month. 

The chances of a prospect ignoring a message like this are very high. 

We all have “spam” filters built into our brains. And if you’re receiving hundreds of sales messages, like the one above, you are going to ignore them. 

So how do sales teams combat this?

By using ultra-personalized LinkedIn messages. 

In order to write a personalized message, you are going to have to research each and every prospect on your list. Have a look at their Linkedin page and see what kind of information you can find.

• Is the prospect part of certain Linkedin groups? 
• Do they share articles that they have written? Or webinars that they have attended?
• Are they interested in certain influencers?
• Or do they share specific thoughts or ideas on their newsfeed?

If they do, you could use this information to write something that would capture the prospect’s attention. Remember, lead generation is about getting your foot in the door for further conversations.

Here’s an example: 

“Michaela loved your article on how to retarget customers on Linkedin. I found XYZ insightful. Would love to connect with you.”

You can then send a follow-up message once they reply:

“Michaela, thanks for connecting. By the way… (Add a personalized intro from their previous reply) Curious to hear how your company deals with xyz when it comes to xyz? (For background our company deals with…) 

Would love to hop on a call, how’s your week looking?”

Here are some of the replies that we have received from using personalization in our messages:

• Hi Harry, Sounds great, give me a call at your convenience, ####
• Hi Sarah, Thanks for reaching out. Quick question: how much does it cost to make such an app? Thanks
• Can you send sample videos and cost?
• Hi Nick! Apologies for the delay here as I’m not on LI as much. Feel free to send a note to email #### so we can set up a time to chat.

We also use the CCQ method for writing our copy. This stands for:

• Compliment
• Commonalities
• Questions

Here’s an article that explains how we use this method to write personalized messages.

5. Have a clear CTA

Having a clear CTA also helps the prospect know exactly what you want from them. So if you want a sales meeting, ask for a booked meeting.

Here are some examples:

• Are you available for a 20-minute chat on [MONTH] [DAY] at [HOUR] [TIMEZONE]?
• How about a quick 30 min call next {{=day}} at 4 pm [TIMEZONE] to discuss more?
• What will it take to get 25 minutes on your calendar next week?
• Can I steal you away for a 15-minute phone call tomorrow at 5 pm [TIMEZONE]?
• Let’s catch up for 15 mins. Just select any date and time on my calendar link.
• Please choose a date and time of your choice using this link.
• 5 minutes for a call on {{=bday+3}} at 11 am to discuss further?
• Are you available to talk later this week? Here is a link to my calendar:
• Can we get on call this {{bday+2}} 10 AM to discuss how we can help you solve [MAIN PROBLEM]?
• Do you have a quick 10 min to chat?

Ready for realistic targeted high-quality sales leads?

Having realistic expectations can help you find the right leads for your businesses. Instead of forecasting on quantity, focus on quality.

Start conversations that lead to sales meetings. If you use the above tips, you will be guaranteed 1 lead per day. 

Last year we generated close to 5000 qualified leads for our clients. If you would like the same results, read this article, or hop on a free 15-minute consultation with Salesbread.