At Salesbread we have helped hundreds of professionals generate qualified leads on Linkedin (over the past 3 years) and not one client has ever been blocked from their Linkedin account.
Even though…
We use Linkedin automation tools as part of our lead generation strategy.
But here’s the caveat.
If you’re going to use automation, send crappy messages and spam prospects…Sorry to say, but you will get banned.
So use automation tools the right way. If you send personalized messages that prospects want to read, and your prospect list is spot on, then getting blocked won’t be a problem.
Here’s how we do it.
(And if you are looking for a lead generation partner that guarantees 1 qualified lead per day, hop on a free 15-minute sales call with us.)
Will using automation tools get you banned from Linkedin?
We just want to stress that if you are using automation tools, you have to ensure that you have high-quality, low-volume messages.
Yes, there are some tools out there that aren’t the best, but if you do these 3 things:
1. Build an ultra-refined prospect list of your ideal target audience who want what you’re selling
2. Personalize each message with something that your prospects actually want to read
3. Respect the limits and don’t spam people using automation software
YOU WON’T GET BLOCKED.
For example, we aren’t huge fans of the chrome extension Dux-soup because we have had many clients come to us who have used this lead generation tool, and their accounts had been blocked.
But we are also sure that there might be some salespeople who use the tool and haven’t had any issues.
The trick is to use Linkedin the way it was intended to be used.
And that’s for helping people advance in their careers.
If you’re doing that and people generally appreciate your outreach, you’re not going to be worried about problems, you’re going to worry about processing all the positive responses.
So even if you had to use a great tool like Expandi, but send bad messages and spam prospects, you will most probably get blocked too.
Remember outreach is about starting conversations, getting your foot in the door to book that sales meeting.
And this is one of the reasons why we have never had any client’s accounts blocked, we focus on high-quality, low-volume outreach.
At Salesbread we use Expandi… And not chrome extensions
At Salesbread, in our opinion the safest LinkedIn automation tool is Expandi.
We have used it for the past 3 years and have never been blocked.
How does it work?
“Expandi is a cloud-based LinkedIn automation tool which will allow you to set up outreach campaigns so you can complete actions on Linkedin on autopilot”
Once you have your prospect list you can use Expandi to pull and plug in all the data into the Linkedin Sales Navigator search. (You need to have a Sales Navigator account for this.)
You will then grab that search URL, and Expandi will scrape those prospects for you and add them to a connector campaign automatically.
(Just make sure the first names and company names are written perfectly before you start messaging.)
We like using Expandi for extracting data. It’s a really safe way to extract prospects that you have reached out to.
(Not like chrome extension tools like Zapier or Duxsoup which can be detrimental to your Linkedin profile because your account can get blocked with these tools.)
It also has “safe limits” for messaging, meaning that the chances of Linkedin suspending your account are very low.
You can also use Expandi to set hours.
Meaning that you can have it run from Monday to Friday without your computer having to be turned on.
It logs in with your time zone from your location, and this ensures that it doesn’t look like you are a bot.
How much does Expandi cost per month?
How to use Expandi the right way
We suggest only sending between 24 and 29 connection requests and about 30 follow-up messages per day.
(Mind you, we have sent up 100 invites in the past and haven’t had any issues; but if you are new to using automation, rather take it slow.)
But we also don’t just send the same message to every single prospect.
As we mentioned at the outset of the article, you have to use personalized messages, otherwise, you won’t get the results that you want.
So we research each prospect and use the CCQ method to write our messages.
We then upload these messages for each prospect to Expandi, and then Expandi sends these messages automatically instead of having our sales team send each message manually.
Below is an example of the type of messages we would send(Feel free to adapt this template as your own.)
And how Expandi looks when you’re busy with your Linkedin outreach.
Message 1:
Jack, I loved your podcast on buying a saas business, would love to connect.
Message 2:
Thanks for connecting, by the way I see that you are in the {{industry}} space. How does your company handle {{pain point}}? For background, my company does {{solves pain point}}. Worth a quick chat?
Notice in our messages we compliment the prospect and are completely transparent about why we are contacting them.
There is no sleazy sales pitch either, telling the prospect to buy your stuff.
If you do this, your new connections will engage with you. These are the types of messages that get positive replies.
For example here are some of the replies we received from prospects in our client’s Linkedin network:
Remember, your Linkedin messages have to be personalized, whether its a LinkedIn connection or a follow-up.
If you just send the same message using some kind of automation platform, then you aren’t going to have a high response rate because Linkedin users will view it as spammy.
Our metrics show that this LinkedIn lead generation strategy works. Here are our averages:
- Connection request acceptance rate is 45%
- Positive reply rate is 39%
- And 1 qualified lead per day
With never having a client’s account blocked or restricted.
Some of the best Linkedin automation tools (and the worst)
When it comes to choosing the best Linkedin automation tool, make sure of the following:
- It’s not a chrome extension
- It has a dedicated IP address
- The Linkedin activity of the tool mimics human behavior
Why?
Because with a dedicated IP address your location and IP are the same.
With Chrome-based automation tools, it often shows you’re logging in from different countries.
And this is a big red flag for Linkedin, which means the chances of getting blocked will be greater.
And what about Chrome extensions?
Chrome extensions are LinkedIn plugins that are downloaded from an app store and gets integrated with your browser.
These tools aren’t safe and aren’t efficient either. If your automation tool behaves like a human, then Linkedin isn’t going to flag you.
Here is a table that compares a list of Linkedin automation tools:
The tools mentioned below are the top 5 most popular automation tools. We go into depth in this article about each tool.
In conclusion – Should you use Linkedin automation?
The answer really depends on the type of Linkedin prospecting you’re planning on doing.
If you use a high-volume, low-quality approach to getting new leads, you’re going to get blocked.
But if you use automation to help you simplify your workflow, and have a low-volume, personalized approach, then automation is a good option.
If your business is looking for a partner to run your Linkedin campaigns and 1 guaranteed lead per day in your sales funnel sounds like a win, hop on a free 15-minute consultation call.
Or read this article to understand exactly how our done-for-you lead generation service works.
