If you’ve ever received a Linkedin inMail like this:
The chances are, you probably ignored it.
Why?
Because it’s “spammy.”
You know that this same message has been sent to hundreds of people on Linkedin.
So if you’re looking to generate high-quality leads through Linkedin outreach, you need a strategy that’s going to cut through the noise and capture your prospect’s attention.
But besides this, you also need an ultra-targeted list of your ideal target audience…
This article will share our exact step-by-step Linkedin lead gen strategy that we use to generate 20+ new leads each month.
(If you want to skip the learning curve, hop on a free 15-minute strategy call here.)
Step 1: Check your Linkedin profile first – Is it professional?
One thing we noticed when reply rates weren’t as high as we would have liked, we had a look at our client’s Linkedin profile page.
By simply changing their copy, or even adding a professional photo, we saw that reply rates began to increase.
If you want to use Linkedin for lead-generation efforts it’s important to have a profile that showcases how your company can solve pain points.
Don’t use your Linkedin profile as a resume, but rather as a professional sales page that will attract potential customers.
Remember, once you send a message to a prospect, the first thing they will do is have a look at your Linkedin profile.
If it looks unprofessional, people aren’t going to trust you with their business.
Below are some examples of great profiles that make prospects want to work with them.
Notice:
- The photo that’s been used is professional
- They have made use of all of Linkedin’s features, including the background banner.
- The “About” section is short and states exactly what the company does, and how they can help.
- There is also a link at the bottom of the about section that shows the reader where to book a discovery call. This CTA is great because it allows the reader easy access to hopping on a consult call. So make your contact details easily available to your prospects.
- There are also “recommendations”. This is a great place to showcase testimonials and create social proof. Prospects will be more likely to book a call with you, if they see that others were happy with your services.
Compare the above profile to the one below:
If you received a message from the above Linkedin user, you probably wouldn’t reply to them.
Their Linkedin page isn’t impressive at all.
Plus there are no giveaways as to who they are, or which company they own.
Don’t be that person.
Step 2. Build a list of prospects based on current buyers’ data
You might have an idea of who your ideal prospect is.
Perhaps it’s businesses in the content marketing space and you’re selling a saas tool that helps with their seo efforts.
Don’t target all content marketing companies.
Here’s why…
If your list of prospects is too broad, you aren’t going to get a ton of qualified leads.
There’s no point in going after everyone because they might not need your services.
So do this instead.
Have a look at which content marketing companies have purchased your saas product within the last 6 months.
When you do this, you will start to see certain patterns emerge.
For example, you might notice that:
- All these content marketing companies have 10-50 employees.
- What’s the company size?
- They are all located in the US? What are their demographics?
- They might all be using a similar seo tool that’s maybe too expensive, and your tool is more affordable
- They might all have a specific marketing budget
- Do they use a certain automation tool?
- Perhaps they are all active on social media platforms like Instagram
- Or maybe it’s specific job titles at the company who are buying the tool from you; Who is the decision maker?
- Do they belong to certain Linkedin groups?
- Or use a specific CRM tool like Hubspot?
- Have they used webinars in their marketing campaign efforts?
So you see, it’s important to think outside the box and not just be happy with basic targeting.
This IS a lot of work, but it’s worth it.
Because of these in-depth list-building dives, our metrics show that we managed to generate close to 7000 qualified sales leads for our clients in the past 24 months.
Below is an example of how we would look for patterns between current buying customers:
When you analyze buying patterns it will help you to build look-alike lists of prospects.
This will allow you to target the right people, which will = b2b lead generation success.
Read this article for an in-depth look at how to build a list of prospects.
Side note: Use various Linkedin lead-generation tools
Initially, if you’re starting out, you can use Linkedin sales navigator to build a list of prospects or b2b businesses. But it’s important to note that Sales nav has a few pitfalls if you don’t know how to lose it the right way.
This article shares common mistakes people make when using Sales Navigator.
At Salesbread we also make use of third-party data providers besides.
These extra tools help us to double check if the information provided on Sales nav and make sure that the contact information is also correct (especially if we are reaching out via email or SMS.)
Some of these tools also allow us to find intent data and advanced filtering options.
Some of the tools we use are:
- Crunchbase
- Bombora
- Expandi
- Apollo.io
You can read about them in more detail here.
Step 3: Filter your list by your second-degree network AND by recently posted on Linkedin
Here’s why:
Stats have shown time and time again that prospects are more willing to accept your connection request if you share the same connections.
If a prospect has accepted someone like you in the past, they probably will do so again.
This is why we filter our list by a second-degree network first before we send messages to prospects in the third-degree network.
We also filter the list by “recently posted”.
Why?
Because if a prospect isn’t active on Linkedin, it doesn’t matter if you have written the PERFECT outreach message, they aren’t going to see it.
So if a prospect has been active on Linkedin within the past 30 days, rather add them to a cold email campaign.
Step 4: Write PERSONALIZED messages
Would you accept this kind of connection request?
Or this:
Probably not…
Why?
Because they are generic.
We all have “spam filters” built into our brains, so when a message doesn’t stand out, we just ignore it. This is just basic sales psychology
So in order to combat prospects ignoring your messages, you HAVE to use personalization.
Here is a reply we recently received because we sent a personalized message to the prospect:
If you want similar replies from prospects be sure to use the following strategy for generating leads of this caliber.
Research each prospect on your list
Yep, you read that write.
This is why we have a personalization expert on our team and all she does is research each prospect and write personalized messages.
How do you do this?
You can simply Google their name, or have a look at their Linkedin profile and follow the “recipe” below.
Use the CCQ formula for personalization
CCQ means:
COMPLIMENT
When you look at your prospects profile, try to find something that you can compliment them on.
For example, were they recently interviewed and you enjoyed listening to it? Or did they share a case study that was impressive?
If they did, mention it in your personalized message.
Example:
Jack, I loved reading your Linkedin post on XYZ. It resonated because of XYZ. Would love to connect with you here.
COMMONALITIES
Commonalities means mentioning something that you and the prospect have in common.
Whether you know the same people on Linkedin, or if you belong to the same Linkedin groups for example. You could even mention shared hobbies.
Example:
Jack, saw that you’re an avid cyclist. Where are your favorite spots to cycle these days? Mind if we connect here?
QUESTIONS
Asking questions also helps to get your foot in the door.
You could ask the prospect how their company is dealing with a specific pain point that your company fixes.
Example:
Jack, I noticed that your company is in the XYZ space.. Curious to hear how you’re dealing with XZY? For background, my company (solves pain point) Mind if we connect?
These are the types of messages that get replies.
Notice:
- No sleazy sales pitches
- Most of the message is about the prospect and only very little about yourself for background info.
- Plus you’re mentioning something personal. This is bound to capture their attention, as they can see it’s not just another spam message.
The reason for these messages is just to get your foot in the door for further conversations.
Step 5. Follow up and use a low commitment call to action
For a successful lead generation campaign, you have to follow up. But getting the balance just right can also be tricky.
Some sales teams follow up too much or too little.
At Salesbread we follow up between 3 and 5 times; and we send a follow up every 3 days.
We find that this is a good amount of follow ups and the spacing is just right, so that prospects don’t get annoyed.
In our follow ups we add more personalization as well as a “low commitment” cta.
What to add in your follow up:
In your follow ups mention why you’re reaching out to the prospect for context. Speak about the prospect 90% of the time and only 10% about yourself/business.
Here are some examples:
Pro Tip:
Never sell in your messages. Rather keep any pitches for an actual sales call. And be transparent; a prospect will be really frustrated if you hop on a call, and never mention the real reason for the call.
A word on CTAs…
The lower the commitment in a CTA the more likely it will be that the prospect replies and vice versa.
The higher commitment, the less likely the prospect will respond.
Examples of low commitment CTA’s
Examples of high commitment CTA’s
Call to actions are vital. Because it tells the prospect what you would like from them.
But keep it simple.
The less you ask for the chances of them saying yes to a booked meeting will be greater.
For free templates check out this article: https://salesbread.com/60-linkedin-connection-request-message-templates/
Side note: What about Linkedin Ads for Lead Generation instead of outreach?
At Salesbread we have never done Linkedin ads and probably never will.
The reason?
We have had many clients come to us in the past and say that they have spent thousands of dollars on ad campaigns and they never even received 1 lead.
For more information on Linkedin ads vs Linkedin outreach read this article:
https://salesbread.com/linkedin-ads-agency/
Looking for a marketing strategy that will get results?
If yes… Hop on a free 15-minute strategy call with Salesbread. We guarantee 1 qualified sales lead per day.