A 3-Step Guide to Prospecting for LinkedIn's 720M Decision Makers

LinkedIn has become a goldmine for hot leads. Studies say that a whopping 80% of its 900 million members have a say in business decisions.

A pool of 720M potential prospects that's yours for the taking—with the right tools and strategy, of course.

I'm Stefan Jovanovic, Marketing Specialist at Coupler.io, and this is the sales prospecting strategy that’s 20% of leads from LinkedIn and hold a 5% meeting rate.

Keep reading to learn how to captivate prospects with personalized content, harness automation features, and the proven tips for sourcing potential leads and turning them into loyal clients.

3 steps for LinkedIn lead generation

Before we even get to the first step, I want to stress the importance of your profile being appealing and updated. 

You’ll never get a second chance to make a good first impression. Your LinkedIn profile should sell you as credible and knowledgeable.

Make sure that you compose an impressive headline, have a compelling bio, and share pertinent information to maintain credibility. 

Step 1: Targeting your ICP

Before heading to LinkedIn, it's crucial to define your ideal customer profile (ICP) for a clear picture of the customers who would benefit most from your product or service. This will be your guide to target prospects effectively and make informed decisions about which leads to pursue.

LinkedIn's advanced search filters allow you to refine your search for the prospects that reflect your ICP.

These are just a few examples of the many criteria you can use:

• Browse by 1st, 2nd, or 3rd-degree connections
• Search by leads' current and past employers
• Use the industry-specific search
• Search by location
• Check the language of the LinkedIn profile
• Search for customers based on the schools, academies, or universities they attended.

LinkedIn's advanced search filters are a helpful tool, but a downside is that it’s disconnected from your CRM and data tools.

At Coupler.io, we use Apollo's LinkedIn Chrome Extension to bring our customer data directly into the platform.

With the Chrome Extension installed, you can see verified contact info directly within LinkedIn pages, any tasks, notes, or action items associated with the contact, and engage with them immediately by adding them to a sales sequence. 

Olha Tsyperdiuk, Lead Generation Specialist at Coupler.io, says: "I use the Apollo Chrome Extension for initial email extraction…It’s my first step in the prospecting process.”

Step 2: Reach out to prospects with a basic idea

Outreach matters, and this is where most people make mistakes. 

At this stage, you'll build rapport with the lead and get them interested in what you offer. You can engage your target contacts on LinkedIn in a couple of different ways:

• Connection requests (Tip: Numerous studies indicate that connection requests without accompanying notes enjoy an average advantage of 3.5% over those with notes)
• Direct messages
• InMail messages
• Follow them
• Run LinkedIn ads & measure their success with LinkedIn Ads dashboard

Here are some tips for crafting a compelling message on LinkedIn after the initial connection request:

1. Do your research. Look through the person's profile, read any articles they've posted, and check out blogs, podcasts, etc. 

2. Focus on long-term prospecting. Rather than aiming to make as many sales as possible, try setting goals for meetings, responses, or the number of genuine relationships you can build.

3. Avoid spamming. Instead, personalize and make every message count.

4. Avoid using words with negative connotations. Words like "can't", "shouldn't", etc. can show a lack of confidence and get a negative connotation, so try to focus on solutions instead.

5. Be mindful of your tone of voice. Tone can easily be misinterpreted via chatting, so take care to craft a message that sounds friendly and polite. Research shows emails that are moderately positive in tone have 10-15% higher response rates than more neutral messages. 

6. Ditch the sales pitch. Oleksandr Khrystiuk, Sales Development Representative at Coupler.io, suggests: "Pitching your product in early conversations may give your prospects the impression that you are only interested in making a sale and are not genuinely concerned about their goals and challenges."

To avoid sounding too sales-focused, create comprehensive buyer personas encompassing details like influencers, group activity, content preferences, pain points, goals, and desired benefits. Knowing these lets you connect genuinely by referencing shared interactions in connection requests.

It's important to remember that LinkedIn has members from over 200 countries and regions, each with their own cultural specificities. 

Ensure your message is respectful and always follow up consistently. 

The sales team at Coupler.io has found that getting rid of long intros, going straight to the point, and being transparent are the most well-received messages.

It's a played a huge part in helping us achieve a 15-20% reply rate across LinkedIn messages.

The first sentence should clearly explain why you're reaching out, with the following couple of sentences supporting the "why" with the value you're adding.

Here’s our secret formula:

• Start by telling the prospect why your message is relevant to them. You can use a general introduction or make it personalized. Try using question-based, generic, or humorous icebreakers.

• Talk about the benefits your solution brings without revealing exactly how it works. If the prospect is interested, they'll likely ask for more details later. Your goal is to remain top of mind.

• Limit the number of messages — 2-3 follow-ups at most; make sure the 1st message is the most impactful and clearly shows how you can help and why you want to talk; use follow-ups to learn if that is of interest instead of continuing to push/sell your benefits.

• Use soft CTAs — don't ask the person to commit to a call or something immediately.

If your killer message doesn’t get a reply, that's okay. 

Once a potential prospect is in your network, the chances they will see your posts in their feed increases. 

You can give them value by sharing case studies relevant to your audience or white papers showing how your solution has helped other companies in their industry. See who engages with the posts by liking them, and try reaching out later. Or they may reach out to you instead…

Step 3: Build a relationship with the prospect

Efficient LinkedIn prospecting involves establishing meaningful connections to gain trust, facilitate referrals, foster mutual learning, and contribute to brand building. Here are our favorite strategies to cultivate relationships with new contacts:

• Engage with potential prospects by congratulating them on new roles, responding to posts from existing relationships and qualified candidates, and offering sincere compliments on their accomplishments.

• Pose a thought-provoking question for the opinion polls, targeting the individuals you wish to build connections with to stimulate discussions and showcase your interest in the pains your audience experiences.

• Engage in group discussions and comment on relevant posts. See who reacted to the post and reach out with the assumption that the post was relevant to them.

• Cultivate customer advocates and encourage satisfied clients to leave recommendations or share positive experiences. For example, if a customer has had a great experience, ask them to write a recommendation on your LinkedIn profile or share a post about their experience with their network.

• Extend your interaction beyond LinkedIn by connecting and engaging with your followers on Twitter. Retweet or comment on their posts, demonstrating your engagement.

Our team has found that building relationships with potential customers is key to successful sales prospecting on LinkedIn. It is also a huge part of onboarding and nurturing. By combining real-world practices with LinkedIn automation and creative approaches, you’re well on your way to fruitful and productive connections.

Happy prospecting!