How to get more leads through LinkedIn prospecting

Thanks to LinkedIn, prospecting has never been easier. There are over 800 million users on the platform, which allows you to learn more about them and what they might need before you ever have to send a message.

Key takeaways about LinkedIn prospecting:

• What is LinkedIn prospecting?
• How to find leads that match your ICP on LinkedIn
• Engaging with your leads

LinkedIn prospecting allows you to find out information about your lead and ensure they’re the right lead for what you’re selling.

You no longer have to rely on cold emails for your lead generation, which only have a conversion rate of 5% at best.

What is LinkedIn prospecting?

LinkedIn prospecting is the strategic process of identifying and reaching out to potential clients or customers on LinkedIn who best match the type of lead your business is built around.

LinkedIn prospecting is not about scale, it’s about quality. If you can build genuine relationships with people who need what you’re selling, and engage with them in a meaningful and authentic way, it’s much easier to convert them into paying clients.

Benefits of Linkedin prospecting

LinkedIn prospecting allows you to build relationships with your leads

LinkedIn allows you to establish rapport with your prospects before ever sending an email. You can see what matters to them, how they work, and what their pain points are, allowing you to establish a better rapport when you do finally make contact.

Prospecting means you don’t waste your time on leads that won’t convert

The biggest benefit of LinkedIn prospecting is that you can refine your sales outreach strategy and ensure that your conversion rate stays high.

This means you aren’t wasting your time sending messages to people who aren’t interested, you’re only reaching out to leads with genuine potential for a sale. 

But how can you implement LinkedIn prospecting in your sales strategy?

We’re going to look at some key tactics for leveraging LinkedIn as a tool to drive sales growth through personalized outreach and strategic engagement with high-value leads.

How to implement Linkedin prospecting in your sales strategy

Create an Ideal Customer Profile

An ideal customer profile is like a template of your perfect customer. This will help you examine potential leads to see if they’re worth making contact with. If they don’t fit your ICP, don’t waste each other’s time: find someone who wants what you’re selling.

How to find leads that match your ICP on LinkedIn

To find leads that match your ICP, use LinkedIn’s advanced search function.

1st Degree Connection: people already in your network who you’re connected with

2nd Degree Connection: people just outside your own network, but you can have mutual connections

3rd+ Degree Connection: people completely outside your network

Connections Of: target the network of a someone you know

Followers of Creators: identify individuals who follow specific creators on LinkedIn, allowing you to reach out based on shared interests or influencers. This can be a great conversation starter

Location: segment your search based on regions, countries, and cities

Talks About: find people who talk about the service you provide, or the pain points you can address

Current Company: allows you to target specific businesses, or businesses within an industry that needs your product

Past Company: allows you to reach out to individuals who’ve moved on elsewhere, but who might still be interested in what you provide

Industry Focus: allows you to find people in the right industry tied to your ICP

Profile Language: this lets you speak to them in their own language, which can be highly appreciated

Service Categories: find professionals based on the services they offer, which can match up with yours

Keyword Search: this allows you to find profiles based on specific terms in their first name, last name, title, company, school, or job title.

With all these ways of searching, you can find leads who match up exactly with your ICP, who will be more receptive to your messages, and more likely to convert to a customer.

How to add LinkedIn prospects to your sales pipeline

Once you have these prospects, you need to add leads to your CRM.

Surfe can do this with 100% accuracy, saving you hours of time manually copying everything from platform to platform.

Surfe can also be used with LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator to export leads from LinkedIn in bulk. The Chrome extension adds all of the contact data of every lead in your lead list without you having to lift a finger.

Engaging with your leads

From here, you can start actually engaging with your leads, and build a relationship that should lead to a sale. 

Since you’ve done all the work of finding and qualifying these leads, don’t try to rush to the finish line and get a deal closed in one message. The key is to consistently engage and follow up with leads, allowing things to develop at a more natural pace. 

Engaging with your prospect’s posts, and sharing articles that they might find useful can make all the difference between a cold lead and a warm one.

How to keep leads engaged and interested:

Follow up

The golden rule is to stick to your word. If you say you’ll call them at a certain time, make sure you do. If you mention a video or a podcast they might find interesting, share it. All this helps you build a reputation as consistent and reliable in their minds.

Add value

Keep in mind that your interactions should always add value to the lead. You’re there to make their life easier, whether it’s by sharing something insightful, or by selling them a service that frees up their time. 

It can take several interactions and touch-points to develop a relationship with a potential lead, so don’t try to rush things.

All this should help you build a much stronger relationship than if you had simply messaged out of the blue. 

You can use LinkedIn prospecting to increase your chances of generating leads that actually convert, instead of relying on thousands of cold emails that don’t result in any business. 

Learn more about adding LinkedIn contacts to your CRM, or read about how to become a more efficient salesperson.