Are you still sending cold emails that bring no replies or meetings booked?
Then, it’s time to switch your outreach to multichannel and start LinkedIn prospecting!
Instead of traditional outreach, you can increase your reply chances by connecting with your leads on their preferred channel, such as LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is a platform with 800M+ potential leads that can easily match your ICP, thanks to its advanced filtering.
But how exactly do you find your target audience on LinkedIn? How to use the power of networking to grow your business?
In this article, get top LinkedIn prospecting strategies and tools that will help you find new buyers in 2023.
Traditional prospecting includes traditional outreach channels, such as emails or cold calls. Because of the straightforward nature of these channels, the goal is usually to create relationships with leads that end up making sales.
On the contrary, LinkedIn is a social media channel where instead of “reaching out” you aim to “connect” with your leads. This means no harsh sales messages. If you want to make deals with them, first you have to approach them in a friendly, instead of salesy, way.
Multichannel prospecting is a powerful sales tactic that involves leveraging multiple platforms simultaneously to communicate with leads. This can include cold emailing, cold calling, LinkedIn, and other social selling options.
The idea is to use these channels in sync, ensuring you reach your leads on the platforms that are most convenient for them. Meeting your leads according to their preferences and availability can significantly boost your chances for replies and meetings booked.
One of the most effective channel combinations that you can add to your outreach is using emails and LinkedIn simultaneously.
Here’s why 👇
In LinkedIn prospecting, always aim for leads’ quality instead of quantity. This means that instead of aiming to find as many LinkedIn leads as possible, focus on finding a smaller number of highly qualified ones.
The first step to finding your potential buyers who will reply is having a clear understanding of who they are, aka define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).
ICP is a detailed representation of your ideal customer, including their:
To create your own, you can duplicate & fill out the ICP template from this link!
To start your search, visit LinkedIn’s People search page, where you’ll have access to its advanced filters.
By understanding and leveraging LinkedIn’s advanced filters, you can pinpoint the exact audience that matches your ICP.
Here's your filters’ cheat sheet to help you find ideal connections:
By mastering these filters, you're not just searching; you're strategically prospecting. Try to use as many filters as you can, as each filter offers a unique angle, ensuring your outreach is relevant and effective.
Formerly known as "LinkedIn Sales Navigator," LinkedIn Core is a premium tool that offers enhanced filtering options and the ability to save leads. While it costs over $80 per month, it's designed for those who want to supercharge their prospecting game.
However, the traditional LinkedIn search shouldn't be underestimated. It's free and can still deliver impressive results!
But, like all tools, LinkedIn has its pitfalls, such as:
To avoid these issues and optimize your Sales Navigator experience, consider integrating LinkedIn with tools like Evaboot. It's designed to refine your search results, ensuring you connect with the right professionals every time.
While LinkedIn's search capabilities are robust, sometimes you might need a more specialized tool, like Taplio, to find your niche.
Taplio covers millions of LinkedIn profiles, including their posts and engagement metrics. It's like having a magnifying glass over LinkedIn, allowing you to spot potential leads with high precision.
Here’s which Taplio’s granular search options to use to find leads that match your ICP:
Now that you've found your target audience on LinkedIn, it’s time to push them to your outreach campaign and reach out to them. There are two ways to do it - directly from LinkedIn, or via the Taplio app.
The easiest way to add your LinkedIn leads to your outreach campaign is to use the new lemlist Chrome extension!
Here’s why 👇
Now, you can easily combine LinkedIn prospecting with email outreach, and even cold calling for your most qualified leads!
Once you've identified your leads on Taplio, pushing them to your lemlist campaigns is a breeze!
To get a step-by-step guide on how to do it, follow the actionable tips this from this article.
Before reaching out directly to your LinkedIn leads, it’s important to engage with their content first.
Like, comment, and share their posts to get on their radar.
This will show your genuine interest in their work and position you as a friend rather than a salesperson.
Here are some of the key steps to ensure you remain active & visible in your industry circles:
To get a complete process with examples that will turn your LinkedIn engagement into $$$, check out this ultimate guide.
P.S. You can use Taplio to automate your engagement with content and swiftly respond to comments!
After building rapport through engagement, it's time to reach out to your “warm” leads.
lemlist users can automate all their LinkedIn tasks. Use lemlist to replicate genuine human interactions while saving hours of manual work!
Here’s how to craft an effective LinkedIn campaign with lemlist:
Additionally, lemlist allows you to set specific intervals between each step, ensuring your outreach feels organic. Plus, you can schedule your invites and messages to be sent at leads’ optimal times, maximizing engagement chances.
The LinkedIn messaging platform is minimalistic, without official email formatting, and fosters a direct approach. Your message should be laser-focused, addressing a specific pain point or interest of the prospect. Consider using a pointed question to boost your leads' curiosity.
5 key tips for effective messaging on LinkedIn 👇
The journey of LinkedIn prospecting is more of a marathon than a sprint. Instead of relying on a single message, consistently engage and follow up to boost prospects’ trust and interest.
As you initiate a conversation, make it a habit to engage with leads’ content. A simple like or a thoughtful comment on their posts can go a long way. This not only keeps you on their radar but also subtly reminds them of your previous outreach.
Here are 3 key strategies to engage effectively:
Our data indicates that it often takes between 4 to 9 touchpoints to push a response from a prospect. So, patience paired with persistent engagement is your winning formula!
In the era of social media, LinkedIn prospecting has emerged as a game-changer for businesses and professionals who want to grow their businesses.
By leveraging the power of LinkedIn, combined with strategic multichannel outreach, you can connect with potential leads in a more genuine and effective way.
The key formula to LinkedIn prospecting success is:
Thanks to lemlist, you can automate these steps and revolutionize your outreach with LinkedIn prospecting!
G2 Rating | Price | Best for | Standout feature | Con | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.9 star star star star star | $30/mo $75/mo $2,999/mo | Large, distributed sales teams | AI evaluation precision, gamified KPIs | Lack of tracking system | |
4.6 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Sales operations and finance teams | Powerful configurability | Limited training resources and complex to navigate | |
4.4 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Mid-market and enterprise businesses | Comprehensive incentive management | Potentially high cost and steep learning curve | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | $15/user/mo $40/user/mo Enterprise: custom price | Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes | Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes | Steep learning curve | |
4.6 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Collaborative teams | Connected planning | Complexity and steep learning curve | |
4.6 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies with complex sales structures | Complex incentive compensation management (ICM) with high efficiency and accuracy | Complexity for smaller teams and potentially high costs | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies who want to automate commission calculations and payouts | Simplicity and ease of use | Lack of features like redirection | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | $30/user/mo $35/user/mo Custom: upon request | Businesses that need a comprehensive and user-friendly sales compensation management software | Ease of use and adoption | Lack of ability to configure the product based on user needs | |
4.8 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies with modern sales culture and businesses who want real-time insights | A built-in dispute management and real-time visibility | Users say it works slowly, customer support is slow | |
4.9 star star star star star | $30/user/mo $50/user/mo | Smaller sales teams | Powerful automation | Lesser user base and average user interface | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies with scalable needs | Automated Commission Calculations | Lack of filtering by date, no mobile app |
PRM Tool | Rating | Feature | Pro | Con | Mobile App | Integrations | Free Plan | Pricing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.65 star star star star star-half | Org-wide alignment | User-friendly layout and database | Suboptimal as a personal CRM | square-check | Lack of tracking system | square-check | Team: $20/month Business: $45/month | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Social Media Integration | Easy contact data collection | No marketing/sales features | square-check | Lack of tracking system | square-xmark 7-day trial | $12/month | |
4.75 star star star star star-half | Block Functions | High customization capability | Not a dedicated CRM | square-check | Limited | square-check | Plus: €7.50/month Business: €14/month | |
N/A | Open-source | Open-source flexibility | Requires extensive manual input | square-xmark | Limited | square-check Self-hosted | $9/month or $90/year | |
3.1 star star star | Simple iOS app | Ideal for non-tech-savvy users | iPhone only | square-check iOS only | Limited | square-xmark 1-month trial | $1.49/month or $14.99/month | |
3.6 star star star star-half | Smart Contact Management | Feature-rich and flexible | Reported bugs | square-check | Rich | square-xmark 7-day trial | Premium: $13.99/month Teams: $17.99/month | |
4.4 star star star star star-half | Customizable Interface | Customizable for teamwork | Pricey for personal use | square-check | Rich | square-xmark | Standard: $24/member Premium: $39/member | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Integrated Calling | Integrated Calling | Too sales-oriented & pricey | square-check | Rich | square-xmark 14-day trial | Startup: $59/user/month Professional: $329/user/month | |
4.8 star star star star star | Business Card Scanning | Business Card Scanning | Mobile only | square-check | Limited | square-check | $9.99/month | |
4.45 star star star star star-half | 160+ app integrations | Comprehensive integrations | No free app version | square-check | Rich | square-xmark 14-day trial | $29.90/month or $24.90/month (billed annually) |
Capterra Rating | Free Trial | Free Plan | Starting Price (excluding the free plan) | Maximum Price (for the most expensive plan) | Best for | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.5 star star star star star-half | square-check 14-day | square-check | €15/month/seat billed annually | €792/month/3 seats billed annually + €45/month for each extra seat | Versatility and free plan | |
4.2 star star star star | square-check 30-day | square-xmark But it offers reduced price to authorised nonprofit organisations | €25/user/month | €500/user/month billed annually (includes Einstein AI) | Best overall operational CRM | |
4.3 star star star star star-half | square-xmark | square-check Limited to 3 users | Comprehensive incentive management | €52/user/month billed annually | Small-medium businesses and automation | |
4.5 star star star star star-half | square-check 14-day | square-xmark | €14/seat/month billed annually | €99/seat/month billed annually | Sales teams and ease of use | |
4.1 star star star star | square-xmark | square-check Limited 10 users | $9.99/user/month billed annually | $64.99/user/month billed annually | Free plan for very small teams up to 10 |
CRM goal | Increase the sales conversion rate for qualified leads from marketing automation campaigns by 10% in the next 6 months. | ||||
SMART Breakdown | 1. Specific: It targets a specific area (conversion rate) for a defined segment (qualified leads from marketing automation). | 2. Measurable: The desired increase (10%) is a clear metric, and the timeframe (6 months) allows for progress tracking. | 3. Achievable: A 10% increase is possible based on historical data and potential improvements. | 4. Relevant: Boosting sales from marketing efforts aligns with overall business objectives. | 5. Time-bound: The 6-month timeframe creates urgency and a clear target date. |
Actions | Step 1: Refine lead qualification criteria to ensure high-quality leads are nurtured through marketing automation. | Step 2: Personalize marketing automation campaigns based on lead demographics, interests, and behavior. | Step 3: Develop targeted landing pages with clear calls to action for qualified leads. | Step 4: Implement lead scoring to prioritize high-potential leads for sales follow-up. | Step 5: Track and analyze campaign performance to identify areas for optimization. |
Outcomes | Increased sales and revenue | Improved marketing automation ROI | Marketing and sales alignment | Data-driven marketing optimization |