B2B LinkedIn Outreach: Learn 9 proven strategies to boost your leads in 2024
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With over 1 billion users, including 180 million senior-level influencers, 63 million decision-makers, and 10 million C-level executives, LinkedIn is a treasure trove for quality leads. However, many marketers have found a LinkedIn outreach strategy. Connection requests go unanswered, messages are ignored, and filling the pipeline seems impossible.
In this guide, we outline nine best practices to help you master LinkedIn outreach and successfully connect with those hard-to-reach leads.
1.Best Practices for Maximizing Impact with B2B LinkedIn Outreach
LinkedIn stands as a premier platform for B2B lead generation, boasting effectiveness that surpasses Facebook and Twitter combined by a factor of three. For marketing and sales professionals aiming to achieve the highest returns, understanding how to strategically harness LinkedIn’s potential is crucial.
Understand Your Metrics
What are your industry’s average acceptance, response, and conversion rates for a B2B LinkedIn outreach strategy? How have these numbers historically performed for your company?
Answering these questions will help you gauge the effort required to meet your goals.
For example, if your industry or company benchmark is 10%, you would need to reach out to at least 1,000 prospects to achieve 100 conversions.
Using this data, you can develop a strategy to reach your goal while staying within LinkedIn’s policies.
Knowing your metrics helps you set realistic goals, identify potential bottlenecks, and leverage strategies to reach your objectives more efficiently.
2. Optimize Your Metrics
Determining the average acceptance, response, and conversion rates within your industry, as well as your company’s historical performance, is crucial. These metrics provide a realistic picture of the effort required to achieve your goals.
For instance, if your industry’s or company’s historical benchmark conversion rate is 10%, to secure 100 conversions, you would need to reach out to at least 1,000 prospects. Analyzing these figures allows you to set attainable goals, identify potential challenges, and develop strategies to meet your objectives while adhering to LinkedIn’s policies.
By knowing your numbers, you can fine-tune your approach, ensuring more efficient and effective outreach.
In LinkedIn’s State of Sales report, 80% of top sellers affirm that they always conduct thorough research on prospects before making contact. Approaching a potential client too hastily can jeopardize your chances of success. Therefore, it’s essential to scrutinize their profiles meticulously and consider the following aspects:
- Interests: Identify what topics or events the prospects frequently engage with, which can be found in the Activity section of their profile. Utilize any mutual interests to your advantage. For example, if you both attended the same university or belong to the same professional group, mention this commonality in your message to build rapport and increase the likelihood of a response.
- Pain Points: Understand the challenges the prospect faces in their role or industry by reviewing their posts, comments, or shared articles. This insight can help tailor your message to address their specific needs and show that you understand their struggles.
- Current Engagements: Discover what projects or initiatives the prospect is currently involved in by checking for recent promotions, media engagements, or company news. Referencing these in your outreach demonstrates that you’ve invested time in learning about their professional journey, making your message more relevant and personalized.
- Mutual Connections: Leverage any shared connections to build trust and credibility. Mentioning a mutual connection or asking for an introduction can significantly enhance your outreach efforts.
- Recent Events: Note any recent events such as conferences they attended, promotions they received, or job changes they made. Incorporating these elements creatively in your message can foster a sense of familiarity and open the door to a meaningful conversation.
By investing time in detailed prospect research, you can craft personalized and impactful messages that resonate with your prospects, increasing the chances of a successful outreach.
You wouldn’t expect a prospect to accept your connection request or respond to your InMail if your profile looks like a hastily assembled resume, would you?
3. Make your profile irresistible to connect
B2B prospects typically have a longer buying journey, largely due to their thorough research process. According to LinkedIn’s State of Sales, the first step prospects take to evaluate a seller or marketer is to check their profile.
You can leverage this by creating a profile that is not only complete but also strategically optimized to capture attention and make a lasting impression. Ensure your profile includes the following elements:
A. Clear Cover Image: Highlight your core service to immediately communicate your value proposition.
B. Compelling Summary: Detail your expertise, including work history and significant milestones.
C. Accessible Contact Information: Make it easy for prospects to reach you. Engaging Content: Share insightful and relevant content to demonstrate thought leadership.
D. Meaningful Interactions: Show your engagement by contributing to others’ content. Recommendations and Endorsements: Build credibility with endorsements from colleagues and clients.
Here’s an example of a robust LinkedIn profile. A well-crafted profile not only improves your chances with prospects but also enhances your visibility on LinkedIn, thanks to its algorithm favoring comprehensive and active profiles.
4. Invest in a Robust Toolset
The difference between a scattered, inefficient outreach campaign and a streamlined, high-performing one often lies in the tools you use. LinkedIn offers powerful tools like Sales Navigator, which provides advanced search filters, lead recommendations, and insights to help you identify and engage with the right prospects. Additionally, InMail allows you to directly message users outside your network.
Beyond LinkedIn’s native tools, numerous third-party platforms can further enhance your
B2B outreach efforts by automating various tasks such as personalized messaging, follow-up sequences, and data tracking. Consider integrating the following tools into your strategy:
- Outreachly: Automates personalized outreach, saving you time and ensuring consistency.
- Expandi: Helps build targeted lists and track campaign performance
- Zapier: Integrates LinkedIn with other tools to create advanced automation sequences.
- Crystal: Analyzes LinkedIn profiles to provide personality insights and communication styles, enabling more tailored interactions.
- LinkedIn Helper: Facilitates exporting prospects’ contact information, sending connection requests, and managing interactions.
However, it’s important to be mindful of LinkedIn’s usage policies to avoid temporary restrictions. For example, LinkedIn limits the number of connection requests you can send to 100 per week. Ensure your automated actions stay within these limits to maintain the integrity of your account.
5. Master LinkedIn’s Search Functionality
LinkedIn’s search functionality is a powerful tool for identifying and connecting with high-value prospects. However, many users only scratch the surface of its capabilities.
If you want to discover your dream prospects, mastering the LinkedIn search functionality is the way to go. Consider implementing the following:
- Boolean Search: Enhance your search precision and focus your results by incorporating Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) into your queries. For example, a LinkedIn search using the boolean term “marketing manager NOT SaaS” will return profiles of marketing managers who do not have “SaaS” (Software as a Service) listed in their experience or profile description.
Thus, you will find profiles of marketing managers working in various industries outside of software companies.
- Advanced Search Filters: LinkedIn offers a range of advanced filters to further refine your search using identifiers like industry, location, current (or past) company, accounts they follow, and more. These filters can help you pinpoint your ideal prospects more effectively.
- Saved Searches: If you use LinkedIn’s premium tools like Sales Navigator and Recruiter, you can save your search queries to receive notifications when new profiles match your criteria. This allows you to stay on top of new leads and opportunities as they arise.
- Search Alerts: Set up alerts for specific keywords or phrases that matter to your target audience or industry. This ensures you’re notified whenever new content or discussions match your interests, providing opportunities for engagement and connection. This is only available to premium LinkedIn users.
- Groups and Hashtags: Join relevant LinkedIn groups and follow industry-specific hashtags to discover potential prospects and engage in conversations related to your niche and offerings.
6. Rethink Your Icebreakers
The first message you send to a prospect is crucial for building a connection and setting the stage for further interaction. Generic, impersonal messages are often ignored or dismissed. To stand out, you need to craft icebreakers that are personalized, relevant, and engaging.
Ensure your icebreakers include the following elements:
- Referencing Shared Interests: Mention a common interest, such as a recent article they shared, a group you both belong to, or an event you both attended. This demonstrates your genuine interest in their work and establishes common ground for conversation.
- Acknowledging Their Achievements: Congratulate them on a recent promotion, award, or successful project. This shows that you’ve done your research and are genuinely interested in their professional journey.
- Offering Value: Instead of immediately pitching your product or service, offer something of value upfront. Share an insightful article, a helpful resource, or a relevant industry trend. This positions you as a knowledgeable and helpful contact.
- Asking Stimulating Questions: Raise a question related to their area of expertise or a recent challenge they mentioned. This can spark a conversation and demonstrate your genuine interest in their insights.
Example:
Hi [Prospect Name],
I noticed we’re both members of [Group Name] and came across your post about [challenge they mentioned in the group]. I’ve helped some of my clients navigate similar situations, and here’s something that often works: [Offer a quick tip related to the challenge].
Let me know if this helps!
I’d be happy to chat more about this if you’re interested!
Best regards,
[Your Name]
7. Combine Cold DMs with Meaningful Interactions
Don’t limit your LinkedIn outreach to just cold DMs. Adopt a multi-faceted approach that includes engaging with prospects’ content and participating in relevant discussions. This strategy not only warms up your prospects before you reach out but also establishes you as an active and knowledgeable member of their network.
- Engage with Their Content: Like and leave thoughtful comments on your prospects’ posts, articles, and comments. This demonstrates that you’re paying attention to their work and are genuinely interested in their insights.
- Participate in Relevant Discussions: Join conversations in groups and forums where your prospects are active. Share your expertise and contribute valuable insights to the discussions. This helps build your credibility and visibility in your prospects’ professional circles.
By combining cold DMs with meaningful interactions, you create a more holistic and effective outreach strategy, fostering stronger connections and increasing the likelihood of positive responses.
The reality is that every prospect is different. While some may respond well to a direct approach, others might prefer a more gradual, relationship-building strategy. Combining both approaches ensures you maximize every opportunity and improve your chances of capturing the prospect’s attention and engagement.
8. Always Take Advantage of Triggers
Triggers are specific events or actions that indicate a potential opportunity for engagement. For example, when a prospect receives a job promotion, they often share it on LinkedIn, and LinkedIn notifies their network. This presents a prime opportunity to engage with them. Send a congratulatory message and include something insightful.
Other opportunities for engagement arise when:
- The prospect’s company announces news such as new funding rounds, regional expansions, or product launches.
- The prospect engages with your post through comments, likes, or shares.
- The prospect views your profile.
- There’s an industry event, such as the introduction of new regulations or a significant industry conference.
- The prospect celebrates a work anniversary or milestone.
By recognizing and acting on these triggers, you can create timely and relevant interactions that build stronger relationships with your prospects.
9. Build Your Social Selling Index (SSI)
LinkedIn’s Social Selling Index (SSI) is a powerful metric that measures your effectiveness at leveraging the platform for social selling. Here’s how you can determine and improve your SSI:
How to Determine Your SSI:
- Log into your LinkedIn account.
- Visit this link in a new tab: LinkedIn SSI.
The SSI scores you based on four key pillars:
- Professional Brand: How established and complete your profile is.
- Finding the Right People: Your ability to identify and connect with relevant prospects.
- Engagement: How active you are in sharing insights and interacting with other members.
- Building Relationships: Your success in connecting and building relationships with decision-makers.
Importance of Your SSI Score: Your SSI score is a valuable indicator of your social selling effectiveness. A higher SSI score correlates with increased visibility, engagement, and sales success. According to LinkedIn, top social sellers create 45% more opportunities than those with lower SSI scores and are 51% more likely to achieve their sales quotas.
Improving your SSI involves optimizing your profile, actively engaging with your network, sharing valuable insights, and building meaningful relationships. By focusing on these areas, you can enhance your social selling capabilities and achieve greater success on LinkedIn.
By concentrating on the key areas of your SSI, you can establish a solid foundation for social selling and maximize the impact of your B2B LinkedIn outreach efforts.
10.Conclusion
B2B LinkedIn outreach strategy demands time, effort, and patience, but its potential to deliver extraordinary results is undeniable.
Adhere strictly to these best practices, maintain a consistent follow-up routine, and delegate various tasks such as content creation and profile research to your team members. This approach will allow you to focus more on high-impact activities like outreach strategy and relationship building.
Remember, GrowLeads B2B LinkedIn outreach strategy is a marathon, not a sprint. Stay patient, be consistent, and focus on building genuine relationships. By doing so, you’ll achieve impressive results in your sales pipeline and overall business performance.
