Sales Prospecting on LinkedIn to Win Customers!

By Andrew and Pete | December 11, 2018 |

Want to know how to use LinkedIn to get in front of the RIGHT people and get actual sales? Sales prospecting on LinkedIn is easier that you think and in this video we show you how to use it not only to build up an audience of potential customers, but a killer referral network.

In this video we share our 5 step process to avoid those all too common douchey, slimy LinkedIn tactics so that you get noticed for all the right reasons!

We talk you through how to set boundaries around who to connect with, when’s the best time to connect and what to do after your connection has been accepted so those connections convert to paying customers and referrals.

👉 Watch the video

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In this video 👆 we talk about how sales prospecting on LinkedIn can help you find potential customers on LinkedIn without being Spammy McSpammerson 😆

LinkedIn is hot right now!

Ahhh LinkedIn… how we love thee. The yo-yo of social media, which can be super boring then super cool, then super boring, then super cool…. But there will ALWAYS BE ONE CONSTANT no matter how cool or boring it currently is….

The thing is, everyone hates getting connection requests from strangers which are then followed by annoying sales messages.

So, to avoid being THAT person, here’s a 5 step process for sales prospecting and finding customers on LinkedIn without being a slimy douche.

Set some boundaries

Who do you want to work with? The majority of the spam messages on LinkedIn are super annoying because you can TELL it’s a copy/paste job because it sounds more generic than… white bread 🍞

So let’s set some boundaries… Who do you want to work with? Are they in a particular industry? Are they a particular size of business, or in a particular role… or all of the above?

Professional stalking… or following

Professional stalking… or less creepy let’s use the LinkedIn terminology… Following.

Once of the best things you can do when sales prospecting on LinkedIn is to use the follow button BEFORE you send a connection request, so you can start to see this person’s content and start to engage with it. You may even want to create a little ‘Stalking Spreadsheet’ with links to their profiles as a reminder to engage.

Other columns could include shoe size, favourite flowers and how likely they are to date you 😂

Drop that Connection Request Like It’s Hot

Once you’ve had some interaction with them, you may feel like you can reach out and actually connect properly… they may even connect with YOU FIRST… bonus points and fist bumps all around if that happens 👊🏻

Make sure you personalise the invitation if you want to make an impression and start your conversations in DMs.

Here’s a top tip from our friend Jo Saunders – if someone DISOBEYS the LinkedIn unwritten law of sending a Personalised Connection Request – don’t hate them, just scold them privately and use it as an excuse to start a conversation. Thank them for the request and ask WHY they wanted to connect.

Create Content for your potential customers

Next up, and this is sooooo important: create content for your potential customers that makes them feel happier or smarter.

Do this both in LinkedIn Posts (which does include video now… we’ve got a video on our YouTube channel all about this here) and LinkedIn publisher.

If your name is Bob… you want your potential customers to think, “OH YEAH… BOB! He really knows what he’s talking about, and the stuff he shares on LinkedIn is super useful to me. I like Bob and if Bob ever reaches out, then I’ll give him the time of day because he’s a valuable member of my LinkedIn community and I love him.”

If your name isn’t Bob, read on…

Move your face off LinkedIn

Once your relationship is built then move it off LinkedIn, ask for a phone call or maybe drop them an email to see if there’s opportunities to work together.

You basically have two options for sales prospecting on LinkedIn:

Take your luck annoying half the LinkedIn population with blanket connection requests and spammy sales messages that make us want to kick you in the face ☹️
Do it the nice way and build an audience of potential customers and potential referers, which will actually last and do you well as you navigate the social world 😊

Let us know if you’re gonna be number 1 or 2 in the comments below!

Posted in Blog

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