LinkedIn Prospecting Techniques

99% of LinkedIn DMs are noise. (The other 1% get meetings.) Most LinkedIn DMs are generic, soulless, copy-paste jobs. They're instant pitches that scream, "I haven't read your profile, but please buy my thing." It's pathetic. → The goal isn't to sell in the DMs. → The goal is to build enough trust to book the call. Here’s the 6-stage framework I use to turn cold connections into qualified sales calls. Without ever “pitching.” ▶ Stage 1: The Personal Anchor ↳ Start with a specific anchor. ↳ “Saw your post about X.”  ↳ “Noticed you viewed my profile.” ↳ Make it personal.  ↳ End with one open question that gets them talking. ▶ Stage 2: Ditch the Script ↳ This is where most people fail  ↳ they pivot to a pitch. ↳ Instead, your only goal is to understand their world. Ask questions that actually matter: → “What’s the biggest bottleneck in [their area] right now?” → “What have you already tried that didn’t work?” → “What does success look like for you in 3 months?” ▶ Stage 3: The Transition ↳ Once you’ve identified a clear pain point and a goal,  ↳ THEN you’ve earned the right to ask: “Are you open to hearing how we help other X solve [their specific pain]?” ▶ Stage 4: The 3-Gate Qualification ↳ Never book a call with an unqualified prospect. It wastes everyone’s time. ↳ Before sending a link, confirm: → Need: “Just to confirm, your top goal is X?” → Timing: “How soon are you looking to solve this?” → Authority: “Are you the final decision-maker on this?” ▶ Stage 5: The Easy “Yes” ↳ Summarize their needs and propose 2–3 specific times. ↳ “Based on your goal of X, I’m confident we can help. Are you free Tues at 10 or Wed at 2?” ▶ Stage 6: The “Value” Follow-Up ↳ If they go quiet, don’t send a generic “just checking in.” My 3-step follow-up: → Value: Send a specific, insightful article (Q13). → Proof: Send a 1-line case study (Q13). → Break-up: A respectful “closing the loop” message. → The close happens on the call — not in the chat. ⚠️ Most important: Do follow-ups ↳ Life happens.  ↳ No follow-up, no chocolate. ↳ Always follow up with value. ↳ Don't ask: "Have you received my message?" What’s the most soulless (or surprisingly good) DM you’ve received this week?

Last week I spoke with an enterprise AE at F100 company who closed over $5M in 2023 (3x his quota). The surprising part? He generated 90% from Linkedin. Here’s what the enterprise social selling playbook looks like: 1. Community: Successful sales reps are constantly enhancing their community on Linkedin. They invite key prospects, customers and other stakeholders to their network. As an AE or Exec, it helps to stay in the same domain over time so you can engage with the same community but across different employers. The compounding effect of your network is exponential. 2. Content: Engage frequently with your community. Stay ahead of the curve and ensure your content reflects that. Not all content has to be original and unique. Most Linkedin users are looking to consume content that will help them be better at their job today. Share best practices, success stories and recommendations. If you stay in the same domain, the quality of your content will grow as you build trust within your community. 3. Signals: Get a good understanding of the triggers and signals that impact demand in your target segment. Use these signals to focus your attention on select individuals as they become active. 4. Offer Help: Be mindful of any request for assistance within your community. If you are going to stay in the same domain for long, expect your community to do the same. Offer to assist even if it does not directly help your business. Chances are these interactions will lead to deep relationships in the long run. 5. LinkedinOps: This is often an ignored part of social selling. For the same reason that Inbound leads perform so well (because they are warm), somebody that visited your profile also has a relatively high probability to respond in the first 24hr. It’s the job of LinkedinOps to run all active engagers through an ICP filter and then follow up on good fit candidates. 6. Outreach: I have seen some successful reps use personalization tools to find the right messaging or conversation opener for Linkedin outreach. It makes sense to do an outreach with the good-fit engaged audience within 24-48 hrs of the engagement. Don’t hesitate to ask for referrals. 7. Tracking: Track engagements and metrics. Score and rank your audience every week for good fit top engagers. Your top engagers are the ones who will likely take your call. Your LinkedinOps can help you with analytics. 8. Convert: Know when and how to move your conversation outside Linkedin. Linkedin is great for capturing demand signals or for generating trust. Look for the right moment to share a calendar link or an email to move the conversation to a different platform. TAKEAWAY: Your buyers are already on Linkedin. With a little discipline and LinkedinOps, you can close revenues while enhancing your brand and handling objections at scale. I've been helping GTM teams for 15+ years. Never before have they had access to such a powerful platform. Take advantage.

Most job searches fail for the same reason. I see it constantly when people come to me for help. They tell me they are doing "all the things." And they're not getting results. My client Amanda had a great resume and excellent experience. She was: ➞ Tailoring her resume ➞ Optimizing her LinkedIn profile ➞ Keeping her skills up to date ➞ Applying through the company website Then I asked about... networking. Her response? "Well, that hasn't really worked for me." Which led to more questions... Who was she reaching out to? "Mostly top people at companies I like." How was she reaching out? "DMs on LinkedIn." What was she saying? "I introduce myself, and ask about openings at their company." How many people had she tried to connect with? "About 10. I never heard back." Amanda's approach represents the most common mistakes with networking. When we adjusted her approach, she started getting results. Here's the exact process I share with all of my clients: 1. Start with where you want to work Build connections in advance. ↳ Make a list of 40-50 target companies ↳ Prioritize them based on your interest ↳ Note connections you have at each 2. Consider the information you need Look at this as research. ↳ Identify people who've got insight about specific roles ↳ Look for people who can speak to company culture ↳ Include people with industry knowledge 3. Identify 2-3 people at each target company These should be near-peers, not senior executives ↳ Focus on people who can offer insight ↳ Find them through LI company pages ↳ Pick fellow alumni and common fields 4. Send your 1st message via email Few people check their LinkedIn messages ↳ Email is most likely to get a response ↳ Use hunter[dot]io or similar email finder ↳ Subject line: "Fellow Terrapin with a question about Comcast" 5. Keep the message simple The more detail, the less likely you'll get a response ↳ Your ask should be simple, you're doing research ↳ Mention your interest in them what they do ↳ Ask for a phone call or a Zoom 6. You're in charge of the conversation Don't ask about job openings. ↳ Ask role-related questions ↳ Ask company-related questions ↳ Ask industry-related questions 7. Wrap strong and follow-up ↳ Ask, "Who else should I be talking to?" ↳ Send a thank you note immediately ↳ Follow up with updates every few months 8. When you see a role that fits ↳ Ask if they have details on the job ↳ Ask if they know the hiring manager ↳ Ask if they'd be open to being a referral It's what separates the people who get the offer from the ones who don't. Networking is uncomfortable. Resistance is a reasonable response to that. But what if you looked at this as weight lifting? Start light and build the muscle. If you're resisting networking, grab my tips here: https://lnkd.in/exx-5eYS 🔖 Save this to help you take the plunge! 🔔 Follow Sarah Baker Andrushttps://lnkd.in/exx-5eYS 🔖 Save this to help you take the plunge! 🔔 Follow Sarah Baker Andrus for job search tips.

Here are the 4 ways we’re using LinkedIn that’s unlocked $500k of pipeline in the past 2 months: (1) Profile - following the 'Anti-Playbook Approach'. While everyone is following an identical approach to profile overhauls with clever-sounding one-liners, banners rammed with logos and about sections that sound like sales scripts. We’re doing the opposite. Saying what we do clearly. Visually stripped back but premium. Appealing to our specific decision-maker. (2) Content - Idea over format. We don’t get caught up in trending visuals or generic, templated structures. What matters is sharing original, thought-provoking insights that cut through the noise and make people think or change their views. Real Thought Leadership is saying something different that makes people pause & reflect. (3) Content - Sharing the lows. At the heart of a great personal brand is trust, and you don’t get that by showcasing perfection. Your buyers know business is messy. I’m being more vulnerable about the challenges of running an agency and candid in the mistakes we’ve made. Prospects have reached out saying they resonate with the content and feel the authenticity. (4) Lead Targeting - Refining who we speak to. We've honed our in-house ability using a bunch of new tech tools (post on these coming soon) to identify decision makers who are in the buying cycle - getting more targeted in who we reach, when we reach out and what message. We're seeing connection acceptance, message response rates, and booked calls in the diary jump. No hacks or gimmicks. A long-term systemised play to build brand & generate booked revenue. Now we're implementing this all for clients.

Do you know who you silent salesperson is? The one who can make sure your prospects are already convinced of your product's value before your first conversation. Did you know that prospects are 75% through their buying journey before they ever reach out to sales? By turning LinkedIn into your silent salesperson and providing valuable content, you can significantly shorten the sales cycle. How do you do it? Here is what worked for me: 🎯 Create a 'Content Roadmap’.  Design a series of posts that build upon each other, taking your audience on a journey from awareness to decision. Each piece of content should lead naturally to the next, keeping your prospects engaged and moving forward. ⭐️ Example: Start with a post about a common industry pain point, follow up with a success story, then a how-to guide, and finally, a case study showing measurable results. 🎯Start Social Listening.  Instead of just posting content, actively listen to what your audience is saying in comments, groups, and other forums. Use these insights to tailor your content to address real-time concerns and questions. ⭐️ Example: Notice a recurring question about data security in your industry? Create a detailed post addressing this concern with actionable advice and expert insights. 🎯 Host Live Sessions and Workshops. Go beyond static posts and host LinkedIn Live sessions where you can interact with your audience in real time. Host workshops and give your LinkedIn audience access. Then use these sessions to answer questions, share deep dives into specific topics, and showcase live demos of your product or services. ⭐️ Example: Announce a LinkedIn Live session about "Top 5 Data Management Challenges and How to Overcome Them" and engage with your audience directly. 🎯Leverage User-Generated Content. Encourage your clients to share their experiences and tag your company in their posts. This not only provides authentic testimonials but also expands your reach through their networks. ⭐️ Example: Run a campaign asking clients to share a photo or story about how your product solved a problem for them, offering a small incentive for participation. 🎯 Showcase Case Studies. Highlight success stories from your existing clients. Demonstrate how your product or service has solved real-world problems and delivered tangible results. ⭐️ Example: "Discover how we helped our client reduce operational costs by 30% with our innovative solution. Read the full case study here.” After three years of trial and error, I’m now consistently getting at least one lead every other day, just by leveraging LinkedIn content strategically and creatively. Stay tuned for more B2B sales techniques as we continue this series! P.S. Just when you thought it couldn’t get better, tomorrow’s post will reveal the transformative power of personal branding in B2B sales. Trust me, you won’t want to miss it!

Sales teams are sitting on the most underused follow-up asset: Their CEO's LinkedIn posts. Your CEO posts 3x/week on LinkedIn. Your sales team never references it. That's a missed opportunity. I've been writing LinkedIn content for climate tech CEOs and founders for 2.5+ years. Companies that repurpose founder content for sales enablement shorten their 6-12 month B2B sales cycles. Here's how to write LinkedIn posts your sales team can actually use in follow-ups: Tip 1: Start posts with problems your prospects are facing right now. Open with the exact challenge your ideal customer is dealing with today. Use their language, not yours. For example: "Everyone's talking about scaling from $5M to $20M, but nobody talks about what breaks when you hit $10M." When your sales team follows up, they can say: "Saw our CEO wrote about the challenges at $10M ARR. Curious if you're experiencing any of that?" Instant warm conversation starter. Tip 2: Use the borrowed credibility format to create instant relevance. The format: "I met a [prospect's role] who [achieved impressive result]. Here's what they did differently..." Example: "I met a VP of Operations who cut their energy costs by 40% in 8 months." When your sales team reaches out to similar prospects, they can say, "Our CEO just shared a story about a VP Ops in a similar situation. Thought you'd find it relevant." Tip 3: Reference internal triggers that signal buying readiness. Call out the specific moments when companies realize they need a solution. Things like: "Growing past 5-6 crews," "Drowning in service tickets," "Hitting the limits of spreadsheets." These triggers tell prospects: we know exactly where you are. When sales follows up, they can ask: "Are you hitting any of these inflection points?" It naturally qualifies the prospect. Tip 4: Include real numbers and metrics from your experience. Don't just say "we helped a client save time." Say: "We helped a $25M company reduce their reporting time from 40 hours/month to 4 hours/month." Specific numbers establish credibility and give sales concrete data points to reference. When a prospect asks "can you quantify the impact?", your sales team points to the CEO's post. Tip 5: End with niche-relevant engagement questions that filter for qualified prospects. Don't ask generic questions like "What do you think?" Ask questions that only your ideal customer can meaningfully answer. Examples: • "What's the biggest bottleneck you're hitting between $10M and $20M?" • "CFOs: how are you currently tracking sustainability metrics?" When prospects comment, they're self-identifying as qualified leads. Your sales team can follow up directly with context. — Using CEO content for sales enablement is one of the most underrated tactics in B2B. Your sales team gets warm conversation starters. Your prospects feel understood, not sold to. Your CEO's content drives pipeline. — How often do you repurpose your CEO's LinkedIn content for sales?

Most job seekers get LinkedIn wrong. They treat it like an online résumé… when the real magic is in networking. If you’re only updating your profile but not building relationships, you’re leaving opportunities on the table. Here’s a 6-part checklist to turn LinkedIn into your networking superpower: 1. Optimize Before You Connect – Make sure your profile clearly communicates who you are, what you do, and what kind of opportunities you’re seeking. First impressions matter. 2. Build with Intention – Connect strategically with alumni, recruiters, peers, and industry leaders. Always personalize your connection requests with a note explaining why you want to connect. 3. Engage Consistently – Don’t just like posts. Comment thoughtfully, share insights, and add value to conversations. Engagement keeps you visible and top-of-mind. 4. Start Conversations – After someone accepts your connection, send a short thank-you note. Ask questions to learn from their experience, or invite them to a brief chat or virtual coffee. 5. Nurture Relationships – Networking doesn’t stop after one message. Celebrate milestones, check in periodically, share resources, and offer help without expecting anything in return. 6. Leverage for Job Search – When the time is right, reach out to employees at companies you’re targeting for informational chats. Warm introductions often open doors far faster than cold applications. Networking on LinkedIn isn’t about collecting contacts ~ it’s about building trust BEFORE you need it. Question for you: What’s one LinkedIn networking habit that’s worked really well for you?

I tested 𝟭𝟬𝟬+ 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 (During my last job search and as a career coach). These 𝟱 get the highest response rates, especially from hiring managers👇 1. The Profile Viewer Message Check who viewed your LinkedIn profile. They’re already aware of you, don’t let that warm lead go cold. Try this: "Hey [Name], I noticed you stopped by my profile, appreciate you taking a look! Curious, was there something specific that caught your eye, or are you open to conversations around [industry/topic you're exploring]?" 👉 Tip: Warm > Cold. Always start with people who’ve already shown interest. 2. Acknowledge + Ask Find something unique about their background or a recent post, and ask a question. "Hi [Name], I saw your talk on [topic], your insight on [specific point] stuck with me. How did you land your current role at [Company]?" People love talking about themselves, especially when you show genuine interest. 3. Value First Offer a useful insight, article, or trend that aligns with their work. No ask, just value. "Hey [Name], I saw your post about [topic]. Just came across this article, it touches on a similar trend. Thought you might find it interesting." Position yourself as thoughtful, not transactional. 4. Mutual Connection Approach Bridge a real mutual connection or shared experience. "Hi [Name], I noticed we both worked with [Person] / went to [School] / worked in [Company or Industry]. I'd love to learn more about your path, especially how you made the transition to [Role/Company]." Relatability opens doors faster than credentials. 5. Compliment + Curiosity Start with a specific compliment, then open the door. "Hi [Name], really enjoyed your article on [topic], especially your point about [detail]. Are you open to connecting with people exploring similar roles in [industry]?" It’s respectful, direct, and makes it easy for them to respond. Reminder: You don’t need to spam 100 strangers. Start with 10 meaningful messages a week. Track responses. Iterate on what works. Focus on warm leads, shared interests, and genuine curiosity. What template would you like to see next? If you're ready to level up, let’s position you for the roles you actually want. ➕Follow Jaret André for more daily data job search tips.

Sales prospecting on LinkedIn is like a game of chess. You need strategy, finesse, and a good content to convert your prospects into customers. Here are the do's and don'ts, ensuring your moves are more like Kasparov than Kermit the Frog. ✅ Do: Optimize Your Profile A professional photo where you're not holding a fish or at a wedding (unless you're selling wedding fish, then carry on) is crucial. Your headline should scream "industry expert" rather than "desperate salesperson." ❌ Don't: Be a Spammy Sam Sending the same generic message to your entire suggested connections list is a big no-no. Personalization is key. ✅ Do: Research, Research, Research Understand your prospect. Know their company, role, recent achievements, and even their latest LinkedIn posts. ❌ Don't: Be a Cold-Calling Cowboy Cold messaging without research or relevance is the fast track to the ignore list. A personalized message beats a generic sales pitch every time. ✅ Do: Engage Genuinely Engagement is the currency of LinkedIn. Comment on posts, share insightful content, and participate in discussions. It's about quality, not quantity. Contribute meaningfully to conversations, not just for the sake of visibility. ❌ Don't: Treat Connections Like Numbers Focus on building meaningful relationships, not just inflating your connections count. ✅ Do: Use Advanced Search and Filters Harness the power of LinkedIn’s advanced search and filters help you find the right prospects, pinpointing the exact type of individuals or companies that fit your ideal customer profile. ❌ Don't: Ignore the Power of Recommendations and Endorsements Recommendations and endorsements bolster your credibility and showcase your expertise. Seek genuine endorsements, and don’t forget to return the favor where appropriate. ✅ Do: Stay Consistent and Patient Consistency in your LinkedIn activities will pay off. Regularly update your profile, post content, and engage with your network. Patience is your ally here; Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is a solid LinkedIn network. ❌ Don't: Ignore the Power of Content Don't just be a salesperson; be an expert in your field. Share articles, write posts, and engage with your network's content. This builds credibility and keeps you top of mind. ✅ Do: Join and Participate in Relevant Groups They're where the prospects gather. Find groups relevant to your industry and get involved. But remember, nobody likes the person who only talks about themselves. Provide value, share insights, and help solve problems. ❌ Don't: Be a LinkedIn Lurker While observing and learning are important, don’t fall into the trap of being a passive observer. The LinkedIn lurker sees all but is seen by none. ✅ Do: Follow Up Wisely There’s a fine line between being persistent and being a pest. Space out your communications and always provide additional value with each interaction.