LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform with over 722 million members worldwide. With its huge user base and wealth of professional information, LinkedIn offers an unparalleled opportunity for sales professionals to generate leads, build relationships, and close deals. However, prospecting on LinkedIn requires strategy and finesse to be successful. In this comprehensive 5000 word guide, we will cover everything you need to know about prospecting for sales on LinkedIn, including:
- Optimizing your LinkedIn profile for sales prospecting
- Leveraging LinkedIn search to identify prospects
- Using LinkedIn groups and content to attract prospects
- Reaching out to connect with prospects
- Engaging with prospects by commenting and liking
- Using LinkedIn ads and sponsored content
- Following up and converting LinkedIn prospects into customers
- Measuring your LinkedIn prospecting results
By the end, you’ll have actionable tactics to find your ideal customers on LinkedIn, build relationships, move them through your sales funnel, and maximize your sales success.
Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile
The first step to prospecting on LinkedIn is making sure your personal profile is optimized to attract your ideal prospects. A complete, professional LinkedIn profile serves as your digital resume and the core of your personal branding on LinkedIn. Make sure your profile clearly conveys who you are, what you do, and how you can provide value to your prospects. Here are key tips for optimizing your profile:
Profile Photo
Have a professional headshot photo that shows your face clearly. This builds trust and familiarity with prospects.
Headline
Your headline appears right below your name. Use keywords targeted to your ideal prospects. For example “Senior Account Executive @ Company | Generating New Leads & Sales for Enterprise SaaS Companies.”
About Section
Use your about section to share your professional story, experience, skills, and accomplishments. Share details that would interest your ideal prospects.
Experience
Showcase your work experience, especially as it relates to your industry and specialties. Focus on achievements, not just responsibilities.
Skills & Endorsements
Add at least 5 key skills related to your expertise. This helps you come up in LinkedIn search. Get colleagues to endorse you for key skills.
Education
Feature any degrees, certifications, or coursework relevant to your profession. This builds credibility.
Recommendations
Ask colleagues and clients for recommendations to build social proof. Aim for at least 3 recommendations.
Connections
Aim for at least 500+ connections to tap into LinkedIn’s 2nd and 3rd degree networks more effectively.
Media
Upload any presentations, videos, or images that add visual interest and showcase your expertise.
By taking the time to optimize all sections of your LinkedIn profile, you’ll present yourself as an authority and subject matter expert to prospects even before you reach out.
Leveraging LinkedIn Search
Once your profile is complete, it’s time to start searching for potential prospects on LinkedIn. LinkedIn’s robust search features allow you to refine your search criteria to pinpoint your ideal prospects. Here are top tips for using LinkedIn search:
Keywords
Brainstorm keywords based on job titles, skills, company names and more to identify prospects. For example “Director of Sales” or “Social Media Marketing.”
Location Targeting
Enter a specific city, region or country to find prospects in your preferred geographic areas.
Company Targeting
Search for prospects by company names. Target companies you want as clients or in related industries.
Industry Filtering
Filter your search results by industry to home in prospects in your niche.
Relationship Filtering
Use filters like “1st Connections”, “2nd Connections” or “Group Members” to find prospects in your network.
Title Filtering
Filter by job titles like Owner, Director, Manager to find decision makers.
Function Filtering
Filter by functions like Sales, Marketing, Engineering to find your buyer personas.
Seniority Filtering
Target entry-level, mid-level, director-level roles and more.
Saved Searches & Alerts
Save common searches and set alerts to be notified when new prospects match your parameters.
LinkedIn Recruiter
For more advanced search options, use LinkedIn Recruiter to tap into all of LinkedIn’s data and filtering capabilities.
By combining filters like location, title, company, and industry, you can carry out highly targeted prospecting searches on LinkedIn to build customized lead lists.
Joining LinkedIn Groups
Joining relevant LinkedIn Groups is a great way to position yourself as an expert, connect with engaged prospects, and identify decision makers to target outreach. Here are tips for getting the most out of LinkedIn Groups:
Join Industry-Related Groups
Search for groups focused on your particular industry, niche or target customers. For example “SaaS Sales Professionals.”
Join Company-Specific Groups
Join groups specific to the companies you want as clients to network with lots of employees.
Join Local Groups
Joining geographic groups related to your city or region helps make local connections.
Join Alumni Groups
Connecting with your university’s alumni group can unlock warm referrals.
Join Interest-Based Groups
Groups centered on hobbies, causes and interests lead to authentic relationship building.
Engage Regularly
Comment, like and post regularly to become a recognized expert. Offer value before any pitches.
Connect to Group Members
Join groups already populated with your target prospects to easily connect.
By actively participating in the right LinkedIn Groups for your business, you can organically attract new prospects through providing value. Groups allow you to gain exposure and trust before ever reaching out.
Creating Compelling LinkedIn Content
Publishing compelling content on LinkedIn that engages your ideal prospects is a core part of a prospecting strategy. Whether through long-form posts, articles or videos, here are tips for creating content that attracts and converts prospects on LinkedIn:
Educate Prospects
Create posts that teach prospects something useful related to their challenges. Offer advice, tips and how-to’s.
Share Case Studies
Case studies and client success stories showcase how you help similar prospects succeed.
Provide ‘Behind-the-Scenes’ Value
Give insights into your product roadmap, company culture or industry perspective.
Repurpose Content
Turn existing collateral like whitepapers and webinars into long-form posts.
Promote Thought Leadership Content
Share links to your latest bylined articles, podcast interviews and conference talks.
Utilize LinkedIn Live Video
Go live or post on-demand videos with demos, expert talks and more.
Post at Optimal Times
Track engagement data to determine when your audience is most active on LinkedIn.
Promote Content off LinkedIn
Drive prospects from your website and email lists to consume your LinkedIn content.
Follow Up With Prospects Who Engage
If prospects actively engage with your content, reach out to them directly after.
Creating regular, valuable content allows you to stay top of mind with prospects and demonstrate expertise. Make sure to consistently post, engage, listen and optimize.
Personalized Outreach
Once you’ve identified prospects and built credibility through content, it’s time to directly reach out. Personalized outreach is crucial for converting LinkedIn prospects into sales opportunities. Here are best practices when messaging prospects:
Customize Connection Requests
Personalize your invite with why you want to connect instead of just using the generic invites.
Mention Common Connections
Namedrop any shared connections to establish familiarity and trust.
Reference Their Company & Role
Show you took the time to notice who they are and where they work.
Bring Up Shared Interests
Connect over shared groups, education, hobbies and interests for rapport building.
Compliment Their Content
If they publish content, praise posts you enjoyed to break the ice positively.
Use Video Introductions
Record personalized video messages instead of text notes when appropriate.
Communicate Your Value
Explain how you can add value based on their unique needs & challenges.
Make Specific Asks
After building rapport, make clear asks such as to connect via phone or meet in person.
Follow Up
Don’t just reach out once. Follow up if you don’t get a response after a week.
The goal of outreach is not to immediately pitch prospects before any relationship exists. Warm prospects up with personalized communication and demonstrate you offer value, not just sales pitches.
Leveraging LinkedIn Ads
In addition to organic prospecting, LinkedIn’s self-service ads platform allows you to run highly targeted campaigns to reach new prospects that match your ideal customer profile (ICP).
Sponsored InMail
Send customized InMail messages to your target audience. Open rates exceed those of email.
Sponsored Content
Promote your Linked posts in the feed of your target prospects.
Text Ads
Run contextual text ads alongside organic search results.
Dynamic Ads
Automatically show personalized ads based on target audience characteristics.
Lead Gen Forms
Collect lead contact info with customized lead gen forms.
Audience Targeting
Target by location, company, job title, interests, skills, age, and more.
Interest Targeting
Target members based on the content and influencers they engage with.
Website Retargeting
Remarket to prospects who have visited your website.
Account-Based Targeting
Target ads to specific companies you want to do business with.
Detailed Analytics
Track leads, impressions, clicks, conversions and optimize for ROI.
Using LinkedIn’s robust ad targeting, you can test out different prospecting strategies at scale and double down on what converts.
Engaging With Prospects
Once connected with prospects, continue engaging with them by interacting with their content. Here are ways to stay top of mind:
Like and Comment on Posts
Quickly show you’re paying attention by liking and commenting on updates.
Share Valuable Articles
Increase visibility by sharing prospects’ content to your network.
Congratulate on Work Anniversaries
Wish prospects a “Happy Work Anniversary” to show familiarity.
Congratulate on New Jobs
When prospects move to new roles or companies, congratulate them.
Follow Prospects’ Companies
Follow prospects’ company pages to see news and job changes.
Send Event Invitations
Invite prospects to virtual and in-person events you’re attending or hosting.
Request Informational Interviews
Ask to take prospects out for virtual coffee chats to learn more about their experience.
Ongoing engagement helps nurture relationships with prospects, keeps communication flowing, and sets the stage for a warm sales conversation when the time is right.
Measuring Prospecting Success
To refine your prospecting approach over time, it’s important to track key metrics and optimize what’s working. Here are key data points to measure:
Profile Viewer Demographics
Analyze who is viewing your profile and if they match your ICP.
Metric | Goal |
Profile views from target industry | 50%+ |
Profile views from target company size | 50%+ |
Profile views from target seniority | 50%+ |
Content Engagement
Review interactions, clicks and shares per post to see top performing content.
Metric | Goal |
Impressions per post | 500+ |
Clicks per post | 50+ |
Shares per post | 20+ |
Prospect Connection Rate
Measure how many prospects accept your connection requests.
Metric | Goal |
Connection acceptance rate | 30%+ |
Prospect Engagement Rate
See how many prospects engage with your outreach and content.
Metric | Goal |
Response rate to messages | 20%+ |
Click-through rate on content | 10%+ |
Sales Opportunity Conversion
Track how prospects turn into sales discussions and closed deals.
Metric | Goal |
Leads generated | 30+/month |
Sales opportunities | 10+/month |
Revenue from LinkedIn leads | $5,000+/month |
By regularly assessing your prospecting performance against benchmarks, you can double down on tactics that work and improve areas that aren’t delivering results.
Conclusion
Mastering prospecting on LinkedIn is now an essential skill for salespeople looking to generate qualified leads. With its unmatched professional data and networking capabilities, LinkedIn provides a platform to research, identify, engage, and nurture prospects remotely.
However, cut-and-paste outreach won’t lead to sales success. You need to invest time honing your LinkedIn profile, creating compelling content, leveraging targeted ads, and personalizing your approach to each prospect. It requires persistence and constantly improving your strategy based on data.
But for salespeople who perfect prospecting on LinkedIn, it can become a steady source of warm leads, shortened sales cycles, and new long-term client relationships. Incorporate the tactics covered in this guide as a core element of your sales process. With the right approach, LinkedIn can transform how you build your sales pipeline.