How do YOU use LinkedIn in your outbound?

There's no one silver bullet to book meetings through social, but I'm curious to hear how people are using LinkedIn to book meetings in a reliable way?


I was using Tom Abbotts approach but I've been seeing diminishing returns (I imagine because everyone's doing the same thing now).


^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v8Lacac-N4


Let's hear what works for you, whether it's targeting very specific profiles, writing beautiful InMails, commenting on/sharing every post your prospect makes, using automation tools, low-friction ask, etc. etc. etc.

How do YOU use LinkedIn in your outbound?

Attached poll
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3
swerve
WR Lieutenant
6
Account Executive
There are a million sales reps going to LinkedIn to receive something (e.g. meetings). There are exceptionally few who go to GIVE something. Those who give, receive. So, how do I give something, you ask?

- Liking posts / other content (lowest hanging fruit)
- Commenting on prospect's posts with thoughtful questions, additional perspectives, or affirmation
- Starting conversations like a normal human via DMs
- Boosting prospect's content via reshare
- Sharing your own thoughts
- (Most involved) creative, targeted projects (Ryan Scalera does this exceptionally well)

When you create something inspiring, people are drawn to you. This is the way.
sebs
Politicker
2
BDR
Great tips! Very true about creating/sharing content as well. It helps a lot to have some credibility when people check out your profile.

One thing I would add is that few SDRs look for referrals when they reach out, they just assume they're reaching out to the right person (I've been guilty of this many many times). Referrals remove friction, people are more likely to reply, and it saves a lot of time finding who the real decision makers are.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
0
🦊
Golden tips.
SalesPharaoh
Big Shot
1
Senior Account Executive
Look until there is solid competition for LinkedIn ill keep on using it. Is it 100% effective, no. Will buying sales nav help, not always. But so far it's the closest thing to a cold call that is superior than cold email. In my opinion. 

Why? There are so many ways to harass your target if they ghost you. One is to like and comment on his posts, two is actually messaging him. Three is to be in touch with he colleagues until he gets to answer you. 
sebs
Politicker
2
BDR
Agreed. Like with any other touchpoint, there's a right time and place to use it. If you use it well, it can be a huge supplement to your outreach!

One thing I like doing is building a LinkedIn-only sequence for prospects whose emails bounce. Even if you have the wrong email/contact info, you can always reach out there (seeing about a 15% response rate).
SalesPharaoh
Big Shot
2
Senior Account Executive
Can you share an outline on how it looks like?
sebs
Politicker
4
BDR
Of course! So this works best when run side by side by multichannel campaigns targeting the same accounts. If you connect with someone on a cold call/email you can make a LinkedIn touch more relevant. 

For context, I'm targeting director level+ in IT, Innovation, Marketing, Customer Experience titles in financial services with 200-1000 employees.

I usually filter out leads who have >500 connections and haven't posted on LinkedIn in the last 30 days (shows up on Sales Navigator). There are some exceptions but they probably don't use LinkedIn regularly so it's not worth wasting your time.

Step 1 - Connection request: make it clear what you're looking for and be honest that you're a BDR/AE. Don't include a hard CTA. Short and to the point but friendly.

wait 3 days

Step 2 - Profile view/prospect research: Whether they've accepted or not, they'll likely look at your profile back so it's important to have a slick LinkedIn profile that makes it really clear what you do. Use this as an opportunity to take 1-2 personalization features that you can include in messaging later on and build them into your CRM/sales automation tool.

wait 3 days

Step 3 - InMail: Keep it 40-80 words, be curious about what they do, soft ask for a referral. It doesn't need to be 100% personalized or super specific about what they do, keep it human and conversational. I usually have slightly different messages if they've accepted my connection or not. 

Keep an eye out for "Open" LinkedIn profiles - we're pretty limited with InMail credits so why waste them!

At this point, I keep them on my radar for about a week and if they post something relevant, it's worth engaging with more messages, etc. but honestly, I keep it ad hoc after the first 3 steps. I find it works better than sending too many InMails and it makes it easier to circle back with them later on. Otherwise, I'll nurture them and move on. 

Works pretty well for me!


SalesPharaoh
Big Shot
0
Senior Account Executive
Amazing feedback just to be clear can you tell me what CTA stands for?
wahmsales
WR Officer
1
SDR
Call to action @SalesPharoh 
SalesPharaoh
Big Shot
0
Senior Account Executive
Thank you 😊
SDMHGWarrior
Tycoon
0
CEO
I still don't use navigator
2

Prospecting on LinkedIn

Discussion
10
LinkedIn Outreach/Prospecting Poll
15% Do not use LinkedIn for prospecting
42% 25% or less of my outreach is via LinkedIn
19% 25-50% of my prospecting is via LinkedIn
23% 50%+ of my prospecting is via LinkedIn
52 people voted
2

How do you manage people prospecting you on LinkedIn (or email)?

Question
10
10

What does everyone use for managing LinkedIn cadences?

Discussion
11