Prospecting effectively on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the leading professional social network and the platform B2B buyers turn to first.
So if you don't yet have all the tools you need to optimise your presence on LinkedIn, this article is for you!
You may be facing several challenges:
- You haven't created a LinkedIn account yet and you're not familiar with this social network
- You've created your LinkedIn account but you're struggling to grow it
- You don't have time to publish content
- You can't figure out how to use it as a sales tool to find new clients
Start by building an effective profile for prospecting
Your profile is the sole representative of your professional identity on LinkedIn — and this applies to every professional sector: industry, start-ups, tech, and so on. Below you will find a list of articles to help you build a relevant profile without wasting time, and to explain the basics of this social network.
The differences between a personal LinkedIn account and a professional LinkedIn page
The first thing to do is choose between a personal profile and a professional page. You might be inclined to think that a professional page would be more appropriate since you want to showcase your business — but be aware that a personal account makes prospecting feel less direct and more human.
Optimise your profile
The next step focuses on building a personal page. If you prefer to create a professional page and, during setup, find that some information is missing, feel free to use our chatbot at the bottom right of the screen to ask us questions.
So now you need to gather all the information required to build your personal profile: a photo, a title that defines you, a summary, your professional experience, your educational background, a list of your skills, and your achievements. To find out more about building a prospecting profile, we invite you to consult these articles:
- What is a LinkedIn prospecting profile | The introduction
- The LinkedIn prospecting profile | The body
Collect recommendations on LinkedIn
This final step in building your profile is not mandatory but can be a real bonus. There are two types of recommendations:
- Keyword-based recommendations, which allow you to highlight your own skills
- Written recommendations, which are personalised letters written by another LinkedIn member.
As you will have gathered, recommendations work like customer reviews. They lend a degree of credibility to your skills, which will in turn facilitate your prospecting strategy.
To find out more, we invite you to consult this article:
No time to spare, or is your LinkedIn profile already set up?
Download our checklist. It covers, step by step, the key elements for building a relevant LinkedIn profile.
Then prospect effectively on LinkedIn in your professional sector.
Many sales people, particularly in the industrial sector, prospect through trade shows or use business directories and catalogues on specialist websites to generate leads. LinkedIn is a great ally for attracting prospects — here are a few tips to help you develop your online approach.
Connect with people you already know
You already have a network in place — contacts you exchange emails with. They are probably on LinkedIn, so invite them to connect with you. Go through your email addresses, the contacts you picked up at trade shows, and connect with as many of your professional contacts as possible.
Define target profiles and search for them on LinkedIn
You need to define your target audience based on the profile of your ideal client. List their job title, their skills, the keywords they use, or terms they might have included in their profile description, for example. Once that list is ready, use it to search for profiles that interest you.
Get in touch with profiles in your sector
You have found profiles that are relevant to your business. Now it is time to connect with them. To make your approach feel more legitimate, send a short message explaining your reason for reaching out. Then publish content regularly. Don't only post information about your company — share content related to your sector and news that your clients would find interesting.
- Why and how to publish content on LinkedIn
- 8 free best practices for building your LinkedIn community (and significantly increasing your leads)
And finally, get involved!
Comment on and like publications. Bear in mind that it is better to comment on posts than to publish your own. Wondering why? On LinkedIn, your connection requests are limited by degree (1st degree: direct contacts; 2nd degree: contacts of your contacts; 3rd degree: contacts of your 2nd-degree contacts). By commenting on a post, you will be suggested to their network's contacts as a second- or third-degree connection. Your profile will be more visible than if you had simply published a post. Be present in as many different places as possible — don't limit yourself to your own posts.
We have compiled a list of the industry sectors referenced on LinkedIn.
If you would like to retrieve this list for your database, you will find the download link below in PDF format.
But if you want to develop your online presence and generate leads digitally, a LinkedIn strategy alone will not be enough.
LinkedIn allows you to retain clients and make contact with prospects. Since this approach can feel somewhat direct, it is worth combining it with a more powerful digital strategy — such as inbound marketing — to generate leads on the web.
Want to learn more about Inbound Marketing?
Read our blog articles!
In our white paper you will find a set of techniques for building your B2B audience and prospecting on LinkedIn.
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