As modern entrepreneurs and marketers, we come up with ideas. We invest time and money in creating the product or perfecting the service.
We register the business and secure the domain. We build the website and brag to our loved ones that we are now business owners.
But how do we generate income? We find people who are potentially interested in what we have to offer – interested enough to pull out their wallets. But where can those people be found?
There are hundreds of ways to generate leads, but today, we’d like to talk about a tactic that involves one big business social media platform.
As you’ve already deduced, the platform is LinkedIn, and the tactic is LinkedIn Outreach – the process of using LinkedIn to connect with and network with potential investors, consumers, and like-minded people.
Why Use LinkedIn For Cold Outreach?
1) Professional search tools: LinkedIn makes it easy to search for prospects who meet your exact criteria, like industry, age group, experience level, and location.
It also offers a paid tool called LinkedIn Sales Navigator, specifically designed for sales professionals, that narrows your search using relevant sources, network data, and preferences.
2) Business-oriented audience: LinkedIn is a social media network that focuses on business connections rather than personal ones.
While most big SM platforms are designed for entertainment and staying in touch with friends and family, LinkedIn focuses on connecting people with those who may benefit them professionally; however, it indeed finds a place for humor, presented in a much more professional way.
But back to the business-oriented audience – people who use LinkedIn are not there for fun; they are there because they either need something or have something to offer.
3) Flexibility for personalization: Whether you want to be super direct with your sales or nurture your lead for some time before introducing your product or service, LinkedIn welcomes both.
They also introduced AI-powered products to help streamline and automate personalization.
Pro Tips For LinkedIn Outreach
- Clear Intentions that offer value: When reaching out to a potential consumer, make sure your message outlines your clear intentions. With so many scams going around, people are skeptical of unknown messages.
You will increase your chances of a response if you are honest and transparent about your intentions, keep your message concise, and offer a solution to a potential problem your recipient might be facing. - Be mindful of timing: As we mentioned previously, LinkedIn is a business social media platform. According to an article from Buffer, LinkedIn sees the most engagement during regular business hours.
Being mindful and respectful of your prospects’ time zones will earn you bonus points with your recipients when using LinkedIn outreach – small details like the day of the week and time of day matter. - Build a relationship and follow up: Just as with any other lead, the ones you reach out to on LinkedIn need to be nurtured.
Building rapport with any prospect will break the ice between you and your future client, allowing you to follow up without awkwardness and to offer them other products or services in the future.
People receive sales offers constantly, so making a purchase might not be particularly memorable; however, a positive emotion from the interaction or process is one of the main factors in a successful sale and an increased retention rate.
Be mindful of your interactions with customers, and remember that you and your brand represent each other.
When done correctly, LinkedIn Outreach is a great way to build relationships and connections with those who will pull out their wallets at the end of the interaction.
The pro tips above complement one another and will help you build a strong LinkedIn reputation, generate leads, and improve your success rate.
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