Top 6 DOs and DON'Ts
to Warm up Your Leads on LinkedIn

It's time to make sure you're leveraging LinkedIn to its maximum potential. Here are some features you shouldn't miss:

• LinkedIn Content Suggestions

This is an effective way of providing your target audience with valuable third-party content. You don't need to spend hours curating new content. LinkedIn has a suggestion engine that does the work for you! Simply select your audience, industry, location, and filter by topics – boom! You're up and running.

• Notifications

LinkedIn Notifications is an important feature of the platform, because it's a great place to look for leads. It lets you see who is engaging with your content and provides the perfect context for an initial conversation. If someone is interested in your content, there is a high chance they would book a call with you.

• LinkedIn Groups

There are LinkedIn groups for almost every niche, where you'll have the opportunity to engage in discussions with professionals from your industry. Join a few of the most reputable groups that are relevant to your company. Once you're in, you can share your knowledge with potential prospects and find great content. Joining groups is useful for getting warm leads and much better than shooting in the dark with unsolicited messages.

DON'T

…sound salesy

LinkedIn is a social network. Don't try to sell your product or service directly like you would in a cold campaign. This can be annoying, and your message is likely to be ignored. Only after you've introduced yourself and started a conversation that engages the prospect, can you build on that foundation and offer the opportunity to work together.

…get carried away with chit chat

Just as much hard selling can be an issue, so can the complete opposite. Some people try to avoid the pitfall of hard selling so much that they end up over socializing. That can be a problem if it makes it harder to get back to talking business or purely end up wasting your time. You should try to be casual but stay on topic.

DO

...add a customized note

Always customize your invite message! Generic sounding messages don't catch the eye. LinkedIn users are more likely to accept invitations that include a personal note and a longer description of why you're reaching out. After all, why would anyone accept your invite, if they don't know what it's all about?

…read your connection's profile

As obvious as this sounds, make sure to read the profile of the people you're connecting with. That will often provide you with context to reach out to them and personalize your message. Additionally, it can help you to determine if someone is really relevant to you or not.

…start a discussion

Try to engage you prospect in a discussion from the start. Ask questions that will provoke them to think about new things that will lead them to the next step, which is often requesting a consultation with you.

…provide value

Don't make your message all about you. Make your goals clear and explain how you can solve the prospect's problems. After you've started a discussion you can share some valuable and relevant content that will "warm up" your leads.


And don't just take our word for it – statistics show that if you use the "salesy" approach, only 12%-15% of the people will accept your invitation. However, by applying the tactics described above, we have been able to achieve an acceptance rate starting from 35% and reaching up to 80% ! What's more, these invitations trigger productive discussions that turn cold prospects into warm leads.

If you are looking for support with your LinkedIn strategy, connect with our team and we will be happy to help grow your professional network and drive qualified sales leads to your business. Learn more about our LinkedIn growth service here - LinkedIn Profile Management.