You’ll learn more — step by step — about improving your LinkedIn InMail prospecting (or any email messaging) results. Export your LinkedIn connections. Optimise your profile to boost your social selling efforts. InMail is not email. I do this through existing contractual agreements with key IT vendors. When cold emailing first got traction, the big thing … Opportunities to spark a conversation with these prospects … If you don’t receive a response, send another message in 1 … Jeff served as adjunct digital marketing faculty at Loyola University’s school of business. Instead of asking for pre-mature meetings with people who are not (yet) aware they need to meet… start provoking discussions that develop urges to meet. This means you will get preferred pricing AND possibly a better solution! This option allows you to send a message to any LinkedIn user, regardless of whether or not you’re connected. They reach out via phone and using standard email first — before using InMail. If so, I propose a short email exchange — to decide if a serious conversation is warranted. Select Accept cookies to consent to this use or Manage preferences to make your cookie choices. – InMail messages. You can actually get started for free with a 1-month trial! If your organization does have a recruiting need, check out HireSmarter's guide on the other tools in a recruiters toolbox. You’re buying a faster, easier way to search (access) specific kinds of prospects. LinkedIn estimates that contact to meeting ratios increased by 8% when using InMail in conjunction with other contact approaches. If so, I propose a short email exchange — to decide if a serious conversation is warranted. Nothing else. But it would still be more effective than Steve’s original message. In 2021, salespeople who are using LinkedIn for sales prospecting are acquiring tons of new opportunities. Traditionally, getting on someone’s radar meant physically putting yourself in front of them or leveraging a third-party introduction. Keeping this tool handy and using it at the right times will help ensure you don’t let opportunities slip away. I am signing up for your newsletter! ... 8 thoughts on “ 6 Advanced LinkedIn Prospecting Tactics for the Outbound Sales Rep ” Tom Hunt says: December 18, 2015 at 11:51 am. Begin your InMail with an attention-grabbing subject. I viewed your profile and I believe I can help you save time and money on your existing IT solutions! You can reach out to your targeted leads via well-crafted LinkedIn InMail messages. He wants me to: Too much, too fast. Save the selling for later. Optimizing your LinkedIn profile for selling will help you capitalize on these instances. Scale-ability. Most sales prospecting is defined by hustle: send 200 emails, request 100 connections, make 20... 2. For social sellers, LinkedIn can be a lead generation machine, with more than 550 million professionals publicly engaging and networking. Please let me know what you decide, Jeff? Steve is trying to make selling me IT services (that I don’t need) look like a good idea—and getting caught having NOT actually done what he said he did (qualified me as a buyer). Are you rushing the meeting? Using LinkedIn InMail templates will help you send messages to more people, but try to make more personalized messages for each prospect. Join us. They reach out via phone and using standard email first — before using InMail. (ability to use filters). I mean look at the size of this email! Partially, it’s a … It’s not. Who knows if there are other prospects in their organization or their circle they could put you in touch with. Let’s innovate with it. But with today’s sales reps juggling so many responsibilities, and tending to so many lines in the water, this happens all too often. Also, if you’re a financial advisor see here for tips on effective LinkedIn messages for financial advisors. Copyright Communications Edge Inc. all rights reserved. Then Steve tells me what he really wants: To sell me something. If you’re a seller interested in making the acquaintance of a prospective buyer through a mutual contact, LinkedIn InMail can be a direct yet non-intrusive means of brokering your request. Let’s talk about you being a guinea pig. A successful LinkedIn lead gen approach begins with targeting the right prospects. At the end, I’ll provide a template to make it easy. It’s new. A successful LinkedIn lead gen approach begins with targeting the right prospects. As founder of, Why most cold email best practices don’t work, How to ask a CEO for a meeting with email, LinkedIn InMail Prospecting: Get more response with this template, effective, repeatable message sequence process, Off The Hook Marketing: How to Make Social Media Sell for You, The most engaging sales emails avoid marketing copywriting, Affirming (“Yes, I need to act on this challenge/issue”), Inquiring (“Wait, can you tell me more details about that?”), Provoked (“Ok… you got me. Outreach Your LinkedIn Prospects via InMail Messages. We’ll get to that in a moment. When someone posts an update or shares an article, they’re demonstrating that they care about a certain topic. As you can probably imagine, it’s a goldmine for sales prospecting. The Business and Sales plans are recommended for prospecting by offering advanced search features, more InMail messages, improved insights and custom lead management tools. 1. Sending a cold prospecting message straight off the bat. He says he wants to “help me save time and money” on IT systems—a service I am clearly not in the market for. I’m connected with Bill and noticed your comment on his post about CRM costs. By using both InMail and regular messages, you can reach hundreds of prospects quickly-- and see results faster.. LiProspect lets you send up to 800 InMails per month to Linkedin Open Profiles and let you send credit-based InMails depending on your Sales Navigator InMail credit. I would love to offer a free analysis on your company’s current solutions and provide some details on how JTS can save the company money. But he doesn’t say it directly. Use Linkedin InMail If you decided to Instead, qualify that meeting using email. This means that it’s essential your profile is optimized. LinkedIn messages are a great way to connect with people in a more professional setting, but the challenge is you can only send message to 1st degree connections. This gets you in the game. Great Stuff Brandon! Even conversations you’re not involved in can open a window for outreach. Think about the last anecdote, or observation, or piece of content you published on LinkedIn. Don’t presume to know why someone wanted to learn more about you — maybe they were just bored, or thought you looked familiar — but it’s certainly valuable to keep tabs on such inbound signals, and the insights can be especially valuable when paired with others. Would you like to take part in a InMail Writing Clinic? I have been doing this for 25 years and I have a proven track record of saving clients up to 60% on their existing solutions!! LinkedIn is a gold mine of prospect information for sales and outreach, but the platform is so vast, it can be hard to know where to begin. Use email and InMail to set betting meetings — not just more. Rushing, 97% of cold email best practices you’ll find Googling around are either ineffective or about to become ineffective. There’s a lot of potential if you were to conduct Linkedin prospecting and find your next set of customers on the platform. My coaching students who do best with InMail use it last in their communications sequence. You’ve got to be provocative within the message. Do you know who I can contact that is in charge of making decisions regarding IT? Point blank: Most sellers ask too much, too fast … too big an ask. Yes, Navigator gives you other bells-and-whistles. Steve claims relevancy through a LinkedIn Group I belong to. You’ll want to define and flesh out your target audience, search for them on LinkedIn with the right filters, craft a convincing template, and so much more. Remember, all Navigator gives you is access. Nothing else. The sole purpose of your first cold LinkedIn InMail should be to make a connection, build rapport, and provoke curiosity from a potential buyer. However, if you are not the right person who is in charge of your company’s existing IT solutions, a warm referral would be very much appreciated. (if and when it is appropriate). InMails is one of the premium features that helps you to leverage LinkedIn Sales Navigator for prospecting. Improve your LinkedIn profile. If that person responds, it may be a chance to continue the dialogue directly with an InMail conversation. Here’s an example of what a 4 touch point sequence might look like: Send an initial message on LinkedIn. LinkedIn will also make suggestions for you—help you find potential buyers. LinkedIn for Sales Prospecting . Before you consider your approach to InMail please know this: My coaching students who do best with InMail use it last in their communications sequence (as a last resort). Then you can step up to the plate and swing. Opportunities to spark a conversation with these prospects might come in the form of an engagement on your feed or someone simply checking out your profile to learn more about you. When you’re prospecting, a lot of the recipients of your messages will visit your profile. Whether it’s feed activity, profiles, or LinkedIn hashtags, InMail is your best bet to advance a relationship and see things through with every viable prospect. Each style has advantages and disadvantages in certain selling situations. Similarly, when someone comments on your own updates, this could also be the impetus to send a message. If there’s a correlation between the date of the profile view and your feed activity, you might be able to determine what piqued their interest. We haven’t spoken before; however, we share a group. Here’s a look at how you can identify cues for InMail outreach across three different elements of the LinkedIn experience. Here’s the rub. The goal of email prospecting—whether it’s using LinkedIn InMail or standard email—is not to get a meeting. Get invited to discuss a challenge, fear or goal your prospect has. If you would like to take a deeper dive into mastering stress-free lead development, join me for an upcoming webinar on the topic. There is a technique that plays on this negative attitude prospects have. When a member takes the step to research you as a seller, they usually do so for a reason. The goal of LinkedIn InMail prospecting is not to get a meeting. From within my inbox I quickly conclude: I don’t know Steve … but he wants to talk. These are the dos and don’ts of making personalized content when you send InMail messages. But InMail isn’t the real power of LinkedIn or Sales Navigator. Phone calls and emails are essential prospecting methods, but InMail adds an extra layer. Pros: Very detailed and straight to … We and third parties such as our customers, partners, and service providers use cookies and similar technologies ("cookies") to provide and secure our Services, to understand and improve their performance, and to serve relevant ads (including job ads) on and off LinkedIn. I viewed your profile and I believe I can help you save time and money on your existing IT solutions! But there are plenty of sales reps out there who are still missing out. Also, there are 3 kinds of email message strategies when prospecting: Tailored, targeted and templated. But there is a better, lesser known way to get appointments booked. Warm Up Your InMails With Warm Prospecting Techniques. Access to the LinkedIn database — and better access. Lately, my students are turning this ugly reality into a refreshing approach to LinkedIn InMail prospecting. Plus, Steve’s email is: Instead, my best students are working to provoke a, “can you tell me more about that?” from a potential buyer. The communications method they’re learning is a breath of fresh air to their prospects. It’s that simple. Building a sustainable InMail process keeps missed opportunities to a minimum. I’m simply saying this is NOT effective. For instance, if someone checked out your profile on the same day they shared frustrations with their current provider, that might be the ideal time to send an InMail and introduce yourself personally. LinkedIn Inmail's a great way to get into a candidates mailbox according to Workable, but InMail's are only a single tool in a recruiters toolbox. However, making InMail messages work takes an effective, repeatable message sequence process to get prospects talking with you. My company, Jones Technology Services, specializes in (1) Cloud Computing, (2) Infrastructure, (3) Telecom Equipment & Services and (4) Security Projects. For that reason, you should use it for creating and starting new relationships. Inbox. Team Training   |   Coaching   |  Academy   |   Copywriting   |   Blog   |   About   |   Contact. See our, Optimizing your LinkedIn profile for selling, Keeping an eye on who’s viewed your profile, Read Me If You Want to Improve Your InMail Response Rates on LinkedIn, Why Effort-Based Metrics Are More Important Than You Think, How Sellers Can Find Relevance by Putting the Buyer First, Learn more about LinkedIn Sales Solutions. Sales Prospecting: How to Make a Cold Connection. Cold prospectingis the modern equivalent of cold calling. this is excellent. Right in your inbox, This website uses cookies to improve service and provide tailored ads. Not all connection requests should be made with a discovery call in mind. Already, Steve has wasted my time. {"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}, __CONFIG_colors_palette__{"active_palette":0,"config":{"colors":{"f3080":{"name":"Main Accent","parent":-1},"f2bba":{"name":"Main Light 10","parent":"f3080"},"trewq":{"name":"Main Light 30","parent":"f3080"},"poiuy":{"name":"Main Light 80","parent":"f3080"},"f83d7":{"name":"Main Light 80","parent":"f3080"},"frty6":{"name":"Main Light 45","parent":"f3080"},"flktr":{"name":"Main Light 80","parent":"f3080"}},"gradients":[]},"palettes":[{"name":"Default","value":{"colors":{"f3080":{"val":"rgb(23, 23, 22)","hsl":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09}},"f2bba":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.5)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09,"a":0.5}},"trewq":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.7)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09,"a":0.7}},"poiuy":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.35)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09,"a":0.35}},"f83d7":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.4)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09,"a":0.4}},"frty6":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.2)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09,"a":0.2}},"flktr":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.8)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09,"a":0.8}}},"gradients":[]},"original":{"colors":{"f3080":{"val":"rgb(23, 23, 22)","hsl":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09}},"f2bba":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.5)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09,"a":0.5}},"trewq":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.7)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09,"a":0.7}},"poiuy":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.35)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09,"a":0.35}},"f83d7":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.4)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09,"a":0.4}},"frty6":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.2)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09,"a":0.2}},"flktr":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.8)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09,"a":0.8}}},"gradients":[]}}]}__CONFIG_colors_palette__, Using LinkedIn for Sales Prospecting & Leads. Once you know who’s spent time with your profile, you can leverage that knowledge to initiate direct contact through InMail. I really want to thank you in advance for your helping me out here. Steve has no idea why I belong to that Group. Pushing benefits that play on “pain points.”. We haven’t spoken before; however, we share a group. Please log in again. InMail isn’t magical. It. Here’s why. Steve is going for the kill … all in 1 email. What are you getting at?”), Validate the idea: Having a discussion about his solution is what I would like to do, Invest time in learning about his service, Consider a “free analysis” (a proposal for his services), Completely un-researched (he is cutting-and-pasting-and-sending this to masses), Too long (it needs to read in 8-10 seconds or less), Typical (“I viewed your profile and see you’re a buyer of what I sell” is typical of spam I see all day long). LinkedIn forces you to pay-up if you want access to its database. Others say the way to go is value bombin… Savvy and strategic InMail usage is the key to ensuring you never let an opportunity disappear before you have a chance to see it through. There’s nothing worse than a missed opportunity in sales. Jeff Molander is the authority on starting conversations with busy people. But it’s such a vast platform that deciding where to start might seem hard. InMail is often seen as one of the best ways to put LinkedIn to work on sales activities. Hacking InMail. Would you be able to provide me with their name and a phone number so I could get in touch? In fact, when it comes to prospecting, InMail is incredibly limiting. I would really like to schedule a few minutes of time with the right person to speak about it. In cases where a member doesn’t necessarily look like a good fit as a lead, it still doesn’t hurt to engage when you can offer value. Asking for the meeting in the first touch message. Instead, ask for a conversation … a discussion that may-or-may-not lead to a meeting. Not to talk about buying. This is the point of LinkedIn prospecting. When you begin by trying to get an appointment you are being rejected by … Additionally, including relevant hashtags when you publish on LinkedIn will help others — even those who are not yet connected —find your post and potentially start a conversation. Download and read our latest guide, Read Me If You Want to Improve Your InMail Response Rates on LinkedIn. It needs to stand out and impress if you want strong LinkedIn prospect reviews. For more information, see our Cookie Policy. His book, Off The Hook Marketing: How to Make Social Media Sell for You, is first to offer businesses a clear, practical way to create leads and sales with technology platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and blogs. By using this site, you agree to this use. When you see a post that pertains to your vertical or niche, add a comment if you can provide useful insight. The goal of LinkedIn InMail prospecting is not to get a meeting. When a prospect who could have truly benefited from your solution vanishes, or goes with a competitor, it feels like a punch to the gut. It has a bit of a bad reputation, but if you choose the right targets and the right approach, you can still see good results. However, if you are not the right person who is in charge of your company’s existing IT solutions, a warm referral would be very much appreciated. WARNING: This kind of approach is not researched — not personalized. Here is a proven way to spark prospects curiosity and get them asking for more details. Please let me know what you decide, Jeff?