How to effectively use LinkedIn for B2B lead generation

For B2B companies, LinkedIn is a goldmine for finding potential leads. In fact, 40% of B2B marketers believe it’s the best way to get valuable leads. But here’s the challenge: everyone is vying for attention, making it tough to stand out.

Curious about how to get B2B leads on LinkedIn and turn things in your favour? This practical article, built on what we’ve learned as a lead generation marketing agency, has you covered. Let’s dive in and explore the tactics to kickstart your success.

Emerge as a prominent figure in your LinkedIn community

Adjust your profile to showcase your brand

Craft a strong initial impression through an impressive LinkedIn profile. Regard it as the pivotal element influencing others to connect and initiate conversations. Below are several tried-and-true methods to distinguish your profile and captivate all who come across it:

• Generate a tailored profile URL featuring your name devoid of extraneous characters, optimizing its discoverability.

• Craft an attention-grabbing and distinctive headline that both captures users’ focus and clarifies your role, similar to the approach taken by a Plum marketer.

• Compose a concise summary infused with relevant keywords, outlining the issues you can address, your primary solutions, and your track record of accomplishments. Follow the lead of Leah Barlow’s summary.
• Garner endorsements and testimonials from colleagues to foster credibility and leave a positive impression on those perusing your profile.
• Utilize a high-resolution headshot for your profile picture, ensuring a sharp image while blurring the background.
• Incorporate your contact details to facilitate easy communication for potential prospects.

Perform meaningful cold outreach

Did you know that 4 out of 5 people on LinkedIn are the ones who make important decisions? This means you can easily connect with the people you want to sell to and tell them about your offer without any trouble. It’s a nice way to add to your email efforts.

But just sending messages to people on LinkedIn without them knowing you can actually make things worse. So what’s the trick to doing well on LinkedIn and finding new business partners? It’s about getting to know them first.

Start by saying a short, friendly message when you reach out. Make it personal and friendly so you don’t seem too pushy or random. Once they write back, you can continue talking in a natural way.

Here’s an example of how we usually start a chat on LinkedIn and it works really well:

If you don’t get a response to your first message, move on to the next step: Start commenting on their posts to show up more often. After you’ve gotten to know each other a bit, send them another message on LinkedIn to talk about what you’re offering.

In both cases, the last thing to do is to continue the conversation through email, maybe arrange a call to learn more, and so forth. Here’s a sample to give you an idea:

Post content and engage regularly

Lots of people delay making content for LinkedIn because they think, “Who has enough time to make, share, and talk on LinkedIn?”

Here’s the thing: Companies that post every week on LinkedIn get twice as much engagement compared to those that don’t.

Actively posting on LinkedIn can make a big difference for several reasons. It helps you get noticed more and stay on people’s minds. It also gets more people to look at your company, making potential buyers curious.

Plus, when you share what you know, you become someone people trust in your area. You can gather a group of people who really want to see what you share and talk about. Eventually, this group can turn into a bunch of potential customers for your business.

Use the search function to find B2B leads

Your LinkedIn profile and the things you share will prepare you for achieving lasting success in bringing in leads and improving your email efforts. But how can you find good leads on LinkedIn for B2B lead generation? It’s simple when you start using effective methods.

Here are three important pieces of advice for finding and reaching out to potential leads on LinkedIn:

Utilize advanced filters while searching on LinkedIn

The search tool provided by the platform is the simplest way to find B2B leads on LinkedIn. It comes with filters that help you focus your search effectively.

Let’s go through a couple of filters you can use to refine your search:

Begin by entering a keyword. This could be a job title, company name, or even a topic your potential leads are discussing.

Select from a range of categories, including individuals, businesses, posts, communities, or products.

Refine the results based on your preferred location. You can even pick multiple locations within a single search. Additionally, you can narrow down the search to specific cities, as demonstrated in the case of California and New York.

Tailor your outcomes using additional filters, such as present and past company, educational background, industry, language, or even a particular keyword. These filters give you the flexibility to fine-tune your search to your exact preferences.

After obtaining the search results, you can initiate your outreach by sending a personalized connection request along with a note. This is the first step to engaging with your potential leads.

Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to filter connections and craft personalized messages that highlight glowing testimonials from satisfied clients. This is a smart way to build real connections and make your network stronger. It can also open up chances for new business. With LinkedIn Sales Navigator, you have a tool that helps you reach out to the right people and have meaningful conversations that can make a big difference.

Use top hacks to identify prospects

LinkedIn prospecting goes beyond traditional manual searches. With some inventive methods, you can identify suitable prospects. We’ve gathered a selection of our proven techniques to enhance your prospecting:

• People also viewed: When you check out someone’s profile, you’ll see a section on the right side called “Others You Might Like.” This area shows people who are similar to the person you’re looking at, helping you find more folks who could be a good fit for your ideal customer group.
• Check out competitors’ networks: An additional approach to broaden your pool of potential leads is by observing your competitors and connecting with more individuals within your intended buyer category. Examine their list of connections and identify people who match your ideal customer profile. Also, make sure your competitors can’t do the same to you. Visit the “Visibility” section in your account settings and locate the “Connections” option. Turn off the switch, and you’re good to go!
• Identify individuals engaging in discussions: To concentrate on prospects who are more actively involved, visit posts related to your industry that have a lot of interaction. Create a list of those who have left comments on these posts and send them connection invitations.

Automate your search with LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Sales Navigator is like the magic tool to boost your B2B lead generation efforts on LinkedIn. You can use these smart features to create a strong flow of potential leads:

1. Sales Preferences: Define your criteria for getting the best lead recommendations. When looking for leads, you can specify the location, job role, industry, and seniority level you want.
2. InMail Advantage: With InMail, you can send messages to people who haven’t accepted your connection request yet. Personalize these messages for each prospect to have a real impact.
3. Saved Searches: Just like manual searches, Sales Navigator allows you to create more focused searches with up to 20 unique filters. You can save each search with a custom name, saving you time when you need to run the same search again.
4. Boolean Search: Get the most out of your advanced search with Boolean style. This lets you refine your results using words like “and,” “or,” and “not.” For example, you can search for “data analyst NOT data scientist” to find profiles only for data analysts.
5. New Lead Alerts: Set up alerts for new leads in your searches. You’ll get notified whenever a new profile matches your search. This makes your job much easier.

Transform LinkedIn into Your Ultimate Lead Generation Tool

LinkedIn offers more than just a way to connect and find jobs. It’s a competitive arena for B2B businesses like yours to find potential customers and close deals. By creating a strong plan to showcase your expertise and build trust in your industry, you can attract a lot of potential customers.

Looking for help in creating a LinkedIn strategy for getting B2B leads? The experts at Axellerato have proven methods that have brought great results to our clients. We know what works and how to make sure you get a good return on your investment. Let’s talk – schedule a call with us to learn more.