Generating qualified leads is an essential aspect of the sales process. A good lead generation strategy will help you find prospects that are most willing to convert and increase your sales volume. In this era of intense competition, it’s not easy to find fresh leads that are willing to give businesses a chance by listening to a sales pitch. That’s one of the reasons why you need to explore different avenues to generate leads and LinkedIn is one of them.
Traditional methods of generating leads
Most business owners purchase or rent lead lists from a list broker and then contact the people on the list to deliver their sales pitch. While sales people do see some conversations and profits from this process, the returns on investment is quite low. The two reasons why traditional techniques don’t work are:
- The information isn’t always up-to-date. The contact information is often riddled with errors or contains dead emails or phone numbers instead of solid qualified leads.
- The leads are exhausted because list brokers share the information with a large number of businesses and the leads are constantly bombarded with sales calls. They’re more likely to become irritated with you than convert.
As you can see, the traditional ways of approaching lead generation isn’t as effective as it used you to be. Salespersons and business owners need to explore new avenues to generate leads and take a different approach and lead generation through LinkedIn is a great solution.
Why LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is a popular social media platform that allows businesses, experts, and professionals to connect with one another. There are over 3.5 million active users of this platform in Australia alone, which makes it a great place to source leads and develop connections.
LinkedIn is a healthier way to generate leads and build long-lasting connections because business owners don’t approach prospects out of the blue and bombard them with a sales pitch. LinkedIn allows salespersons to cultivate a positive relationship with the prospect and create a more solid customer base. That has a positive impact on long-term profit generation and even the business’ reputation.
How to approach LinkedIn lead generation?
There are a number of different ways in which you can approach lead generation in LinkedIn. To get any real benefit from the platform, you need to have a good presence on it so before you attempt to generate leads, make sure your business has a good profile on the platform, and spend some time developing connections. That will help in the lead generation process and also help bolster your company’s online presence and reputation. Once you have a good LinkedIn profile, it’s time to focus on lead generation and there are a number of ways to approach it. Here are some steps you can take to generate leads using LinkedIn:
Step 1 – Determine the ideal prospect type
If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you’re unlikely to find it. It’s important to establish and develop an ideal prospect profile before looking for them on this platform. Look at the past sales history and determine what kinds of people have converted most often. Once you understand your ideal prospect type, move to the next step in the lead generation process.
Step 2 – Search for the ideal prospect
LinkedIn has a very sophisticated search engine that allows users to narrow down results and get precise answers. You can search for prospects through their job titles, isolate them based on their location and field, and even search for prospects that have formed groups in a particular field. For example, if your ideal prospect is an IT manager, type the term in the search bar, set the required permitters, and let LinkedIn handle the rest.
Step 3 – Look for mutual connections
Once you have a list of ideal prospects, look for mutual or shared connections. That will be your doorway to establishing a connection with the prospect. If you have a mutual contact with the prospect and also have a good relationship with the former, contact them and ask for introductions. This is a great way to connect with prospects because personal recommendation from someone you know will make them more inclined to hear your sales pitch.
Step 4 – Research the company outside LinkedIn
If you don’t have a mutual or shared connection with a prospect, you can take the indirect route and try to establish a connection with them without any third party involvement. Before you contact them, take the time to understand them. Browse through their profile, research their company and their role in the company, etc. You can then look into their contact information on the company website and call them directly with a carefully prepared sales pitch. Some experts recommend engaging prospects in the comments sections of their content in order to make you familiar to them.
These steps will help you develop good quality leads and stay ahead of the competition. LinkedIn is a great platform for lead generation and developing professional relationships so it’s a good idea to maintain an active profile and ensure all contact and work information you post there is current.
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