LinkedIn Outreach
Profile, connection strategy, message cadences, Sales Navigator.
Why LinkedIn matters
LinkedIn is the only prospecting channel where the buyer is expected to be there. Every B2B decision-maker has a profile, and most check the platform weekly. It's also the only channel where a slow drip of value posts can create inbound demand over time. Master it and you compound.
Optimize your profile as a seller
Your profile is your pitch page. Buyers click it before every meeting. Prospects click it before replying. Treat it like a landing page:
- Headshot: clean background, professional but not stiff, smiling.
- Banner: not the default. Your company banner, or a simple "I help [ICP] do [outcome]" image.
- Headline: not "AE at Acme." Something like "Helping revops leaders at Series B–D SaaS companies cut forecast error in half."
- About section: three short paragraphs — who you help, the specific problem, and how to reach you. Not a resume.
- Featured section: link one case study, one video, one useful post.
- Experience: focus on customer outcomes at each job, not internal metrics.
Connection request strategy
LinkedIn now limits invitations to roughly 100–200 per week, so make them count. Two approaches, both effective:
- No-note connect: paradoxically, blank connection requests often accept at higher rates (~30–40%) than noted ones. Best for tier-2/3 accounts you want to warm up cheaply.
- Personalized note: reserve for tier-1 target accounts. Under 200 characters, referencing a specific post/hire/product, no pitch.
"Hey Jamie — saw the piece you shared on forecast accuracy last week; the point on the CRM lag really landed for me. Would love to connect."
Message sequences
Once connected, don't pitch immediately. A slow, value-first cadence out-converts a hard sell every time:
| Day | Action |
|---|---|
| 0 | Connection accepted. Thank + one-line question about their role. |
| 3 | Share a useful resource (article, benchmark) — no ask. |
| 7 | Comment on one of their posts, thoughtfully. |
| 10 | Direct message: "Curious how you're handling [problem] today. Open to trading notes?" |
| 15 | Voice note (60 seconds max) referencing their world specifically. |
| 21 | Break-up: "Might have missed the window — want me to circle back next quarter?" |
Social selling: build the audience that sells for you
The best AEs I know post 2–4 times a week and get 10–30% of their pipeline from inbound over time. You don't need to be a "thought leader." Post what you learn from your day job:
- Objections you heard this week and how you'd handle them next time.
- Patterns across your last 10 discovery calls.
- Frameworks you use to qualify (with a concrete example).
- Short customer stories (anonymized).
Format matters: hook in line 1, one idea per line, a lot of white space, and never link out (LinkedIn penalizes outbound links in feed).
Engaging with prospect content
Before you DM a prospect, spend a week showing up in their comments with substantive replies — not "great post" but a real add. When you eventually message them, you're not a stranger, you're "that person from the comments." It works.
Using Sales Navigator effectively
Sales Navigator is the paid tier for prospectors ($100–130/mo). What actually matters:
- Boolean-heavy account searches saved as lead lists. Use filters like: company headcount, growth, tech installed (via Bombora intent), recent funding, and role.
- Job change alerts — one of the highest-converting triggers in B2B. When your champion moves companies, reach out day 1.
- Sales Nav → CRM sync so your lists don't rot.
- InMails only for accounts you can't reach any other way. Free-tier "Open Profile" InMails don't count against your quota.
Common mistakes
- Pitching in the connection request note.
- Copy-paste sequences with no personalization — buyers spot them instantly.
- Voice notes longer than 60 seconds. No one listens to two minutes.
- Blasting the same message across 20 accounts. LinkedIn's algorithm flags this.
- Posting corporate press releases from your personal profile.
LinkedIn is a long game. Consistency beats intensity. Fifteen minutes a day of engagement, two posts a week, and a tight prospecting cadence will compound faster than any "hack."