Look at it for what it is. The LinkedIn platform is a goldmine for leads and lead generation. There are over 500 million business professionals on the platform. Of that number, over 40 million of them are in decision-making. So why aren’t more businesses pulling from this large tub of leads just waiting to be generated? Their ad products aren’t as great as those offered on some of the other platforms and because of the nature of the platform, users aren’t as consistent. These are the two main reasons why most marketers steer clear of LinkedIn. However, that leaves a vastness of business professionals from where leads can be easily generated without a ton of competition. That is why it is called a goldmine. So, let’s look at how to generate leads on the platform without ad spend or spamming in a way that is replicable.

Profiles

First, you need to view the profiles of people you want to target. LinkedIn does give over 20 filters that you can use when viewing these profiles in their Sales Navigator tools. The filters include everything from demographic and geographic filters to seniority, industry and job title. It is important that you are only adding people who are second connections to yourself. Do this for two reasons. First, it avoids mass spamming on the platform. Second, it gives you a psychological advantage because you will show up in that person’s recently viewed feed. They automatically have a more favorable impression of you when you do connect because they have “seen” you before.

Initial Sign Of Interest

Now you’ve done a lot of the harder work. The next step is kind of a wait and see game because you are waiting to see who views you back. People will notice that you’ve viewed their profile because it will show up in their feed. Now it is time to send them a connection request. However, you don’t want it to be the same boring cookie cutter request sent by the automated system. Make sure to personalize the message. It doesn’t need to be long; one or two sentences is fine, and this isn’t the selling point. Just introduce yourself and tell them you think they would be a great connection. Those who don’t respond in a few days are privy to one follow up message but that’s all. If they aren’t responding, they may just not be interested.

The Second Message

After the initial connection, you’ll want to send a follow-up message to introduce a time to talk. Still, this isn’t the time for the sale, but you can attempt the personal connection and start building a personal relationship. The personal relationship is what makes conversions and you’ve just made the connection. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to meet in person, but you can connect on other platforms and really start building that relationship that will get you the sale.

LinkedIn’s platform doesn’t have out of this world sales tools and people aren’t necessarily checking in multiple times daily. However, it is a fabulous place where business professionals are pooled together and there isn’t a ton of marketing competition. If you take the proper approach and don’t come off spammy, you can generate a ton of high-quality leads using this system. It does take a little more effort but your money stays in your pocket. Most marketers and business professionals are willing to work a little harder to keep their hard-earned money. Don’t overlook the marketing possibilities presented with the LinkedIn platform.