How Software Manufacturers Can Use Linkedln for Outbound Prospecting

Nowadays, using Linkedln for outbound prospecting is the pillar of every successful business strategy. The platform has millions of users, with a new subscriber practically every 2 seconds.

Therefore, working with social channels like Linkedln is a real mine of opportunities for those who know how to use the platform to their advantage.

To successfully prospect on Linkedln, you need to optimize your profile, develop a personal branding to attract potential clients and finally activate your professional network with outbound prospecting .

Whether you're a professional who already sells your software via outbound prospecting or a beginner who wants to break into this market, you've come to the right place.

In this complete guide, we'll show you all the methods to multiply your chances of selling on the number one professional network , LinkedIn.

Read too:

How to increase sales of management systems?

Step by Step to Use Linkedln for Outbound Prospecting

1) Optimize your Linkedln profile for business prospecting

Your profile should pique the interest of your prospects to interact with you, this is the starting point of effective prospecting.

Bear in mind that most of your prospects are active on Linkedln, and there is a high probability that they will take a look at your profile before purchasing your service and/or product.

The first step is to complete your profile with all the necessary information.

For example, if you are one of the sellers who use Linkedln as a portfolio platform, here are some actions to create an excellent profile:

• A professional photo;
• A presentation focused on your customers' problems and with added value for the company;
• An attractive title, capable of transmitting the mission and values ​​of the company. Ideally, tell a short story of what you and your product stand for;
• Professional experiences, in order to demonstrate your expertise;
• Recommendations;
• Certificates and training.

Redesign your profile to show your personality and expertise , before limiting yourself to your job description.

Remember that to successfully prospect on Linkedln, you must take care of your image.

2) Prospect on Linkedln using your personal brand

The personal brand or personal branding represents your image, your influence and your reputation.

It is the result of your skills, experience, communication and your personality.

This way, you can use your Linkedln profile to post relevant content that will attract your prospects and invite them to:

• Liking, sharing or commenting on your content (this increases your profile visibility);
• Solicit their expertise;
• Start a conversation with you.

Social prospecting becomes much more effective than your expertise in your field.

Check out now how to prospect on Linkedln in practice:

Analyze your potential customers

To offer the best possible experience, you must identify the topics that interest your prospects.

By visiting the profiles of your target audience, you will find precious information about your prospect, in addition to their professional experience, groups and interests.

Develop a content calendar

At this point, you've already optimized your profile for prospecting on Linkedln, as well as having a list of subjects that interest your potential customers.

It's important to post regularly, and studies show that twice a week at least is a scalable LinkedIn content strategy.

Content must be of the highest quality to gain influencer status and build your authority.

Choose content format to prospect on Linkedln

The best content is presented in a short and easily understandable format, however, it must always be consistent with your image, your company, your sector of activity and your objectives.

It is noteworthy that Linkedln does not like posts with a link leading to a website , preferring that the user remains as long as possible on the platform.

One of the best ways to establish your expertise on a subject is to write an article directly on Linkedln.

In addition, organizing webinars is a formidable machine for generating prospects.

Another point is to create content that promotes interaction. To do this, interact with the content shared by your prospects, and with that, your profile will gain visibility.

3) Outbound prospecting on Linkedln

To prospect on Linkedln, you must combine both strategies: Inbound (attracting the customer) and Outbound (going to the customer). If you only use one channel, you will limit your potential.

And how to do it?

expand your network

Reach out to your prospects on Linkedln and via email with automated sequences through a cadence flow.

The amount of connections and followers represents the audience you can interact with.

When defining the type of lead with whom you want to relate and thus expand your network, it is worth getting to know Snov.io , a tool that allows you to find everything from names to professional emails in searches on LinkedIn.

So the first step is to maximize the potential of the free features to find network members you can connect with.

There are some software that make this work much easier, such as Phantom Buster, DuxSoup, among others.

As a rule, a good salesperson should always expand his network and get in touch with new prospects.

Focus on visits to your profile

The people who visited your profile represent the audience you should target.

Take advantage of your curiosity to send a short message or a connection request.

Another interesting feature is that, when visiting a prospect's profile, you can consult a list of similar profiles on Linkedln.

Get in touch with your prospects

Bear in mind that Linkedln is made up of professionals who are always in a hurry.

So, don't tell your story too much, and use a short and effective message .

Also, when prospecting on Linkedln, avoid the generic message as that won't sound right.

To deserve their attention, you must seek as much information as possible before writing your first message.

One approach that works really well is to ask a question they will want to answer , as the more your message resonates with the prospect, the greater the chances of a response.

Therefore, when contacting your prospects, you can use three steps:

• Send a connection request;
•  Send the first email, which should arouse the prospect's interest in wanting to know more about your activity, and not forgetting to add value;
•  Send an introduction email and, if possible, request a response.

Linkedln revolutionized commercial prospecting, however, for that, it is not enough to just create an account and add contacts.

Today, consumers take much more into account who the seller is , even before their products and services.

And, in this context, Linkedln is considered the best for outbound prospecting, as it allows you to identify ultra-qualified prospects in just a few clicks and start a conversation right away.

It may seem simple, but prospecting on Linkedln does not mean improvising, being essential to have a strategy to obtain significant results.

, such as Snov.io. With it you can filter your leads by position, company, and many other types of filters.

The goal here is to find potential customers who are more likely to close a deal, and Linkedln is a great start!

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Article written by: Lucas Hassuike Dolibaina – Snov.io Brazil blog coordinator.

Snov.io aims to help Brazilian companies prospect, sell and perform better sales management in the B2B market.