In this post, I will explain how to successfully prospect potential customers for the product or service you are selling/introducing all while using LinkedIn. The main goal is to either find the correct person to contact, get a referral, or reach out to a decision maker. I use a standard free LinkedIn account and figured this hack out from my sales tenacity. This will allow you to be able to send unlimited free direct messages without having to connect.
The industry average reply rate for a cold email is between 1% - 3%. Lousy numbers.
My reply rate using this technique was an outstanding 20%!! With a 15% referral rate!!!
Your chances of a sale or setting up a meeting are greatly increased with a referral. (by referral I mean name droping the person who responded to you in the company and directed you to the decision maker).
e.g. "I recently chatted with NAME on LinkedIn to see who was responsible at COMPANY for selecting YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE and he/she suggested I try connecting with you!" .... you get the point. Keep it short, simple, and to the point.
First step:
Simply enter a google search on the company you would like to contact. Once on the website look for a Linkedin plugin (usually on the footer of the page or in the drop down menu). If you cannot find it go back to google and search e.g. company LinkedIn. The reason I take this step is that LinkedIn limits your monthly searches. By doing this you will not waste any searches on the LinedIn search bar.
Second step:
Once on the company LinkedIn page, click See All Employees on LinkedIn.
Note: The people you will be able to messaging have paid accounts and do not realize they have a feature on that allows anyone to message them.
Third Step:
Now that you can view the employees, look to the right side of the page to the advanced search options. Check the box for 3rd party connections only (this will help find the people you can message). You can also try different office locations or job titles if applicable.
Fourth Step:
Start looking through the employees who have "InMail". These will be the people to message, look for the most appropriate one or try to get a referral.
Fifth Step:
Click InMail. Type your intro and message. Send Away!
Stay tuned on how to prospect and sell on Instagram. Good Luck!