We tested several LinkedIn lead generation strategies that helped us scale LinkedIn lead gen efforts and achieve good results.
The strategies you’re about to read managed to:
- Generate 150 qualified leads in less than 2 minutes, with a staggering 90% open rate – without Sales Navigator
- Shorten sales cycles by 3 weeks
- Nurture connections with a 40% reply rate and a 50% demo booking rate
- Generate 494 leads through a single campaign
In this article, we’ll cover 6 LinkedIn lead generation strategies that yielded the most results.
What’s the best LinkedIn lead generation strategy for you?
Not everyone has the same needs and goals when it comes to LinkedIn lead generation strategy. That’s why we wanted to include a variety of different approaches to cater to different needs. We’re sure you’ll find the right way to tailor them to your unique situation.
Here’s a quick breakdown of who will benefit from these:
- Strategy 1 ⮕ Ideal for small businesses and individuals who want to do LinkedIn B2B lead generation without using Sales Navigator.
- Strategy 2 ⮕ Ideal for those who want to collect leads from their website visitors and shorten their sales cycles.
- Strategy 3 ⮕Ideal for anyone who wants to build genuine relationships.
- Strategy 4 ⮕Ideal for those who want to tap into a pool of professionals who are already familiar with the industry.
- Strategy 5 ⮕ Ideal for product companies who want to enhance their product and occupy a bigger market share.
- Strategy 6 ⮕ Ideal for Sales Navigator users who want advanced Search features and refined results.
Strategy 1: The Influencer Blitz: 150 leads in 2 minutes
If you’re a small business juggling multiple responsibilities, or if you don’t have a Sales Navigator subscription, this method gives you a streamlined approach to lead generation on LinkedIn.
It’s an 8-step method that helped Matt Lakajev get 150 qualified leads in less than 2 minutes and a 90% open rate – without Sales Navigator.
This method targets active and engaged LinkedIn professionals in your desired niche, giving you the opportunity to leverage your expertise, connect with them in a meaningful way, and offer value.
The 8-step process
- Step 1: Go to a big creator’s latest post.
Select a creator who’s been consistently active and whose audience aligns with your ideal potential clients. For example, if you’re selling an email marketing tool and targeting agency owners, people like Chase Dimond or Austin Brawner will probably have a bunch of your ideal clients in their comments.
- Step 2: In the comments, find people who fit your ideal customer profile (ICP).
You can quickly spot them by checking out their headline and cover images. If in doubt, check out their profile.
- Step 3: Open each person’s profile in a separate tab.
- Step 4: Click “Show all” on Other Similar profiles.
Once you’re on their page, you’ll find the “Similar profiles” section on the right. Click “Show all”. Based on their headline, check if they fit your profile.
- Step 5: Again, open each person’s profile in a separate tab.
If they fit, open their profile in a new tab. If you have Sales Navigator, you can save them there by clicking “Save in Sales Navigator” next to the “Follow” button.
- Step 6: Add all the profiles to a Google Sheet.
Pro tip: If you want to land straight to their posts instead on their profile, don’t paste their profile URL to the sheet – just go to their Posts page and paste that URL.
In this sheet, make sure to have a list of days in a week you’ll engage with them. It’ll make it easier to keep track of whom you’ve engaged with on which day.
- Step 7: Engage with their content 4 times in a row, starting on Monday.
Engage but don’t send a connection request. You can like, leave thoughtful comments, or comment on someone else’s comment. That way, the person is sure to notice your name in their notifications. Do this every day starting Monday – it means 4 times during the week.
Here’s an example of a comment Matt left to a fitness coach he engaged with:
- Step 8: Send a highly personalized, relevant message on Friday.
On Friday, send a connection request along with a nice, thoughtful message. Personalize the message with a detail they mentioned in some of their posts, ask them about a project they wrote about, and let them know in any way that you can you’re in the loop with what’s going on with them.
Template you can use:
Hey [Name] – [The action they did.] [Comment on what you noticed on their profile.] [Compliment them for something.] [Ask them an open-ended question.]
And here’s what it looks like in practice:
How to scale and automate the process
If you’re using Sales Navigator and you saved leads’ profiles there, log in and locate the list containing the leads. You can create a separate, smaller list with the leads you plan to engage during the following week so it’s easier to track the progress of that segment of people.
If you want to save time, automate the procedure, and do it at scale, there is a way.
Log in to HeyReach and go to Prospects and Companies, create a new list by clicking Add new prospects, and choose Sales Navigator (Leads).
In a new window, you’ll be able to set up details like list name, accounts that will connect with the leads from the list, and the Sales Navigator list URL.
You can do this with the basic Search functionality if you’re on a free LinkedIn plan, and paste the results page URL to Heyreach.
Within a matter of minutes, you’ll have a list of the leads.
✅ Take action. Personalize your first LinkedIn outreach campaign at scale and automate the boring stuff. Start for free, no card required!
You can target all of them through a single campaign in HeyReach and track the progress of each lead in the Unified Inbox. This means no tab switching and no juggling between multiple inboxes with your coworkers, as you’ll be able to switch between each other’s leads and lead the conversation seamlessly.
Strategy 2: Turn website visitors into qualified leads
You can set up automated campaigns for prospects coming not from your Sales Navigator or LinkedIn search bar but from your website.
HeyReach’s integration with RB2B will let you gather the LinkedIn profiles of your website visitors. All you have to do is install a pixel on your website header with the help of RB2B.
For example, if 100 people visited your website this week, you’ll see their LinkedIn profiles in Slack and they’ll be automatically added to your LinkedIn outreach campaign. Currently, this option is available only for leads from the US.
How to do it
Log in to RB2B and install their pixel on your website.
Bear in mind that you’ll need to update your website’s privacy policy and allow people to opt out of this tracking method in the Security of Information section. You’ll also have to provide clear instructions on how to opt-out.
Then, go to Zapier to integrate RB2B with HeyReach.
You’ll catch a webhook by Zapier and then input a custom URL that will track the data.
Then you’ll input this URL into the HeyReach campaign using the HeyReach API key:
Once that’s set, go back to RB2B and go to Integrations. Click on Webhook.
Set up a custom integration with Webhook and use the same Webhook as in Zapier.
Then, go back to Zapier and click on Custom Request in Webhooks by Zapier. Create another custom URL which points to HeyReach API:
The method is “AddLeadsToCampaign” so that every website visitor is automatically added to the campaign in HeyReach.
Once that’s done, you can go ahead and create a campaign for this list in HeyReach. Set up however many checkpoints you want and make sure you personalize the messages.
This strategy generated a lot of interest among our clients and helped us shorten the sales cycle by 3 weeks because people can have a meaningful conversation and get valuable information from a trusted expert.
If you set up an RB2B and HeyReach integration, you’ll get a 12-day free trial for both so you can test the approach out and see for yourself.
Strategy 3: Build relationships with qualified leads
This next strategy is focused on nurturing connections by initially offering value at no cost. The idea is to foster relationships and try to convert leads later on, once there's trust and a positive impression established.
Vuk uses this method in an interesting way. It gets him consistent results – a 40% reply rate and a booked demo in 50% of the cases.
The approach feels quite personal, but there is a way to scale it – keep reading.
How to use this method
Next time someone who fits your ideal customer profile follows you, likes your posts, comments, or views your profile – send them a DM.
The message doesn’t have to be long or formal. You can simply thank them for connecting or engaging with your content and get the conversation going. Remember that the goal is not to pitch immediately.
Here’s a template you could use:
Hi, [Name]! Thanks for connecting. I saw [Their company’s recent initiative]. [A short comment]. [A compliment or an open-ended question].
For more examples and tips, check out this article: How to Write a Follow-Up LinkedIn Message & Email [Tactics + Examples].
As the conversation continues, aim to understand the person on the other end and perhaps ask a few questions about their latest efforts.
- What are they working on?
- What are the challenges they're facing?
- What are their goals for the quarter/year/5 years?
After this, see where you fit in and how you can provide immediate value.
We’re not saying you should do a project for them for free – but a quick tip, a relevant story, or a cool resource could make all the difference.
If you establish trust and you’re genuinely trying to help, you’ve already set a solid foundation for future collaboration. People remember people who helped them, and when they’re ready to pay for the product or services, you’ll be on top of their minds.
It makes the potential client more receptive to you, plus you position yourself as a trusted advisor instead of another person trying to make a quick buck.
💡 Pro tip: Here’s how to sort through people who engage with you quickly and easily.
Define your ideal customer in Sales Navigator. Consider factors like industry, job position, location, seniority levels, etc. Go to the Personas section, click Create a New Persona, and add the filters that best match your ideal customer profile.
Once you do this, you can start using this persona in your outreach efforts by filtering leads and focusing exclusively on the ones that match your ICP.
If you want to automate these conversations, you can go to their profiles, and click Save in Sales Navigator. Then go to Sales Navigator, find the list with these people, create a new list in HeyReach, and paste Sales Navigator list URL in the appropriate field:
Once you create a campaign, it’ll be much easier to engage with everyone and keep track of where they are in the funnel.
✅ Take action. Fire up your first LinkedIn campaign for free and start building relationships with qualified leads today.
Strategy 4: Export LinkedIn event attendees
Extracting the list of LinkedIn attendees can supercharge your lead gen efforts.
Just think about it – these lists are jam-packed with professionals who are:
1) Already in your industry
2) Super familiar with industry context and intricacies
3) Probably have a pain point you can solve
4) Probably familiar with you or your company already.
So if you reach out, it won't be out of nowhere – you'll be a trustworthy and familiar face.
How to export LinkedIn attendees
Start by searching for a relevant event.
Important note – you don’t have to register as an attendee.
For example, I’m looking for lad generation events because the people attending them want to know more about how to get more prospects. This is something I can help them with.
So I’ll type “Lead generation” in the Search box and filter the events by clicking Events.
I think the first event might have a decent number of leads who fit my ICP, so I want to focus on that one.
To export the list of attendees, I’ll create a new list of prospects in HeyReach.
I’ll go to Prospects and Companies, click on Add New Prospects, pick LinkedIn Event Attendees on the left and click Continue.
In a new page that opens up, I’ll copy the event URL to the URL bar. I’ll create a name for that list, select accounts which will contact the attendees, and click Start Importing.
Very soon, the list will be populated with event attendees.
Voila! In a few minutes, I generated a list of 60+ leads I can reach out to. They have a pain point I can solve, and I work in a reputable lead gen company, which will increase the level of their trust once I reach out.
With tailored, highly personalized copy, I’ll be able to start meaningful conversations with them.
Strategy 5: Steal your competitors’ audience
Connecting with your competitors’ audience will help you in several ways:
- You’re connecting with a pre-qualified audience, as they already demonstrated interest in the services you offer
- Reduced marketing costs, as you’ll need less resources to educate them on what you offer
- Stronger competitive advantage, as you’re weakening your competitor’s market position
- Opportunities for innovation, as you’ll have insight into their unmet needs and unique problems and you’ll find ways to solve them with your product or service
It’s the perfect opportunity to capitalize on the existing interest. HeyReached tested this tactic with the following results:
- 34.4% Connection Acceptance Rate
- 494 leads in total
- 8% Reply Rate
- 8 Demos Booked
Here are some of the replies we got:
Here’s how to do it.
Step 1: Identify competitors and their following
The very first step you’ll need to do is list your competitor as your employer on LinkedIn.
Consider using a burner LinkedIn account for this. Make the position a low-tier one, turn off the “Notify network” option, and reverse everything once you’ve exported the data to a LinkedIn outreach tool.
The next step is to go to your Sales Navigator and toggle the Following Your Company filter. By doing this, you created a list consisting of competitors’ followers.
You can use additional filters to narrow down the results and get a more tailored version of the list that will contain only the people who fit your ICP.
Then you need to copy-paste the URL of that list into HeyReach and create a campaign targeting them.
Step 2: Engaging and nurturing connections
The campaign shown above was designed in such a way that it targeted competitor’s users across several touchpoints.
When doing this for yourself, make sure to time your actions (post likes, profile views, and connection requests) carefully. The timing between these steps needs to be natural because you don’t want to look like a bot.
When crafting message copy, make sure you’re being friendly and curious – invite them to chat about the competitor’s product or services, their experience with it, and their pain points.
Don’t try to book a call, provide a CTA, send a Calendly link, or anything similar. In short: don’t be salesy and pushy. Gently nudge them towards a meaningful conversation.
Tips and Tricks
Think strategically. This is not about merely sending a LinkedIn cold message. It’s about meeting the leads exactly where they are and seeing how to help them.
In your copy, don’t use industry jargon and cut the fluff: speak directly about how you can solve their problem.
Make sure to carefully set follow-up messages in case your initial nudges go unnoticed.
Treat in-mails and connection messages differently. In-mails provide you with more space to engage with leads, so use it carefully and make each message count.
With HeyReach you’ll be able to automate this process and keep the info organized and at your disposal any time.
Instead of sorting through each lead manually, tracking if they responded to your nudges and messages and if they moved down the funnel, you can use Unified Inbox to keep track of everyone in the same place and at the same time.
Plus, you’ll scale your outreach efforts by using HeyReach to sync multiple senders in a single sequence. This auto-rotation of senders will let you bypass the LinkedIn limit of 20 connections per day without any consequences.
For all the details on how we executed this campaign as well as the exact copy we used, check out this article: LinkedIn Cold Message Template That Got 40+ Replies.
Strategy 6: Advanced Sales Navigator tactics
If you’re using Sales Navigator, try out some of the tactics from this chapter. We tested them out and they generated a 42% response rate, 494 leads, and a 34.4% connection acceptance rate.
You can learn details about each tactics here: How to Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to Generate Leads. Here, we’ll focus on several best ones.
Option 1: Using Boolean strings for precise searches
Boolean strings on LinkedIn will help you narrow down and refine your search efforts by combining keywords with Boolean operators like AND, OR, and NOT.
To use it in practice, the easiest way is to start with the job title of people who fit your ICP, use NOT to exclude unwanted terms, and use OR to widen the range of relevant titles.
For example, I’m looking for BDRs working in tech companies. Because I want to pitch them, it’s really important that they’re experienced, so I don’t want to speak with interns.
Here’s how I’d use Boolean strings for this search:
"Business Development Representative" AND tech OR IT OR software OR technology NOT Sales intern.
This way, I made sure to widen the scope of my search by including tech, software, technology, and IT industries, and then narrowed it down a bit by excluding sales interns.
This will give me a highly targeted Results page.
If you use the free LinkedIn version, you’ll need to paste the string into the Search bar directly.
You’ll also be able to refine your Results page by using additional filters like Location, Current company, Connections, and similar. However, there’s a chance the results won’t be 100% precise.
Sales Navigator and LinkedIn Premium will give you more advanced search features and filters, making your results more targeted and refined.
A few tips when using Boolean search:
- Use straight, not curly quotation marks when searching for an exact phrase
- Always capitalize operators
- Use parenthesis to combine more complex searches (tech OR IT OR software OR technology) NOT Sales intern
- Using + or - instead of AND or OR doesn’t work
Option 2: Target people who recently changed jobs
People who recently changed roles are more receptive to different services, tools, and products that might make their work easier. That’s where you come in.
Target these people by adding the “Changed Jobs” filter in Sales Navigator.
When you apply this filter, you’ll get a list of people who changed their Position entry in the last 90 days.
Narrow down the search by applying filters like Job Title and Location to make sure you’re reaching out to people who fit your ideal ICP.
Option 3: Rely on common interests
You can form deep connections with your leads by relying on common interests or mutual connections.
For the former, you’ll need to go to Sales Navigator’s Best Path In section and click on the Shared Experience filter to get a list of leads you share something with.
For the latter, you’ll first need to decide which clients or competitors connections you want to target. Refine the search by using filters like company name, industry, or specific job titles.
Once you’ve generated this list, go to Best Path In and find the Connections Of section. Then select the connection whose connections you’d like to view and connect with. You can refine the search by using the Job title filter.
Relying on shared interests or connections is a good strategy because it taps into shared experiences, common backgrounds, pain points, and connections within your industry.
If you reach out, they will already know about you and recognize you as a familiar name who could help out.
For more details and all 7 advanced Sales Navigator strategies, check out this guide: How to Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to Generate Leads.
Summary
There you have it – the lowdown on 6 LinkedIn lead generation strategies that delivered serious results. Armed with these tactics, you’re not just chasing numbers; you’re building real, honest connections that matter.
