A Brief Guide to Linkedin Outreach Messaging

Our clients generally do not like cold calling, so IP firms are not that different from other markets. However, gatekeepers can be challenging, it's hard to talk to the right person, time is limited, and potential clients give strong and immediate feedback. Fortunately, in the 21st century, there is an alternative to cold calling: LinkedIn Outreach Messages. Let us take a look at how it works and why it's many times more effective than blindly calling a list of contacts.

A safer alternative for directly reaching out

Even the best and most well-known companies rely on outbound sales tactics: they need to smooth out seasonal fluctuations, cannot risk losing the market to competitors, or plan to attract a particular company to their portfolio.

To achieve these goals, you just have to do the footwork - but cold calling is not the preferred lead generation tactic for IP firms. As Microsoft's LinkedIn became the number one social networking site for businesses, sales reps also began to shift from cold calling to a more effective tool: outreach messaging.

How to prepare for messaging?

What's better about that than sending an email? LinkedIn, especially with the subscription Sales Navigator, allows you to search for potential candidates and find the most appropriate candidates to connect with. If you use it correctly, this tool eliminates the blindness and randomness of cold calling.

Sending messages is one thing, but if the pre-qualification of potential leads is not done correctly, you will not have much "luck" with this approach. So, as a first step, review your buyer personas - if you do not already have one, read our previous blog post on how to create one.

Let us take an example: based on your Buyer Persona, target IP Licensing Managers in Germany. To make our model understandable for all readers, we will only use features that are available in the unpaid version of LinkedIn.

Visit linkedin.com and enter "IP Licensing Manager" in the search bar. Depending on your existing network, you will probably get several useful hits in the search results right away, but LinkedIn can do much more for you. Next, click on "All Filters" and start narrowing down your search results list. In the free version, both the number of results and the filter types are limited, as the company understandably wants to get you to subscribe. (Great tactic, by the way!) You can test the social platform's capabilities with the "Country," "Current Company," and "Job Title" filters, all of which are useful for finding the right prospects.

How to send a message?

Another important element in this process is customizing your message, which is best preceded by a friend request. Send a short note with the friend request explaining why you are seeking the conversation.

The right research, a tailored message, and quality over quantity will bring you the success you want for your outbound sales efforts. With LinkedIn outreach messaging, you can not only replace traditional cold calling, but also target your prospects much more accurately. Integrate LinkedIn Sales Navigator into your daily sales activities and see how quickly it boosts your efforts.