It sounds simple, because it is. The hard part is not understanding it. The hard part is doing it every week.
Four steps to customers on LinkedIn
Decide who, find them, warm them up and reach out. None of the steps is hard – the hard part is doing them regularly.
Decide who the customer isWhich roles, which industries, which company size? The narrower the list, the sharper everything else. Chasing everyone is chasing no one.
Find themSearch, follow and build a list of named people you want to work with. This is your pipeline in its simplest form. Not an abstract segment, but real people with names.
Warm them upBefore you reach out, exist. Comment on their posts. Post things they recognise themselves in. When the message then arrives you are not a stranger, you are someone they have already seen.
Reach outThis is where it is decided. Send a personal message with a concrete reason. Not a pitch. An opening. Then you follow up.
Being visible is not selling. But it makes selling easier once you do reach out.
// Visible × sellingAnd the one thing that really matters
You can have the perfect audience, the finest profile and full command of the platform, and still have an empty calendar. Because customers do not come to those who wait.
Finding customers on LinkedIn is, in the end, a question of activity around the right people. How many did you contact this week? That is the number that decides, and it is a number you set yourself. How to take them on to a conversation is in the guide on selling on LinkedIn.
Whoever makes twenty contacts a week always beats the one who knows the theory but waits for the right feeling.
// Knowledge × driveFinding customers on LinkedIn is a question of activity around the right people
Decide who the customer is, find the named people, warm them up and reach out with a concrete reason. Knowledge is the frame, drive fills it – and customers do not come to those who wait.
LinkedCoach helps companies find and win customers on LinkedIn, with a focus on business, not on being visible for the sake of it. With a team of nine coaches we help everyone from global companies to the one-person business use LinkedIn for business. The common denominator for our clients is the insight that their potential customers are on LinkedIn.
Frequently asked questions
How do you use LinkedIn to find B2B customers?
You find B2B customers on LinkedIn by first deciding exactly who the customer is, then finding those people on the platform, warming them up so they recognise you, and finally reaching out with a concrete reason. LinkedIn is where the decisions are made, so it is the workplace, not the stage.
How do you find the right people to contact on LinkedIn?
Start by deciding roles, industries and company size. Search, follow and build a list of named people you want to work with. That is your pipeline in its simplest form: real people with names, not an abstract segment.
Do you need to warm up contacts before reaching out?
Yes. Before you reach out, exist. Comment on their posts and post things they recognise themselves in. When the message then arrives you are not a stranger, but someone they have already seen. Being visible is not selling, but it makes selling easier.
How many contacts should you make per week on LinkedIn?
What decides is the activity around the right people: how many you contact each week. Whoever makes twenty contacts a week always beats the one who knows the theory but waits for the right feeling. It is a number you set yourself – learn more in our LinkedIn training.