Craft a LinkedIn Outreach Strategy That Drives Leads: A How-To Guide

Everyone’s heard of LinkedIn as the go-to place for B2B lead generation. But here’s a business truth—LinkedIn only works when you actually know what you’re doing. Spamming message requests to random businesses is the last thing you want to do.

Without a solid, data-backed strategy, the platform will only turn into another generic social media tool that collects dust for you. And that’s what I want you to avoid at all costs because, with the right moves, you can easily turn it into a goldmine of qualified prospects.

This isn’t another guide on how to “connect with people” on LinkedIn; it’s a complete toolkit covering proven ways to create a LinkedIn outreach strategy that drives conversions. I’ll also introduce you to a completely FREE tool, which I guarantee will take your intent-capturing game up a notch.

What Is a LinkedIn Outreach Strategy?

LinkedIn outreach campaigns typically involve initiating a conversation with your prospects via connect requests or direct messages. It helps you skip past flooding email inboxes and reach out to approximately 65 million decision-makers.

I know what you’re thinking: “If there are 65 million decision-makers on the platform, my sales team should easily be able to convert some, right?”

While I share your optimism, you should know that connecting with prospects, let alone converting them, is not that easy. The usual spray-and-pray technique lacks personalization and could potentially annoy your leads. That’s why learning how to leverage the platform effectively is so important for businesses.

Different Ways To Connect With Prospects on LinkedIn

To effectively connect with prospects on LinkedIn, it’s important to understand the key ways you can reach out. Here are the four main methods: 

1. Connection requests
2. InMail messages 
3. Message requests
4. Direct messages 

Connection Requests

The first way to connect with your LinkedIn prospects is by sending connection requests. Keep in mind that these cold messages can only be sent to 2nd- or 3rd-degree connections, so you can’t “connect” with any random professional out of the blue. 

Connection requests also have a 300-character limit, meaning you’ll have to keep things short and sweet. 

‍Here’s a bad connection request example: “Hi there, Jake! How’s everything going? I believe we’ve got similar interests that we can talk about. Do you want to connect?” 

‍Now, take a look at a good example: “Hi Jake! I see you’re the Account Executive at XYZ company. I’m eager to learn which lead generator software your team uses to capture high-intent data.”

The second message covers everything—from the basic formalities to a decent hook. Sure, it’s got room for improvement, but it gets the point across clearly without wasting time.

If you feel like you cannot come up with anything relevant, you can always keep your request message blank and wait for them to accept your request. Trust me, that can work miles better than sending a bland request message. 

InMail Messages

There’s always a chance that prospects will ignore your initial connection request; that’s when InMail messages come into play. It’s a paid feature that lets you interact with people who aren’t in your direct network. You can get it via:

1. LinkedIn premium 
2. LinkedIn Sales Navigator account

However, you only get a limited amount of credits each month, so make sure you make the most of every message. InMail messages work like email and let you craft a subject line and body text. Shorter messages get more attraction, meaning you’ll have to develop concise and personalized content for each prospect. 

Message Requests

Message requests allow you to contact prospects who are in the same event or group as you. Since you already have a basic idea of their interests, you can craft a tailored message to get their attention. However, you should keep in mind that you won’t be notified if someone rejects your request.

Direct Messages

The last way to connect with your prospects is through direct messages. However, you can only send them to your 1st-degree connections. When used right, direct messages can be a great tool for nurturing your leads. 

Unlike connection requests, you don’t have to be a try-hard since the person already knows about you and your brand. Avoid sending full-blown sales pitches, too. Instead, build their curiosity in your company over time and sell when the time is right.

5 Steps To Develop a Comprehensive LinkedIn Outreach Strategy

Now, to cover the reason you clicked on this post, I’ll walk you through five simple steps to create a complete LinkedIn outreach strategy:

1. Optimize your profile page 
2. Identify your ICP 
3. Be consistent with posting 
4. Interact with prospects 
5. Personalize direct messages/requests 

1. Optimize Your Profile Page

First things first, take some time to fine-tune your LinkedIn profile. It’s often the first place people will check out after they engage with your product or service. When you send connection requests, folks are definitely going to take a look at your profile, so make sure you’re making a strong impression.

‍‍That being said, there’s a fine line between showing what you do and coming across as too salesy. The goal is to attract prospects, not make them feel like you’re just trying to seal a deal. 

Here are some things to consider when setting up your profile:

2. Identify Your ICP 

Imagine you’re on a flight to a destination you didn’t sign up for—all your time, effort, and money are wasted. That’s exactly what happens when a sales team pitches to the wrong prospects without checking if they align with the ideal customer profile (ICP).

How to prevent it? Learn how you can nail down your ICP:

• Identify your high-value customers’ industries, company sizes, and roles to define your target.
• Focus on hot leads with short sales cycles or high retention for repeat business.
• Use LinkedIn’s search filters to narrow down prospects by location, job title, industry, and company growth.
• Understand the pain points of your ideal customers and craft messaging that addresses their challenges.

3. Post Consistently

On LinkedIn, a strong profile paired with consistent, relevant posting can skyrocket your reach. Because the more you post, the more you position yourself as a trusted voice in your industry—not just another salesperson or marketer.

When leads see your name attached to valuable content, they’ll start recognizing you. That familiarity and credibility make it far easier for them to engage with you, turning LinkedIn into a powerful platform for B2B sales lead conversion.

4. Interact With Prospects

Human content is the new trend these days, thanks to AI. Don’t hesitate to engage with your prospects by commenting or reaching out directly. And remember, just because they don’t reply right away doesn’t mean you should give up on them.

Send thoughtful follow-up messages, but give them space to respond—no one likes feeling bombarded. Keep it real, and stay consistent without being pushy!

‍‍5. Personalize Direct Messages/Requests

Instead of shouting, “Look at this amazing product!”, focus on your prospects. Talk about the challenges their team might face. When you address their pain points head-on, they’ll be far more interested in what you have to say. 

It’s about showing them you understand their world, not just pushing your agenda. And don’t forget to keep your messages relevant. Tailor your outreach to their specific needs and context. A personalized message goes much further than a generic pitch every time.

Leveraging LinkedIn Features To Optimize Your Outreach Campaign 

Apart from optimizing your profile and personalizing messages, businesses can also use built-in LinkedIn features to optimize their sales outreach efforts. These include:

While these LinkedIn features help you target and engage with prospects, reaching the right people is only half the battle. To build a strong LinkedIn outreach strategy and truly drive results, you need to ensure you’re engaging with high-interest leads—those who are actively looking for a solution in your industry. This is where RB2B comes into play, helping you identify and connect with the prospects who are most likely to convert.

The Role of RB2B in Capturing High-Intent Leads and Their LinkedIn Profiles

Companies tend to rely on intent data providers, such as ZoomInfo, to generate such leads. The issue is that these companies may not provide anything beyond company-level data. That’s where RB2B shines—RB2B’s Person-Level Website Visitor ID tool gives you PERSON-LEVEL identification of every website visitor. 

Here’s a summary of the insight you can expect to gain:

• Name 
• Company email 
• LinkedIn profile 
• Location 
• The page they were browsing 

Imagine receiving hundreds of prospect data with that level of detail sent straight to your Slack in real time, ensuring you don’t miss out on any opportunities—that’s exactly what RB2B does. 

This information allows marketing teams to reach out to the right LinkedIn prospects and personalize every connection request per their current interests.

How To Set Up RB2B

You only need to follow four simple steps to get started with RB2B:

1. Sign up 
2. Verify your email address to activate the account
3. Add the RB2B tracking code to your website to enable real-time visitor identification 
4. Connect RB2B to Slack to start receiving instant notifications when high-value prospects engage with your content 

Once signed up, you get LIFETIME ACCESS to all the essential tools, allowing you to target prospects indefinitely. As a bonus, all new users get a 30-day free trial of the Pro plan, to which you can upgrade later if you need access to additional features.

RB2B is completely compliant with CCPA and CPRA privacy laws. Additionally, since it doesn’t track data from EU visitors, it’s not subject to GDPR regulations. 

‍Bonus read: Learn more about different outreach marketing and intent data strategies—discover more helpful guides below:

• How to write an outreach email 
• What are buyer intent signals?
• How to use intent data to identify sales qualified leads 
• How to leverage intent data

Featured image source: LinkedIn Sales Navigator