10 Proven Strategies for Successful Cold Outreach on LinkedIn

Struggling to get responses from cold outreach on LinkedIn? Learn to craft compelling messages and build a networking strategy that delivers results.

This guide will set you up for connection success with 10 proven strategies for effective cold outreach on LinkedIn.

Key Takeaways

• Optimize your LinkedIn profile by crafting a short but magnetic professional headline and an engaging client-value-oriented summary, and then highlight your skills and experience with examples of how your professional services have helped clients.

• Build a targeted list of prospects using LinkedIn’s search filters. You can begin with LinkedIn and Google’s search capability, but I highly recommend using the more advanced search and lead management that is part of LinkedIn Navigator. Use the Gen AI apps recommended in our course to qualify the leads and build a pipeline.

• Personalize your outreach with targeted InMail messages that are brief, focused on the recipient’s pain points and needs, and end with a clear call to action to drive engagement and responses. If you have correctly researched and qualified your list, then your Call to Action should focus on the Pain, Problem, Purpose/Pursuit, or Profit you can help them with.

Tip: Quickly optimize your LinkedIn professional headline, summary, and case stories by using the Gen AI Prompt Library and the accompanying examples. The Gen AI Prompt Library is available to people who take the AI-Power for Professionals and the Starting and Growing Your Consulting business courses.

Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile for Cold Outreach

Have you ever heard the saying, “First impressions last”? In LinkedIn cold outreach, your profile is that first impression. It’s your digital handshake, elevator pitch, and business card all rolled into one.

According to the latest research, almost 80% of B2B service and product buyers check contacts on LinkedIn before connecting with them or doing business. That means you better have a great LinkedIn profile.

If you are doing cold outreach, your LinkedIn profile must be optimal. You are someone unknown so what you have to say or offer has to be captivating and provide a service of significant value.

But how do you do all that? By crafting a compelling professional headline, creating an engaging summary, and showcasing your experience and skills.

Hooking Leads with Your LinkedIn Professional Headline

Your professional headline appears in that most valuable space directly below your photo in your LinkedIn profile.

Your professional headline is 120 characters that should tell them how you can fix their pain, problem, purpose, or profit. It needs to be short and memorable, and it needs to state a value solution they want.

When you do great LinkedIn lead research and qualify your leads using the Gen AI apps we teach, you should be hooking leads with something that is already on their mind - something they are concerned with and want to fix. The closer your fix is to their bottom line, the more they will pay attention.

The professional headline hooks them into looking for the answer behind the headline. Your "hooking" headline should:

• Capture the viewers’ attention by showcasing the value you offer

• Use words that entice and prove your authority

• Emphasize results and achievements

• Reflect your personality and uniqueness

• Avoid salesie or smarmy buzzwords

Part of the Gen AI library is a library of title and hook examples that the Gen AI prompts can use as examples when drafting your outreach emails.

Get a Professional Photo

First impressions do matter! And pictures are more memorable than words.

Get a professional photo or at least a photo at a professional level.

Keep your photo and background related to your consulting. No matter how good a skier you are, do not use a photo of you skiing unless you are a world-class skier who consults ski resorts.

Many Gen AI apps now will take three or four photos you upload and generate a new photorealistic image in the "business style" you want. Give them a try for a quick, lower-cost solution.

When choosing a background image, use one that enhances your professional authority. For example, show yourself speaking to a large audience, working in a laboratory, or guiding line managers in a factory. You don't have to be in the background image, but make it real, relatable, and engaging.

Writing an Engaging Summary

Your LinkedIn summary is your platform to tell your story.

Go beyond your job title and skills and showcase who you are. Use storytelling to share unique personal anecdotes or pivotal moments in your career that are relatable and memorable. Highlight your expertise, experiences, and what you bring professionally.

Keep it brief, engaging, and active. Use stories and anecdotes that illustrate how you have helped clients and illustrate your impact and their results.

Most importantly, include a clear call to action at the end of your summary. Do you want them to go to your website, download a report, schedule a time to talk, or go somewhere else after reading?

Use Keywords to Get Found

Make sure you use keywords your Ideal Clients are looking for. Use web tools like SEMrush, AHrefs, and Answer the Public to find the top keywords your Ideal Clients search for and your competitors rank highest.

Use those top keywords in your profile, especially those that match your core and adjacent consulting services. Remember, LinkedIn is the world's largest database of business people and it gets searched by Google and other search engines just like websites.

Prove Your Expertise

In the experience section, you can brag a little. Reference past successes and highlight significant achievements, awards, or recognition you’ve received. Use specific metrics and data to quantify your achievements in your experience section, such as percentages, dollar amounts, or other concrete figures.

Remember, the experience section isn’t just about professional experiences. Make yourself approachable. Give anecdotes, list volunteering experiences, and describe your personal passion projects related to your industry! Be an interesting human who can solve your clients' problems.

Building a Targeted Network on LinkedIn for Lead Generation

Once you have optimized your LinkedIn profile, you can start building your network.

But you can't just want to build a low-value network! You want to build a targeted network that aligns with your professional goals and objectives. So, how can you build such a network? By using LinkedIn’s search filters and leveraging mutual connections.

Using LinkedIn Search Filters

LinkedIn’s Search is an incredibly powerful tool. It lets you find prospects using keywords, company names, or phrases. You can refine your searches by location, current company, industry, and more. If you have a premium LinkedIn account, Sales Navigator offers even more advanced search filters, which can be particularly useful for finding prospects.

Our courses recommend using LinkedIn Sales Navigator combined with your Ideal Client Profile and validated segments to do laser-targeting when you generate leads. Using Gen AI apps you can refine and qualify your lists even more.

Tip: In addition to its powerful advanced search capability, LinkedIn Sales Navigator manages and maintains your segmented lists. It stores contacts meeting the criteria you specify and even emails you to notify you when additional leads are added to your list.

Leveraging Mutual Connections

An important strategy, especially as you start is to use mutual connections to initially build your targeted network. These referrals from a mutual contact serve as a bridge of trust between you and your new lead, significantly enhancing the likelihood of a positive response. So, when sending a connection request, try to mention a mutual connection.

Crafting Personalized Connection Requests

Personalization rules!

There is an overarching rule in cold contacting leads: personalization reigns supreme. Most of us are inundated with generic, copy-paste messages.

So when you send a personalized message that targets a lead’s needs your message stands out and get’s read. It shows the recipient that you’ve taken the time to understand them and their needs, increasing the likelihood of a positive response. Using techniques that grab the prospect's attention can significantly increase the likelihood of a positive response.

This is why it is incredibly important to have a well-defined and validated Ideal Client Profile that includes demographic and infographic details to find the leads and also the psychographics and needs so your message can match your services to the client’s needs.

Contacting Leads at the Time of Pain, Problem, Purpose, or Profit Need

Perhaps the strongest way to make a connection is to give them the promise of a solution to the topmost needs in their minds.

It seems like that would take a mind reader, but by using some of the Google Alert methods in our course, you can create Boolean searches so that Google alerts you when potential leads make a change that indicates they are ready.

For example, in one instance, I set up a Google search for changes in the light industry in my neighboring counties. Within two weeks, I got a notice that a mid-sized company had bought additional large warehouse space closer to the San Francisco airport. With a little more research I wrote a short document outlining strategic impacts when expanding territory. Sending that paper in a cold email to the COO resulted in an meeting with the CEO and COO the next week.

Mentioning Mutual Connections

Mutual connections will immediately improve your winning percentages.

Mentioning a mutual connection in your request makes the recipient think of you as someone in their social/business network who has been vetted and approved by their group. It also gives you a common ground to start a conversation.

Whenever you can, mention a mutual connection while crafting your connection requests.

Highlighting Shared Interests or Experiences

Another great way to personalize your connection requests is by highlighting shared interests or experiences. This can make your message more relatable and engaging to the recipient. It shows that you’ve taken the time to understand their background and personal preferences, which can significantly increase open and response rates.

Effective InMail Messaging Techniques

After optimizing your profile, building a targeted network, and crafting personalized connection requests, it’s time to dive into the art of InMail messaging.

Remember one thing, however: LinkedIn InMails are different from traditional emails.

They require a unique approach and strategy.

• Keeping messages short and focused

• Addressing the recipient’s pain points

• Including a clear call to action

Keeping Messages Short and Focused with a Compelling Subject Line

We live in a busy world. People are constantly bombarded with messages and notifications. Keeping your messages short and focused is crucial, like a quick call. You want to respect the recipient’s time while getting your point across.

Aim to keep your messages to about 50-60 words.

Remember, your message should quickly convey how you can help the prospect, emphasizing the value you bring without overwhelming them with too much information.

Addressing Your Consulting Lead's Pain Points

Another important element of effective InMail messaging is addressing the recipient’s pain points.

While most marketers talk about Pain Points, I want you to expand that into other high-value client needs. Call them the Four P's:

• Pain

• Problem

• Purpose/Pursuit

• Profit

A potential client could use you to heal any one of these.

By tailoring your cold email effectively to address these points, you can significantly increase the success rate of your cold messaging. Utilizing cold email templates that focus on these pain points can further enhance your approach to cold emailing.

You must understand your prospect’s 4P need points before crafting your message to capture your prospect’s attention.

End with a Powerful, Valuable Call to Action

Finally, every effective InMail message should include a clear call to action (CTA). This gives direction to your message and helps move the conversation forward. Your CTA should be straightforward, suggesting a clear next step for the recipient.

Getting them to take action helps cement you in their minds. For example, do not send a white paper to a lead even if they would value it. Instead, send them a message letting them know you have a high-value paper with potential solutions. Get them to ask you for it. Then, send it to them. Statistics show this increases your conversion rates.

You could ask them to schedule a call, request more information, or provide feedback. Just make sure your CTA is easy to find and act upon.

Providing Value Through Content Sharing

The adage, ‘give and you shall receive,’ perfectly encapsulates the essence of content sharing on LinkedIn. It’s about giving value to your network in the form of:

• Curated or original content

• Establishing your authority

• Increasing your reach

• Providing value to your readers

Curating Industry-Relevant Content

Curating industry-relevant content involves choosing and sharing content that your LinkedIn audience will find valuable. This could be anything from an informative blog post to a thought-provoking article, or even an engaging podcast. The key is understanding your audience’s needs and interests and delivering content that addresses them.

Remember to always credit the original source when sharing curated content to maintain credibility with your audience.

Creating Original Content

In addition to curating content, creating your original content is a great way to provide value to your network. This helps to establish your authority and showcases your expertise in your field. Plus, with LinkedIn’s vast user base, your original content has the potential to reach a much larger audience than if it were limited to your company’s website.

So, don’t be afraid to share your thoughts, insights, and experiences through original content on LinkedIn, like a recent blog post, and include social media links!

Using LinkedIn Groups for Cold Outreach

LinkedIn Groups offer a treasure trove of opportunities for cold outreach. These private spaces within LinkedIn allow members to connect, engage, and network around shared interests or topics. But how exactly can you utilize these groups for cold outreach? By identifying relevant groups and actively engaging in group discussions.

Identifying and Joining Relevant Groups

With over 2 million LinkedIn Groups, the first step is identifying groups that align with your niche and professional interests. This requires a good understanding of your target audience and their interests. It also involves evaluating the activity level within a group, as this can indicate how engaged the members are and the potential for meaningful networking.

Do not directly sell in a group. Contribute value to the group, engage in conversations, and become known as an authority.

To find and join a LinkedIn group,

1. Enter a keyword or text that describes the group in the search bar.

2. Select Groups from the dropdown.

3. Use the advanced search option to filter groups.

4. Select a group and read it's content to decide if you want to join.

5. To join, click Request to Join.

Engaging in Group Discussions

Once you’ve identified relevant groups, it’s time to start engaging in group discussions. This can involve joining existing conversations, commenting on posts, or even starting your own discussions. The aim is to establish your reputation as a trusted leader and active group participant. But remember, always review and comply with the group’s rules before participating.

Monitoring Prospect Activity for Engagement Opportunities

By monitoring your prospects' LinkedIn activities, you can find opportunities to engage with them. This might involve reacting to their posts or congratulating them on their achievements.

Reacting to Prospect Posts

Reacting to a prospect’s posts is a simple yet effective way to catch their attention. It shows that you’re not just interested in selling them something but that you’re genuinely interested in what they have to say. So, don’t just scroll past your prospect’s posts. Take a moment to read them and react. Some ways you can react to their posts include:

• Liking their post

• Adding an insightful comment to their post

• Sharing their post

• Tagging them in a relevant post

By engaging with your prospects in this way, you can start building a relationship and establishing yourself as someone they can trust and rely on.

Engaging consistently on LinkedIn also raises your status with LinkedIn's ranking algorithms. That means your posts and articles will rank higher and be displayed to more contacts and with greater frequency.

Congratulating Prospects on Achievements

Everyone loves a bit of recognition. So, when you see a prospect celebrating an achievement, take a moment to congratulate them. It’s a fast, simple gesture that can go a long way in building a relationship. Just make sure to personalize your congratulatory message by acknowledging specific details of the achievement.

Following Up on Unresponsive Prospects

We’ve all experienced it. You have sent an impeccably crafted message to a prospect, but received no response. So, what’s the next step? Do you give up and move on to the next prospect? Not quite! This is where follow-ups come in. You can increase your chances of getting a response by timing your follow-up messages and adjusting your approach.

Remember, every contact faces their work overload, internal problems, travel schedule, budget limits, and a thousand other distractions. If they don't immediately answer and you send a well-crafted message, keep trying.

Timing Your Follow-Up Messages

When it comes to follow-up messages, timing is key. You don’t want to come across as pushy, but you also don’t want your message to be forgotten. So, it's recommended that you wait at least three business days after the initial outreach before sending a follow-up message.

And remember, limit your cold and follow-up emails to no more than three to avoid appearing annoying or pushy when trying to obtain contact details.

Adjusting Your Approach

In addition to timing your follow-up messages, it's important to adjust your approach. This might involve simplifying your call to action, creating a compelling subject line, or even altering your message format. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for the recipient to respond.

In your marketing efforts, it’s important to experiment with different approaches, such as using an alternate user agent string, to see what works best for your target audience.

Tracking and Analyzing Your Cold Outreach Efforts

Lastly, we delve into tracking and analyzing your cold outreach efforts. Like any other marketing strategy, keeping track of your results and analyzing your performance is paramount. This involves measuring your response rates and refining your messaging and tactics based on your findings.

Measuring Response Rates

Measuring your response rates is an essential part of tracking your cold outreach efforts and lead generation. This involves tracking:

• The number of messages sent

• Responses received

• Leads generated

• Conversions achieved

Most email automation tools, such as Kajabi and HubSpot, can help measure response rates. These tools can track email activity, including opens and replies, giving you valuable insights into your performance.

Refining Your Messaging and Tactics

Once you’ve tracked your results, it’s time to analyze them and refine your messaging and tactics. This might involve:

• Tailoring your content and tone to the recipient’s profile and preferences

• Experimenting with different subject lines, email copy, and timing

• Conducting A/B tests of your calls to action

You can optimize your results and improve your overall effectiveness by continuously analyzing and refining your email marketing strategy.

Remember, continuous improvement and adaptation are the key to successful cold email outreach.

Summary

In conclusion, LinkedIn cold outreach is a powerful tool for connecting with prospects and driving meaningful business conversations.

But to make it work you must be highly targeted and craft messages that pinpoint the contacts pains, problems, purpose/pursuits, and profits.

Optimizing your LinkedIn profile, building a targeted network, and crafting personalized connection requests can significantly increase the effectiveness of your LinkedIn cold outreach. So, why not take these proven strategies and start transforming your LinkedIn cold outreach today?

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I write an outreach message on LinkedIn?

To write a successful LinkedIn outreach message, find common ground, target their high-value pain, problem, purpose, or profit, keep it short, and give them a reason to reply. Don't forget to follow up to increase your chances of getting a response.

What is the success rate of LinkedIn cold outreach?

The success rate of LinkedIn cold outreach can vary, with the average response rate of cold emails being between 1-5%. However, personalizing the outreach and finding common ground can significantly improve the success rate.

What is the best cold outreach message on LinkedIn?

The best cold outreach message on LinkedIn combines the mention of a mutual connection with high-value information the receiver can use.

Does cold outreach on LinkedIn work?

Yes, cold outreach on LinkedIn can be effective. 82% of B2B marketers achieve their greatest successes through the platform. It can help build relationships and generate quality leads.