How to find prospects on LinkedIn in 2024? Complete guide

Finding prospects on LinkedIn is a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack...except that on the platform, the haystack is a network of more than 1 billion people, including 35 million in France. 

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Just that. 

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These figures (which, let's admit, are a bit dizzying) are not there to scare you; they serve to show that each company that wishes to succeed in its prospecting must have the right method for finding prospects on LinkedIn. 

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That’s good, the platform (and the complementary tools) is made for that! 

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In this article, we will show you how to become the prospecting superhero on LinkedIn: profile optimization, content strategies, automation...you will obtain the keys (or magnets) to attract prospects to you. 

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Here we go 👇

Understanding the value of LinkedIn for finding prospects

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There are several channels for carrying out commercial prospecting: 

• Emails
• Physical meetings and events
• The telephone 
• Social networks. 

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LinkedIn falls into the latter category. The difference with other social networks is that the platform East intended for professional world. 

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This is the perfect place to find your prospects. 

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For what ? Because they are all there. 

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Very often, each person (from the tertiary sector) who enters the world of work will decide, at some point, to create their LinkedIn profile, for many reasons: looking for an opportunity, connecting, publishing content, recruiting, etc. 

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You will therefore find all types of company profiles: decision-makers, managers, marketing managers, HR... each person is present to defend their profile in the business world. 

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LinkedIn is full of very interesting features for commercial prospecting: 

• the prospect research by sector of activity, role, location, etc.
• the possibility of publish content pertinent
• the fact of view behavior of your prospects

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If, on top of that, you are a LinkedIn Premium and Sales Navigator member, you put all the chances on your side to find your prospects. 

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Thanks to LinkedIn, the general vision of salespeople has changed: you are no longer a “forcer” who wants to sell at all costs. You put in place the right strategy to streamline relationships and attract prospects to you. 

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Strategies for finding prospects on LinkedIn

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LinkedIn is like selling at the Saturday morning market: the more connections you have, the more customers your booth will attract. Having a solid network is not just an address book, it is an ecosystem of opportunities: 

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• More visibility 

LinkedIn is the perfect tool to be visible: it is a “viral” social network.

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That is to say, when you create relevant content, your network will see it first, and if the content is liked, it will be shown to strangers, not yet in your network.

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• References and recommendations

At the market, word of mouth is king! On LinkedIn, it's the same. Your recommendations can convince your prospects further.

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• Create relevant content 

If you walk past the stand and the seller doesn't say a word, you won't want to buy. 

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On the other hand, I'm sure you know sellers who talk loudly, are funny and never stop talking: their stand is always packed! 

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In our case, creating content on LinkedIn will attract your prospects. They will think of you when they have a need that you can meet. 

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• Collaboration Opportunities 

Partnerships are an excellent strategy for developing your network and visibility. Your network becomes a strategic resource: ideal for finding your prospects on LinkedIn! 

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• A solid network = maximum engagement 

You know our passion for building relationships: you MUST engage with your network: comment on posts, send private messages, publish in groups…an engaged prospect is a prospect half in their basket! 🛒

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As you will have understood, the most effective strategy for finding prospects on LinkedIn is building an ultra-solid network! 

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Concretely, how it works: 

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Optimize your LinkedIn profile 

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Your profile is your fruit and vegetable stand. The first impression you make will encourage the prospect to approach you or not. 

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Here are the 5 points to prioritize as a priority (what your prospects see when they discover your profile): 

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On the page of our CEO Thibault, you will find: 

1. A banner presenting the company (logo, slogan, some visuals) 
2. A clear, high-quality profile photo 
3. A profile title simply presenting Thibault's role at Humanlinker  
4. The company page logo
5. A link to the website (or demo page, Calendly link, etc.) 

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If you scroll down to Thibault's profile, you will see other optimizations to make, such as: 

• a description in the part Info
• A selection of posts to highlight, 
• Your experiences and training
• Your recommendations. 

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The basics of prospecting on LinkedIn

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Prospect, yes, but who? What ? When ? Or ? How ? 

I'll explain it to you in 4 points 👇

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The target

Identify your target prospect and dissect their behavior: what are their needs, what are they interested in, which approach does they respond best to?

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Advanced search

To find prospects on LinkedIn, nothing better than the advanced features of the platform! You can filter according to the criteria you want: location, position, company, etc.

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The messages 

Send personalized messages: A generic message is a waste of time, when you could personalize your approach and give a good impression to the prospect. 

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(here are examples of messages in this article) 

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Besides, this is the main functionality of Humanlinker : the tool analyzes your target prospects and offers you personalized content to send to them, personalized and written in a few clicks. Try it for free here !  

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Listening 

A good salesperson is a salesperson who keeps quiet and listens! On LinkedIn, the idea is to ask questions via message, or engage with your prospects' content to show your interest. 

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Create content on LinkedIn to be visible to your target audience

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“Content is the new Sales” and in French, it gives “Content is the sale”. 

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In 2024, too many companies still do not see content as a sales asset. 

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Content is a document that does the work for you: it exists to answer your prospects' questions, so that, once you organize a video, they already have all the answers in mind and they will potentially be more qualified. 

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Creating content has become essential in sales, especially on LinkedIn: 

• Publish content regularly : the advantage of the social network is that you can create content that meets the obstacles/needs/challenges of your target. 
• Regular posting positions you as expert or reference in your field > you gain points of trust with your prospect!
• This visibility and credibility will bring you new prospects, naturally. 

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A virtuous circle that you absolutely must use today!

Using LinkedIn Groups to Find Prospects

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Like on Facebook, there are common interest groups on LinkedIn: there must surely be several of them with your prospects!

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To find them, simply: 

• Sort the groups most relevant to you
• Participate in discussions: don’t hesitate to take the first step by engaging in publications
• Identify: you can, for example, identify prospects who ask questions related to your expertise, and why not send a private message answering their questions
• Be active by sharing content: new resources, sharing already published content: bringing value to group members won't hurt! 

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And why don't you create your own LinkedIn group? I'm sure you could create a group around a specific topic that would appeal to your audience. You attract prospects like a bee attracted to its hive. 

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Tools to automate prospecting on LinkedIn

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This is all well and good, but it takes time! And we prefer to optimize time! 

The idea is therefore to automate the tasks relating to prospecting as much as possible. 

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To help you in this process, I suggest you compare different tools prospecting: 

LinkedIn Sales Navigator - Focus on the prospect

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It is today the best known, and surely one of the most essential. LinkedIn Sales Navigator gives you access to advanced features to better target your prospects.

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Main features: 

• Advanced prospect research 
• Personalized prospect list
• Sending emails directly to the platform

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Are you still targeting prospects in a very specific niche while remaining in the LinkedIn ecosystem? This tool is made for you! 

Phantombuster - Focus on the automation process

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In prospecting, we very often seek to automate the entire prospecting process. This is what Phantombuster allows you.
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Main features: 

• Automated data recovery 
• Automation of every action 

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You want to automate your prospecting 100%: don’t hesitate! 

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Waalaxy - Focus Multitasking

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With Waalaxy, you manage several channels at once, which makes multitasking prospecting very efficient.
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Main features: 

• Multi-channel campaigns
• Automating LinkedIn Connections and Messages 

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Ideal if you want to combine multiple touchpoints to reach your prospects. 

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Lemlist - Focus Emailing

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Lemlist differentiates itself by its ability to personalize emails using visuals and automate reminders. 

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Main Features: 

• Visual personalization (personalized images and videos in content)
• Automation of reminders
• Performance tracking

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If you are planning a large email traffic, I recommend Lemlist! 

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Humanlinker - Focus on personalization

Humanlinker relies on artificial intelligence to personalize the message sent to the prospect according to their context. 
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Main features: 

• AI-automated message personalization (Artificial intelligence), 
• Interaction tracking
• Automation of reminders

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If you want to personalize each of your interactions while automating your prospecting, choose Humanlinker ! 

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There are other ideas that we have dissected in this article. 

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All you have to do is make your choice! 

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Thanks to these tools, you will save time and increase the efficiency of your prospecting:

• Optimizing your organization : for example, each prospect is integrated into a specific segment
• Continuous monitoring : you know who you have already contacted/If the prospect responded/If he is more or less qualified, for each prospect. 
• Improving response rates : with automated prospecting tools, you are free to test your messages, your approaches, and adapt them to different segments. You will logically have a higher response rate thanks to these tests and strategies.

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You will have understood, automation is great! 

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Attention however, do not become a robot in your messages and send generalities to each prospect. 

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I know, it's tempting to save time. But it will fail you in the long run. 

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A personalized message is one that your reader will pay attention to. 

A personalized message will not be perceived as spam. 

A personalized message allows you to create a real connection. 

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This part is very important! 

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To send personalized messages while automating this task, use Humanlinker (which was created for that!). Humanlinker performs a complete analysis (interests, behavior on LinkedIn, etc.) of your prospects and automatically writes personalized messages to your prospects. 

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It costs €0 to test ! 

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How to convert LinkedIn leads into sales meetings? 

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Step 1: identify your prospects on LinkedIn - Done ✅

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Step 2: bring them to an appointment - 👇

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There is an important subject in prospecting: tracking. Between those who don't follow their prospect at all, and those who harass them, there is a world of possibilities. 

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After studying the subject for thousands of prospects, here are 3 points to remember: 

• Relaunch the prospect at the right time : the key is to be persistent, without being pushy. Follow-up about 7 days after the first message is a good average;
• Add an “incentive”: in each follow-up, you must share new information that will make the prospect want to respond (e.g.: a reduction, a certification, etc.);
• Personalize each reminder : the essential element. Without personalization, your follow-ups are a waste of time. 

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Let's go further for the part “personalize each reminder”: we say it again, it’s really important to create a personalized message, which makes you want to respond.

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For example : you send a first message to your prospect. He doesn't answer you. 2 days later, he publishes content. For example, you could relaunch it by discussing this content and giving your point of view. 

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Your personalized messages are the key to creating lasting relationships and having a higher response rate following your prospecting.  

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Another way to convince prospects to make an appointment is to press the value proposition : what is its main problem? What are its obstacles? 

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In this case, your prospect will immediately feel concerned by this approach. Then you could provide evidence with concrete results, proving that your solution solves the problem. 

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The value proposition is an excellent strategy when you want to pique the curiosity of the prospect. 

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Take action to find prospects on LinkedIn

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My favorite part: it's time to move on the action ! 

Let’s do a quick summary of the strategy for finding prospects: 

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• Optimize your profile : your showcase must speak to your audience, have the right keywords and reflect your expertise 
• Build your network : A strong network is more powerful than anything. Expand your network to connect with qualified prospects
• Personalize your prospecting : personalized messages are the basis! Never forget to add a touch of personalization to prove your interest
• Create content : nothing better than to be perceived as an expert and attract prospects to you
• Use automation tools wisely : no, this is not against personalization. The right tools will save you time in your organization, in your prospecting but also in your personalization. 

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LinkedIn is THE platform to use when you want to find prospects. 

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We've given you the keys, now the ball is in your court. 

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Take action now with Humanlinker. 

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The automation tool helps you personalize your messages to convert your prospects into customers. Just that. Additionally, you can test all features for 0€. Here we go!