Effective prospecting on LinkedIn through manual prospecting (Social Selling)

LinkedIn, the essential platform for B2B prospecting

You can either attract clients to you or prospect for them. There are well-known methods: making phone calls, sending letters, knocking on doors, sending emails, etc.

In B2B, thanks to LinkedIn messaging, this platform has become essential for reaching out to prospects and securing meetings or even clients.

There are two main approaches to prospecting on the platform: either manually or with prospecting tools. In this article, we will explore the main differences between the two and explain why manual prospecting is highly effective, as well as how to apply it to your business.

What is LinkedIn prospecting?

LinkedIn allows you to find qualified prospects, engage in conversations, and build long-term relationships through precise targeting and personalized communication.

Why is LinkedIn so effective for prospecting?

• Access to a base of qualified professional users.
• Advanced tools to filter and segment your targets.
• The ability to share content to establish your expertise.

Manual prospecting vs automated prospecting with tools

Manual prospecting: advantages and limitations

Definition: Manual prospecting involves performing a series of actions by hand: collecting information about prospects, writing, and interacting with them one by one. This is called “setting” or social selling.

• Advantages: Ultra-personalized approach, better understanding of prospects, drastically higher results, higher closing rates because the prospect has a good impression of you due to your personalized approach.
• Limitations: Time-consuming, difficult to scale.

Automated prospecting with tools: advantages and limitations

• Definition: Automated prospecting involves using a tool that automatically sends messages on your behalf to a larger volume of prospects.
  • Advantages: Time-saving, high volume, automation of repetitive tasks (messages, follow-ups).
  • Limitations: Risk of losing personalization and potential sanctions by LinkedIn. Lower performance. Lower closing rates because the prospect has a worse impression of you due to the automated message.

Comparing the two approaches: manual vs automated with numbers

Manual prospecting:

• According to HelpIn, a 100% human approach to LinkedIn prospecting achieves an average response rate of 40% and a meeting booking rate of 11%.

Automated prospecting:

• According to Hyper Marketing, a successful automated prospecting campaign using tools like Waalaxy typically has an acceptance rate of at least 30% and a response rate of at least 10%.
• Pharow reports the response rates for automated prospecting messages as follows:
  • 5-10%: underperforming campaign
  • 10-20%: acceptable but improvable results
  • 20-30%: good performance
  • ≥ 30%: excellent performance

When to choose one method over the other?

• Opt for a manual method for prospects with whom you need to build a longer-term relationship (marketing agency, IT consultant, etc.).
• Prefer automation for large-scale campaigns or large databases, more effective if your clients see you as a commodity (office supplies, printing services, etc.).

The key steps of social selling

Step 1: Profiling, gathering information about your target

Before reaching out to your target and trying to engage in a conversation to secure a meeting, it’s essential to know who you’re talking to.

Here’s where you can gather information about your target:

• Their LinkedIn profile (cover photo, bio, experience, posts, etc.)
• The company page where they currently work (look at the number of employees, sector, published content, etc.)
• The target’s website (product page, legal mentions, etc.)
• Other platforms (social media, Google, etc.)

You aim to understand who this person is, what their role in the company is, and what their current challenges might be. With this information, you’ll be able to send an effective first message.

Step 2: Sending the first message to your target on linkedIn

You only get one chance to make a good first impression. Your first message will be the most important, as it sets the tone for the conversation. Although many of these messages will go unread or unanswered, the more personalized and high-quality it is, the more you’ll maximize your chances.

To send a first message manually, you need to do three main things:

1. Remember and summarize the information about the prospect.
2. Imagine an “angle” to catch the prospect’s attention.
3. Write the message.

There are countless ways to craft a first message.

Here are some examples of first messages ⬇️:

A prospect comments on your post

Hello {{first name}},

“Thank you for your comment on my post about {{topic}}.

I’d like to dive deeper into this topic by directly answering one of your questions in an upcoming post.

So, I’m curious: is there a question on this topic I haven’t yet answered?”

A prospect connects with you

“Hello {{First name}},

Thanks for the connection request.

Just curious: what caught your attention and made you want to connect with me? 😊

PS: Great work on what you do, I took a look at your profile.”

A prospect connects with you

“Hello {{first name}},

I loved your latest post on {{post topic}}. This topic resonates with me because {{why it matters to you}}.

You’ve earned a new follower, and I can’t wait to read your future posts! 😊”

A prospect connects with you

Hello {{first name}},

“I noticed you’ve visited my profile several times recently.

So, could you tell me what brought you to my profile? 😊

A - You visited out of curiosity

B - You were looking for information?

C - You wanted to contact me, but I was quicker than you? 😁

D - You wanted to send me an invitation?

Just respond with A, B, C, or D, it’s enough.”

These messages do not contain a meeting proposal in the first message, which is often a more effective approach.

These examples will generate more results when tailored to each prospect.

Step 3: The art of conversation to generate leads

Before engaging in a conversation, it’s essential to set an objective: what’s the goal of this exchange? Here are some examples:

• Offer a free audit
• Network
• Secure a prospecting meeting
• Engage with your audience
• Etc.

To have conversations that generate meetings, here are our recommendations:

• Keep messages fairly short.
• Match the length of your messages to the responses from your prospect.
• Time your proposal to take action properly—not too slow, not too fast.
• Use the same type of vocabulary as your counterpart.
• Be very responsive in your replies.

The theory isn’t very complicated; practice will make all the difference. It’s up to you to iterate regularly, identify which messages work, and capitalize on them! 🏄‍♂️

Tip: Take a screenshot of each conversation with a prospect you’ve secured a meeting with.

This will help you build an internal document that shows the types of messages that work well for your niche, and it will make it easier for you to delegate this part to a setter later.

Goals and steps to achieve progress

Short term: Level 1 LinkedIn setter - beginner

If you’re a beginner, you’ll likely send few messages, and the relevance of what you send will often need improvement. Common mistakes include poor targeting, conversations that don’t lead to meetings, and overly sales-driven messages.

Medium term: Level 2 LinkedIn setter - intermediate

You’ve had some practice and have noticed that certain types of approaches or conversations work better than others. You’re starting to get results and some meetings, but the volume is still too low, and you’re spending a lot of time prospecting.

Long term: Level 3 LinkedIn setter - expert

Here, not only do you send a daily volume of messages consistently, but you also research quickly and send your messages just as fast, within minutes. You’ve sent so many messages that it becomes almost instinctive. Congratulations, you’re an expert and have many meetings. Aim for 20 to 80 meetings generated per month, depending on the niche.

Common mistakes in social selling

• Mindset issues
  • Fear of prospecting
  • Fear of being seen as a salesperson
  • Fear of taking action
• Lack of velocity
  • Sending too few messages
  • Inconsistent prospecting
• Lack of judgment
  • Poor information gathering on the prospect
  • Not understanding the prospect’s universe
• Unconvincing first message
  • It’s too salesy
  • It’s not personalized
  • It doesn’t grab the reader’s attention
  • It doesn’t make it easy to respond
  • It’s too long
• Conversations don’t lead to results
  • Too slow to respond to conversations
  • Lack of mirroring with your prospect
  • Proposing a meeting too soon
  • Proposing a meeting too late

Most setters who practice long enough will get good results, as long as they iterate quickly on their mistakes. Most beginner setters fail on the mindset part, so make sure to stay mentally strong because prospecting is never an easy task!