LinkedIn is where most B2B buyers spend part of their working day. Used well, it warms up cold outreach: a prospect who has seen your name a few times is far more likely to take your call. Used badly, it's spam. The difference is consistency and relevance.
Fix your profile first
Your profile is the first thing a prospect checks after you reach out.
- Headline: who you help and with what, not just your job title. "Helping logistics teams cut admin time | Northwind" beats "Account Executive".
- Photo and banner: a clear, friendly photo; a banner that says what your company does.
- About section: three short paragraphs: who you help, the problems you solve, and how to contact you.
- Featured: a case study, a useful guide or a short video.
Build a relevant network
Connect with people who match your ideal customer profile, plus people around them: their colleagues, partners and industry voices. Quality beats quantity.
Connection note: "Hi Sam, I work with operations teams in logistics and enjoyed your post on depot planning. Would be good to connect."
Don't pitch in the connection request. It almost always gets ignored.
A 20-minute daily routine
- 5 minutes: check notifications, reply to comments and messages.
- 10 minutes: leave thoughtful comments on posts from five prospects or customers. Add an opinion or a question, not just "Great post".
- 5 minutes: send three to five personal connection requests.
Post yourself once or twice a week.
What to post
- Lessons from real customer conversations (without naming the customer)
- Mistakes you see buyers make, and how to avoid them
- Short how-tos related to the problem you solve
- Industry news, with your opinion on what it means
Write like you talk. Short paragraphs, one idea per post, no buzzwords. A useful post that 200 of the right people see beats a viral one that 20,000 of the wrong people see.
From conversation to meeting
Move to a meeting only after there's some interaction: they accepted, replied to a comment or viewed your profile.
"Thanks for connecting, Sam. You mentioned the new depot opening in spring. Teams in that situation often struggle with route planning in the first few months. Is that on your radar?"
If they reply with interest, suggest a short call with two time options. If not, keep engaging with their content and try again with something useful later.
Measure what matters
Track connection acceptance rate, replies and meetings booked from LinkedIn each month, not likes. If acceptance is under 30%, your targeting or connection note needs work.