When it comes to finding warm leads on LinkedIn, one of the fastest and easiest ways to do it is by looking at who’s already paying attention to you on the platform.
LinkedIn Followers = Warm Leads
With LinkedIn’s “Follow” feature, you have a ready-made list of individuals all over the world who have essentially “opted in” to follow all your status updates and articles on the platform.
Now, to be clear, I’m not talking about people you’re already connected to (1st Level Connections).
Rather, I’m talking about people you are not connected to, but who found you one way or another on LinkedIn, and were so impressed they decided to follow everything you post and do on the platform.
I don’t know about you, but those are people I want to be talking to!
How To Find Your LinkedIn Followers
Start by going to this link to be taken to your list of LinkedIn followers.
Or, from your profile page, click on “Manage Followers” to be taken to the same area:
Once you do this, you end up on your “Followers” page. Click on the third item, which displays the number of people following you on LinkedIn:
Once you load this page, you’ll be looking at hundreds (if not thousands!) of warm leads.
Here’s why: LinkedIn sorts this list of people based on those who have told the platform they want to “follow” your status updates, articles, etc., but they are not yet connected to you directly.
Even better, LinkedIn sorts the list from top to bottom, starting with the people who have most recently started to follow you, meaning your “warmest” and “newest” leads are right at the top of the screen.
Strategically Connect With Your Followers
The next step is easy – just click on each individual person’s name, and LinkedIn will open a new tab that displays the person’s profile.
Take note, you can see on each person’s thumbnail box (A) How many followers he or she has and (B) Most important, what his or her job title is:
Needless to say, you’ll want to reach out and connect with people who (A) Have a lot of followers, meaning they have a large LinkedIn network themselves, and (B) Who have the type of job title that makes them an ideal prospect or potential client for you.
Once you identify someone who looks like a great lead, just click on his or her name, and LinkedIn will open a new tab with his or her individual profile pulled up.
Take note – if the person is 2nd degree (meaning you both know some of the same people on LinkedIn), you’ll see a big “Connect” button right below his or her name and photo.
If the person is a 3rd degree LinkedIn prospect (meaning you don’t have any connections in common yet), you’ll need to click on the three dots “…” to the right of his or her head shot in order to find a drop down menu with a “Connect” option.
Here’s an example of what it looks like:
(It’s important to clarify this point about how to connect, because if you hit a person’s profile page and he or she is 3rd degree, you will not see the big, blue “Connect” button. Instead you’ll have to click on those three little dots “…” to get a drop down menu and connect that way.)
Use This Script to Connect + Gather Insights
Once you’re ready to connect, invite the person to connect and (important!) choose “Add a Note” to personalize your invitation.
Here’s the exact script I use to do dozens of these invites each day:
Hi [NAME]! Thanks for following me here on LinkedIn, and would love to connect directly as well. Also, how did you find my profile and information? Always curious to hear how others come across my info here on LinkedIn. Cheers and look forward to connecting!
The reason I use this script is to find out what’s working for me in terms of “inbound” lead generation on LinkedIn.
Are people finding me via general LinkedIn Searches?
Did they come across an article I posted that a friend shared?
Was it a status update?
A LinkedIn Group I posted in?
Something else?
You want to know how people are finding you on LinkedIn, so you can do more of what’s working!
Bonus Step – Personalize Your Invites!
Since you have someone’s profile page open anyway, take a few seconds to scan it for a conversation starter or ice breaker.
Look at where the person lives, where he or she went to school, or something he or she mentions on her profile.
In this instance, I can make a comment about the great Zig Ziglar quote this individual has on her profile page:
Here’s how I would personalize my invitation to the person in this example:
See how fast and easy this is?
The reason you want to personalize your invitations (mentioning where someone lives or went to school, etc.) is that it breaks the ice and sets the stage for an ongoing, back-and-forth conversation.
People feel compelled to reply when you ask a question about the weather, or where they live, or if they’re a fan of the sports teams of the university they attended, etc.
In fact, LinkedIn wants this to happen!
LinkedIn Messaging = Lead Generation
Now, once someone accepts your invite to connect, he or she gets moved directly into your LinkedIn message inbox:
Even better, LinkedIn pulls the text of your personal note into the message, so you now have context for a conversation with that person.
Want More Clients and Customers? Use LinkedIn Messages!
I cannot state this with enough emphasis: LinkedIn’s revamped Messaging experience is now the fastest, easiest and most effective way to generate leads and add new clients using the platform.
Your LinkedIn inbox not only gives you the entire history of any messages you’ve exchanged with a person (again, context for your conversations!), it’s done in a back-and-forth, rapid-fire style similar to text messages.
LinkedIn has even added a “green dot” next to a person’s name and face to let you know when he or she was last active on the platform:
And when someone is “Active Now,” that means you can have what amounts to a real-time, live conversation:
Are you getting excited yet?
Can’t you see how amazing it is to know, in real-time, if a warm prospect you just connected to is live on LinkedIn, and available for you to message back-and-forth with?
More Scripts to Use for Your 1-on-1 LinkedIn Messages
Now, knowing what to say inside those 1-on-1 messages is the next big step!
After all, it’s one thing to find a warm lead, get connected, and then break the ice with a personalized note.
However, far too many people make the mistake of immediately trying to ask for someone’s time, attention or (worst of all) money right up front.
Remember, you don’t try and marry someone on your first (professional) date!
Instead, there is a very specific sequence of messages you must utilize and implement in order to take someone from new connection to paying client.
There is a way to warm someone up, to break the ice, to bring value, to build rapport and trust, and then to ask for his or her time, attention and/or money.
In fact, I have a whole sequence of scripted messages you can use for it!
You can get instant access to my entire “Messaging Magic” sequence and a free online training session at no cost by clicking the link or image below:
REGISTER NOW: Free LinkedIn Training Webinar + Messaging Magic Scripts & Sequences
Here’s how it works: Once you register for this free LinkedIn Riches training webinar, I’ll give you a copy of my “Messaging Magic” sequence that I use for these specific situations.
See you on the inside!
