Social selling: How to generate leads from LinkedIn

LinkedIn provides a powerful opportunity to start conversations with potential customers. Social selling on the platform allows you to be discovered by and develop trust with potential customers.

This blog post explains how to develop a structured approach to social selling, including advice from three of Enterprise Nation’s expert advisers.

Optimising your LinkedIn presence

The first step is to make sure your LinkedIn presence provides the best chance of converting attention into useful conversations.

Jen Corcoran, founder of My Super Connector, says that starts with your profile:

“Look at your profile and ask yourself, ‘is it clear from my banner, headshot and headline what I do?’”

Clear beats clever when it comes to headline writing.

Jen stresses that you need to include who you are, who you help and the transformation you offer.

“You don't want to have a vague start to your headline because people will see the first few words when they’re commenting.”

Her LinkedIn headline currently starts with “LinkedIn Lead Jen 😉”.

Creating great content

You have to post regularly if you want to sell on LinkedIn.

The first thing to remember is that you need to actively seek out and attract people who match your ideal customer profile – it’s not just about reach, it’s about reaching the right people.

A simple way to do that is to focus on a particular client when you’re writing your posts, advises Rachael Howourth:

“Imagine you're speaking to one specific person with one very specific problem. Even if that means that you've got to repeat that post.”

Generating compelling ideas

Wondering what to post about? You need to put yourself in your customers’ shoes.

Here are 10 questions to ask about your customers to generate LinkedIn content ideas:

1. What is it that keeps them awake at night?

2. What is it that they don't have the time to do?

3. What small win could you share that would make them feel seen or inspired?

4. What mistakes do people make before finding your product or service?

5. What moment usually triggers someone to reach out for help?

6. What emotions do your customers feel before and after working with you?

7. What common misconceptions are there about your product or service?

8. What story can you tell that shows the impact you’ve had on clients?

9. What questions keep coming up with existing clients?

10. What topics do people in your industry bring up at networking events?

The goal is to educate, entertain and engage. Ideally, you want to connect with potential customers on an emotional level too, explains Rachael.

“What makes them reach out won't be logic, it will be emotion. It will be a feeling that they have.”

Moving people from attention to intention

The first goal of posting is to generate awareness. To make sure potential customers think of you when they’re faced with the challenge you solve.

Once you’re on their radar, your posts will help you develop trust and give you an opportunity to start a conversation.

Emma Watson, managing director of Specky & Ginge, explains that the goal is to move people from attention to intention as seamlessly as you possibly can.

Here is where you can include content that’s more sales-led. For example, providing more detail on a particular topic, sharing case studies or talking about a specific service you offer.

Getting over your fear of posting

Posting on LinkedIn might feel daunting, but it’s important. And, that might require a change of attitude, says Jen.

“A lot of introverts don't want to come across as salesy. And the thing is obviously, if you are in business, you have to fall in love with sales and fall in love with social selling.”

Engaging with potential customers

LinkedIn posts help you start discussions, direct messages are where these opportunities develop into conversations.

Here’s where the benefits of social selling really kick in, says Emma.

“So, now it's turned into a conversation, maybe a direct message, maybe you take it off social media. But that's more than likely going to turn into a client because you started building that relationship. That's exactly what social media is for. It's a relationship-building tool.”

The key is you’re starting a conversation. Don’t just send them a long description of what you sell in that first message.

Show a genuine interest in what they do by asking a relevant question or sharing something specific or useful to them.

Building a sustainable routine

The amount of time you should invest in LinkedIn depends on the impact it can have on your sales process and the time you have available.

There’s lots of advice pushing people to post every day, but often that’s not realistic, and it’s better to post less and be more consistent.

Rachael says the more visible you are on social media the better, but stresses that it has to be sustainable.

“The more times you're visible, the better, but you don't want do that at the detriment of your self-care, you don't want to burn out, and you need to make sure that it is quality content.”

Commit to spending a manageable amount of time on the platform and set a review date. Three months should be enough time to see if your strategy is starting to work.

Jen’s PACT framework provides an easy way to check you’re doing the right types of activity.

1. Presence: Build a clear, optimised profile and company page.

2. Action: Take consistent, proactive steps to grow your network.

3. Connect: Use content, comments and DMs to build relationships.

4. Track: Keep a follow-up system to turn conversations into clients.

Related resources about sales

Do you want to continue your learning journey? These articles will help you learn more about sales.

• How introvert founders can generate leads on LinkedIn (Enterprise Nation webinar)

• Growing your business using social selling techniques (Enterprise Nation webinar)

• Selling on social media: The three-step conversion formula (Enterprise Nation webinar)

• How to create a sales strategy for your small business (Enterprise Nation article)

• Seven steps to fight your fear of selling and build confidence (Enterprise Nation article)