If you’re trying to generate sales appointments or demos using LinkedIn, then you’ve come to the right place. Many LinkedIn users in the technology space state that one of their biggest challenges is understanding how to use the platform to generate leads. But we’re going to fix that.
We see Dux-Soup users in the software and technology space getting results and ROI from LinkedIn daily. It’s not about the technology first and foremost, it’s actually all about having the right process, and meticulously sticking to it, with consistency.
✅Does $1.6 million in revenue from LinkedIn leads sound good to you?
✅Would you like to book over 100 appointments every month from LinkedIn with senior decision makers keen to talk to you?
Well you can. All you need to do is follow this methodology. We’ve curated a 6-step template proven to generate qualified sales appointments and demos that convert. It’s been taken from users in the software, SaaS, technology, and IT space who have spent weeks/months testing different outreach approaches and messages. We’ve taken the very best bits and combined them into an easy-to-follow process.
Dux-Soup Tip: You can automate the execution of the actions in this template with Dux-Soup. We’ll cover how to do this at the bottom, along with a link to a free Dux-Soup trial, if you want to save time and focus on closing your leads instead!
Note: If you’re serious about booking 100 meetings a month, or even 20-30, we strongly advise a Sales Navigator account to run the levels of activity required to get there. We’ll work with Sales Navigator here, but we’ll give pointers as we go on how you can adapt the template for a free LinkedIn plan.
Ready? Then let’s go. And remember to adapt any of the steps as you feel to fit your tone, your style and your objective.
Step 1: Connection invitation
💡The only objective with a connection invitation is to get your prospect to accept your invitation. There’s no selling required at this stage, we don’t even want to mention what you do here because that’s about you, right? We simply want to invite the prospect into our network.
The best way to improve acceptance rates is to show a common interest with the person you’re trying to connect to.
If you’re in the technology space, let’s hinge off the back of common technologies used, issues faced, an industry event, or current trends, as examples.
Here are some templates which demonstrate how you can use common interests in your connection invitation:
- Hi [first name], looking to connect with others in the [industry] space to keep up-to-date. Can we connect?
- Hi [first name], I noticed you discussing [topic]. It’s important for me too, it would be great to connect.
- [first name], I came across you in the [LinkedIn group name] group, I’d be happy to connect.
- [first name], I liked your post on [topic] and share your point of view. It’s a nice piece.
- Hi [first name], looking to connect with people that work with [technology name].
There are many ways to adjust this connection message, but here are some tips:
- Keep it short, there’s no need to over-explain why you want to connect, just show a common interest. Many of our users have tested extensively and short, concise messages generally outperform longer messages.
- LinkedIn is all about social, so you don’t want to come across like you are about to sell to them.
- If you have a free plan, you’ll only be able to send 5 personalized connection messages a month, but you can send around 100 connection requests a week without a note. Sometimes this can be the best option if you can’t come up with a relevant message.
Tip: Some users find that a blank connection message works best. If you find it hard to get your message right, try a blank invitation. Work to achieve a 40%+ connection acceptance rate, and adjust your message until you find what works best. We’ll show you how to measure this in the ‘automating your LinkedIn outreach’ section.
Step 2: Follow-up message (1-7 hours after connecting)
Once someone accepts your connection invitation and becomes a 1st-degree connection, you can send them a message. Great news - you now have the opportunity to start the relationship.
💡This is still NOT a time to start selling to them - or you will rapidly find they remove themselves from your network. Act with respect and courtesy. The trick with your message is to offer value; an insight, or a reason to engage.
Tip: If you have a long sales cycle with a high-value offering, you want to engage prospects slowly with quality conversation. You’re in this for the long-term, so a relationship nurture type of approach is best; you may need to take a few steps before you reach your end goal. We’re focusing on generating appointments/demos here, but your process in gaining an appointment could look like the following:
- Make a connection
- Gain insight/feedback
- Get views/thoughts on content
- Invite to an event/webinar
- Secure virtual meeting/demo
- Book a face-to-face appointment
The first follow-up message can be the hardest to create as it sets the scene for the rest of your communications. If we’re at the point where we want to gain insight and open up a conversation, here are some follow-up ideas:
- Great to have you in my network [first name]. Quick question - do you know of any good places to network with other [job role] in the [industry]? I’d like to chat to peers, where there is open conversation, if you can suggest anything?
- Thanks for connecting [first name]. I’m curious about your thoughts on using AI and automation for lead generation [or alternative industry topic]. Have you seen any examples of it working well? I’m trying to get some insights from people in the industry, and I’d appreciate your thoughts. Alternatively a steer towards any colleagues with this on their agenda that I could discuss this openly with?
- Hey [first name], I’m hearing noise about using automation and AI in the lead generation process and how the [industry] uses it to gain an advantage. Just wondering if this is on your agenda and if you’d be open to sharing thoughts?
Step 3: Follow-up message (+3 to 4 days after the previous message, if no response)
💡At this point, we can start to share some insights. Regardless of the approach used in step 2 to open up a conversation, if you haven’t received a response, let’s now steer the conversation to providing something useful that can help address the common pain points in the market.
- Hey [first name], Automation/AI in the lead generation industry is making huge leaps forward. There are some genius ideas and use cases coming from people I’ve been chatting to in the industry. I summarised the best ones here and I thought you might be interested in taking a look. [link to article]
Step 4: Follow-up message (+7 to 10 days after the previous message, if no response)
💡Now we can use events as a hook. It could be that someone else is hosting an industry event, or you want to host your own. Let’s use this step to determine whether a connection is facing the challenges we’re hinging off, and establish whether there is any intent to find a solution. An event or webinar is a soft commitment but provides us with the details of people with intent.
- [First name], just wondering whether you’ll be at [event name]? It would be great to grab a coffee.
(If they do confirm they are attending you could ask what sessions they’re particularly interested in).
- [First name], based on some of the feedback from the [industry] sector/my article, we’re running an event on the [date] on ‘How to Harness AI and Automation in Your Lead Generation process’. I’d love you to join. Here’s the registration link and more details:[URL]
- [First name], we’re sending bottles of XYZ whiskey to select [job title] for an exclusive networking event discussing AI and Automation in the lead gen process. It would be great to have you in attendance [link].
Step 5: Close for the meeting (+12 to 14 days after the previous message, if no response)
💡It’s now time to ask for a meeting. We’ve warmed the prospect up, demonstrated a common interest, shared some content of value, and built some credibility. But there’s still work to do here. We need to give them a reason to meet with us. And this is where you need to think about the benefits of having a meeting.
Here are some examples:
- Hi [First name], happy to jump on a call and walk you through how our tool generated $1.6 million in new revenue for someone in the [industry] sector. You could use the same approach for your business. Here’s a link to my diary so you can book straight in.
- Hi [First name], happy to share how a user in the [industry] sector is booking 100 meetings a week with senior decision-makers in enterprise organizations if you want to jump on a quick call with me. Here’s my calendar to book a time.
Step 6: Second request for a meeting (+7 days after the previous message, if no response)
💡Let’s now make it clear that this is the last chance for a prospect to gain valuable insight from us. Often response rates are highest when you make it clear that this is the last time you will reach out to someone. Let’s give them a final chance to book a meeting:
- [First name], I value having you in my network, and haven’t heard back so just thought I’d check for a final time whether you’d be interested in hearing how others in the [industry] sector are getting results from LinkedIn. Here’s my diary link:
If this isn’t for you then that’s completely OK, I look forward to engaging with your posts.
So there you have it, our easy to use 6-step template to book high quality sales appointments. By using a common interest, being relevant to their sector, demonstrating credibility and adding value you’ll soon be engaging with prospects on LinkedIn.
And remember we said you can automate all this with Dux-Soup? Well here’s how.
Automating your LinkedIn outreach
Get our free 2-week Turbo trial. Alternatively, if you’re looking for optimal results, purchase a Cloud license that has all the settings managed for you and delivers the highest level of LinkedIn automation power.
Step 1: Install Dux-Soup
Follow this short 1 minute video on how to install Dux-Soup.
Step 2: Set up your campaign in the Dux-Dash
Create a campaign in the ‘drip campaigns’ section of the Dux-Dash. Follow our video tutorial on how to do this, or read our article: How to create smart LinkedIn lead generation campaigns.
Step 3: Find your prospects on Sales Nav/LinkedIn/Recruiter
If you’re not expertly skilled at searching for your ideal prospects on LinkedIn, our article: ‘How to search and filter with LinkedIn and Dux-Soup’ offers tips on using filters, Boolean searches and RegEx to find your perfect prospects.
Step 4: Enroll
All you need to do now is enroll your list into your Dux-Soup campaign. Follow our tutorial video: How to enroll prospects into drip campaigns.
Now Dux-Soup will automate all of your campaign activity, sending LinkedIn messages and executing actions at the perfect time delays, personalizing your outreach messages as it goes.
Step 5: Monitor responses and respond manually
Here’s the neat thing. As soon as someone responds to your messages, you’ll see the response in your Sales Nav or LinkedIn inbox, just the same as if you were manually sending each message. You can then follow up with them and they automatically drop out of your Dux-Soup campaign. No awkward follow-up messages here!
To be a Pro: Step 6: Compare different campaign messaging
In the Funnel Flow, you will see how each of your campaigns is performing. This means you can test two campaigns against each other, see which one is performing best and use that one moving forwards. Campaign optimization, A/B testing and data insights mean that you’ll be a Pro in no time - generating more results from LinkedIn than ever before.
Need that free trial link again? Just click the button below.
Additional resources:
How to use events to secure sales appointments
How to book over 100 sales appointments a month using LinkedIn and Dux-Soup
How to go from 0 to 350 appointments in 3 months
