We launched Dux-Soup Turbo earlier this year and have been pleased with the positive feedback from nearly 200 users that have given it a go. This positivism is due, in part, to the fact that we invested time in looking at the most requested features from our current users and then built this into the new product.
People were asking us for tools that could make lead generation easier. And the way to do this is to increase the areas in which you can apply automation to the lead generation lifecycle.
This has the benefit of creating the opportunity to integrate your preferred growth hacking techniques on LinkedIn with other systems that are commonly used in marketing and sales such as CRM or email marketing, as well as other social media platforms.
I’m really pleased to see that the we’ve caught the eye of the user community. We’re seeing blogs, video and other content being created by our users that highlight what they think of the new features in Dux-Soup Turbo.
Playbook #2 - Part 1
I previously highlighted that Gino Taselaar has written a ‘playbook’ for using Dux-Soup for lead generation. We’ve had great feedback on his approach to automating your LinkedIn outreach strategy to generate new leads.
He’s now written the sequel. Think of it as how Empire Strikes Back was to Star Wars – developing the key themes and giving you more of what you want – a better way to generate leads on LinkedIn. The playbook is titled: How to Get Leads for Your Event on Autopilot With Dux-Soup Turbo.
What’s more, this is just the first part of a set of three playbooks from Gino. These are invaluable resources that you should check out.
This first playbook looks at how you can use Dux-Soup Turbo to:
· Automatically build, nurture and track a list of prospects
· Use an integrated connection strategy - including advertising on Facebook and LinkedIn
· Optimise follow up messages on LinkedIn
Integrating Facebook and LinkedIn for lead generation
The playbook uses the example of a campaign to generate an audience for an event costing 850 Euros. That means you need to find and engage with a serious audience that is willing to spend money in return for attending the event. There are only 10 delegates allowed to keep the event small and interactive.
Oh, and by the way, you have 4 weeks in which to do it and not a lot of time.
“No problem” says Gino.
The first step is to use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to start building the list of potential delegates. The profile that we are looking to target will be enterprises rather than small businesses as they are more likely to have a training budget. Another key criterion is that the delegates must be local to the venue for the event.
Gino recommends targeting 2nd and 3rd degree connections - people we have not been in contact with before. Filtering on a company headcount of 200+employees weeds out all the companies that may not have the budget to pay for such an event.
Building the funnel
The funnel example that Gino uses is a brilliant way to structure your campaign as you can see what type of marketing activity is required at each stage. Once you know that, you can automate it!
The playbook sets out a simplified funnel:
1. Visit the prospects list that we defined above on LinkedIn so that they get a notification that we have been on their profile (note at this point, we are not messaging them or sending connection requests)
2. Create custom audiences on LinkedIn and Facebook and show awareness adverts for a period of two weeks
3. Add prospects to your LinkedIn network with a connection request
4. Once a connection has accepted the request, that’s when you can send them a follow-up message notifying them about the event
What I found most interesting about this approach is when we actually start inviting the prospect to the event. You can see that it’s not until stage 4 of our funnel.
This is a critical part of the overall approach that Gino recommends. Don’t go in with a hard sell. By warming the prospects up with a lighter touch, you have more chance that they will be receptive once you do want to talk to them about a specific proposition. This will increase conversion and response rates.
The rest of the playbook goes into detail as to how you can automate as much of the prospecting process as possible. As Gino says, this way you will ‘have more time left to spend on closing deals and enjoying life’.
The playbook shows how you can use Dux-SoupTurbo in combination with Zapier to link it with a CRM system to keep track of all of the leads. The principle of connecting a CRM can be applied to many CRM systems such as HubSpot, Salesforce or Nimble. This makes it suitable for a wide range of companies.
It is important to have one central system to be able to keep an overview of your automation efforts, as you can lose focus quite fast when you begin prospecting at scale. Your CRM will help you to tay focused on the leads you should be focused on!
Download the playbook
What I really like about this playbook is that it answers a question that we get from people who are looking to achieve a tangible return from LinkedIn lead generation – namely how do I do more than just build a network? This guide shows you how.
The playbook messages will resonate with many readers – in particular the core tenet that you don’t move too early when it comes to getting your audience to follow your call to action.
You can download the playbook for free and pick up a one-week free trial to Dux-Soup Turbo. I’d be interested in hearing your feedback on how you are prospecting and whether you have enjoyed any success with creating a sales funnel that uses LinkedIn automation that is extended to connect with a CRM system.
