Welcome to Amplify Success, practical advice from Allego salespeople about what works for them.

For salespeople, social selling is a great investment of time and energy. It’s tougher to get attention than ever before and LinkedIn gives you a new way to prospect and build a network.

LinkedIn reached 875 million users in Q4 2022 and engagement has absolutely skyrocketed.

It’s a site where you have a captive audience of your ideal prospects every single day.

Thinking that way is the first step toward investing effort into LinkedIn.

But sometimes it’s hard to know what to post. Here are nine tips on using LinkedIn from Sarah Dick, Account Executive at Allego EMEA. Sarah has over 4,600 followers and makes it a practice to post nearly every day. Here’s where she gets her ideas.

9 Tips for Using LinkedIn for Prospecting

I aim to post consistently on LinkedIn every day. One of the things that I struggled with at first was what to write about. Here are my ideas around this, some that are perhaps a little bit different to what other people do.

1. Mine Your Meetings

A highly effective way to source content ideas for LinkedIn posts is to reflect on your meetings from the week. This approach serves two purposes: it keeps your posts relevant and timely, and it demonstrates your ongoing learning to your network.

For example, if you had a meeting where a client shared a new challenge related to their sales process, you could craft a post around how sales professionals might navigate similar issues. This not only shows you’re actively listening to your clients but also positions you as a problem-solver.

Pro Tip: Use the “Calendar” or “Notes” feature on your phone to jot down key points from meetings immediately after they happen. This allows you to capture fresh ideas while they’re still top of mind.

Example:

“After a conversation with a client today about their tech stack, it became clear that many teams struggle with integrating their CRM. How have you solved CRM integration challenges? I’d love to hear your thoughts.”

2. Screenshot Posts

Another way to stay consistent is by leveraging other people’s posts. If you see something thought-provoking on LinkedIn, don’t hesitate to screenshot and share it with your own commentary.

This strategy is a powerful way to start conversations and build relationships. By tagging the original poster, you show respect for their content while adding your unique perspective. Don’t shy away from respectfully disagreeing with a post if you have a differing viewpoint. Discussions, even on opposing sides, can foster engagement and strengthen your credibility as a thought leader.

Tip: Create a dedicated folder on your phone or desktop for interesting LinkedIn screenshots so you can easily find them when you need inspiration.

3. Connect Personal and Professional

Personal stories humanize your brand and make your professional insights more relatable. A good balance between personal anecdotes and professional lessons can make your posts more engaging. People love stories, especially if they have an emotional element.

For instance, sharing a story about your child and tying it into a lesson about persistence or leadership can resonate deeply with your audience. When posting about personal experiences, always think about the broader message or lesson that your professional network can take away.

Example Post: “This weekend, my son Edison built his first LEGO robot. He was so determined even when things fell apart, it reminded me of how important resilience is in sales. How do you stay resilient when things don’t go as planned?”

4. Use Your Photos

People are highly visual, and incorporating photos into your LinkedIn posts can significantly increase engagement. This could be a personal photo with a professional lesson tied to it, or even something from your daily life that can be connected to your work.

For instance, if you have a photo of a sunrise from a morning run, you could tie it into the importance of having a morning routine in sales. By connecting these visual elements with your professional message, you make your posts more relatable and engaging.

Pro Tip: Mix in different types of photos such as candid moments from team meetings, screenshots of impactful data, or even behind-the-scenes shots of your workspace. Visual diversity keeps your feed fresh and appealing.

5. Keep Notes

Inspiration can strike at any time, and when it comes to creating consistent LinkedIn content, keeping track of your ideas is crucial. Whether you use digital tools like Evernote or simply jot down notes in a physical notebook, having a repository of ideas will help you avoid the dreaded content block.

By keeping notes, you’ll find it easier to identify patterns in your thoughts or client conversations, which can form the basis of insightful posts. Over time, you’ll build a rich library of ideas to pull from.

Tip: Dedicate 10 minutes at the end of each day to jot down any post ideas that came to mind during the day. It’s surprising how many great ideas can surface when you make it a habit.

6. Create a Warm List

One of the major advantages of being active on LinkedIn is the ability to generate warm leads through engagement. When people like, comment on, or share your content, they signal their interest in your perspective, making them warm prospects for future outreach.

You can start building a list of individuals who engage with your content and categorize them based on their level of interest or relevance to your business. When you reach out to these warm leads, they’ll likely remember your name from LinkedIn, which creates familiarity and trust right from the start.

Example: An SDR can reach out with a message like, “Hey [Prospect’s Name], I noticed you engaged with my recent post about sales challenges in the tech industry. I’d love to chat more about how you’re navigating these challenges. Would you be open to a conversation?”

7. Create Relationships

Obviously not everybody that engages with your post is going to be an ICP (idea customer persona). But you’re actually being endorsed by other contacts who can help you. SDRs, particularly in tech, are very active on LinkedIn.

They’re also typically pretty open to sharing information with you. So having conversations and creating relationships with SDRs and AEs at other businesses, finding out what their existing tech stack is, who are the right people to speak with, company goals and challenges, so that when you do reach out to the right people, they’re a lot warmer and it’s a lot more personalized.

LinkedIn is not just a platform for prospecting but also for networking and building relationships. By connecting with people who aren’t immediate prospects but are in your industry, you build a wider network that could offer insights, referrals, or partnership opportunities.

Engage with SDRs, AEs, and others in your field to share knowledge and exchange information. Over time, these relationships can become valuable sources of information and even new business leads. Remember that relationship-building on LinkedIn is often a long game, so stay patient and consistent.

Pro Tip: Schedule regular LinkedIn catch-ups with peers in your network, where you discuss trends and best practices. These conversations can often lead to insights that make for great LinkedIn content as well.

8. Build Credibility

Posting consistently and authentically on LinkedIn helps build your reputation as an expert in your field. When you share valuable insights, prospects who see your posts will associate your name with the topics you’re discussing, which builds trust and credibility.

Statistics show that salespeople who are seen as thought leaders can drive up to 60% higher engagement than those who post infrequently. By consistently offering value through your posts, your prospects will begin to view you as a credible source of knowledge before you even have that first sales call.

Tip: Add social proof to your LinkedIn profile by regularly updating it with case studies, testimonials, and endorsements. These tangible examples of your success help reinforce your credibility.

9. Share Conversations

One of the best ways to engage prospects on LinkedIn is to show that you’re learning from every interaction. When you share key takeaways from client conversations (without breaching confidentiality), you demonstrate that you’re attentive and that you value your clients’ insights.

For example, sharing a learning moment from a recent sales call where a prospect shared a challenge can be a great way to build rapport with your LinkedIn network. You can frame the conversation in a way that resonates with others who might be facing the same challenge, encouraging them to engage with your post and start a conversation.

Learn More

Check out 14 Steps to Amplify Success with Agile Content to create and share best practices from sales reps.