How to use LinkedIn as a salesperson

To use LinkedIn well as a salesperson, make your profile credible to buyers, connect with the people you want to sell to, take part in their conversations long before you pitch, and use search tools to find the right accounts. LinkedIn works best as a way to build trust at scale, not as a channel for mass messages.

This approach is usually called social selling. Wikipedia describes it as developing relationships as part of the sales process, often on platforms such as LinkedIn.

Build a profile buyers trust

Buyers will look you up before they reply. Your profile should tell them in a few seconds who you help and why you are worth talking to. Our guide to creating a strong LinkedIn profile goes deeper, but the basics are:

• A clear, recent photo where your face is easy to see
• A headline about your buyer, not your title. "Helping finance teams close the books faster" says more than "Account Executive".
• An About section that explains the problems you solve, for whom, with one or two concrete results
• Featured content such as a case study, a guide or a short video
• Recommendations from customers or colleagues, if you have them

Post content that is worth reading

Posting helps people remember you and shows what you know. Aim for useful, not frequent:

• Share what you learn from customers: common problems, questions and mistakes
• Comment on news in your buyers' industry with your own view
• Share short how-to posts and checklists
• Record a short video explaining a problem and how to think about it

Avoid posts that only announce where you are or repost company news without a comment. Consistency matters more than volume. A few thoughtful posts a week will do more than daily posts with nothing to say.

Grow a relevant network

A bigger network means more people see your posts, but relevance beats size. Connect with:

• People you have met at events, meetings and calls
• Decision-makers and influencers at your target accounts
• Colleagues, partners and customers who can introduce you to others

Add a short, personal note to connection requests that explains why you want to connect. Join LinkedIn groups and communities where your buyers are active, and contribute before you ask for anything.

Engage before you pitch

Commenting on a prospect's posts is a low-pressure way to start a relationship. Make each comment specific to the post, add something useful, and do it several times before you send a direct message. When you do reach out, refer to something real, such as a post they wrote or a change at their company, rather than a generic pitch.

When people start viewing your profile and accepting connection requests, follow up on those signals. A view or an accepted request is a reason to start a conversation, not to send a sales deck.

Our post on relationship selling techniques covers how to build on these first conversations.

Use LinkedIn's sales tools

Social Selling Index

LinkedIn's Social Selling Index (SSI) scores how well you use LinkedIn for social selling, from 0 to 100. It reflects four areas: establishing your professional presence, finding the right people, engaging with insights and building relationships. Use it as a rough guide to which habit to work on, not as a target in itself.

Sales Navigator

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is LinkedIn's paid prospecting tool. LinkedIn's help centre lists three plans:

All three plans include 50 InMail credits per user per month. Sales Navigator also builds a Recommended Leads list of up to 100 people, based on your past activity and buyer intent signals.

It is worth paying for if you prospect on LinkedIn every week. If you mainly post and engage with people you already know, free LinkedIn is usually enough.

What should you avoid on LinkedIn?

• Automation tools. LinkedIn prohibits third-party software and browser extensions that scrape, alter or automate its site, and bans bots and other unauthorised automated methods. Accounts that use them can be restricted or closed.
• Pitching in the connection request. It is the fastest way to be ignored or reported.
• Copy-paste messages. Buyers can tell, and it damages the credibility you built with your profile and posts.
• Scraping contact data. Besides breaking LinkedIn's rules, it can conflict with privacy laws such as the GDPR.

How does LinkedIn fit with the rest of your prospecting?

LinkedIn works best alongside email, calls and events, not instead of them. Use it to research accounts, warm up contacts and stay visible, then move conversations to a call when there is real interest. For more ideas, read our guides to generating leads on LinkedIn, prospecting strategies and sales training.