Why automate LinkedIn lead generation?

LinkedIn lead generation automation can make a big difference to your pipeline and revenue. Learn how in our handy guide.  

Higher open and response rates mean you’re able to reach more prospects. And LinkedIn’s no-pressure networking platform means you can engage with a wide spectrum of leads at various stages of sales-readiness. Rather than ignoring you completely, passive prospects have the option to accept message requests and add you to their network. This allows you to contact them in the future, means they’ll always see your posts, and introduces the perfect ground for lead nurturing. 

Millions of companies and executives use LinkedIn to make decisions

LinkedIn has over 930 Million members, and over 63 Million companies have listings on the platform. Sellers not using the platform to connect with potential leads are missing out on a direct line of communication with stakeholders that can otherwise be hard to reach. 

And if that wasn’t enough, 42% of buyers check the LinkedIn profiles of the sellers that reach out to them. Any sales reps without a robust LinkedIn presence could face losing out to the competition on multiple fronts.

The platform is taking on increasing importance as an evaluation tool in the process of complex B2B deals. To avoid missing out on potentially lucrative business opportunities, sellers need to be proactive on the platform.  

User engagement with the platform is only increasing

LinkedIn’s millions-strong user base isn’t just growing; it’s increasingly active. Year-on-year, public conversations on the platform have increased by 25%. Members are looking to learn and digest content from each other, grow business acumen, and make industry connections. 

LinkedIn bucks the trend of depressingly low engagement rates sellers see from cold email and cold calling. It’s the perfect place to prospect for savvy reps willing to warm up leads appropriately using the right automation tooling. 

Why automate LinkedIn lead gen?

When you take LinkedIn’s wide adoption, growing user engagement, and high response levels into consideration, using the platform for lead generation is a no-brainer. But manually prospecting via LinkedIn takes significant effort, and companies stuck with manual outreach alone are only benefitting from about half of what the platform has to offer. 

LinkedIn lead gen automation tools like Salesflow make it easy to extract leads and run campaigns to this valuable open-book network of contacts. Without the manual effort and frustration. 

By using LinkedIn lead gen automation, sellers can: 

• Send connection requests at scale, while remaining within LinkedIn’s limits
• Include personalized connection request messages including a member’s name, industry, and job title
• Automate follow-up messages at appropriate time intervals, so leads are nurtured and opportunities to grow pipeline aren’t missed
• Message shared group members and event attendees. 

The result?

• Greater prospecting efficiency. 
• More outbound leads. 
• A sales team with more time. 
• Processes and results that scale.
• Consistent and predictable pipeline. 

How much time can LinkedIn lead gen automation save? 

At Salesflow, we estimate automation to save 4-6 mins per lead when you account for searching for, messaging, and tracking each lead. That increased efficiency soon adds up – across 100 leads, that’s 400-600 minutes saved, or around 7-10 hours. Salesflow customers have seen time savings of 50 hours a week when using the tool.

What’s the impact of such significant time savings? 

1. You can reach more people. Without manual errors and inefficiencies, it’s easier to scale outreach to the levels necessary to get results. Lead gen automation like Salesflow also comes with specific tools to help overcome Linkedin’s message restrictions, further widening your pool of potential prospects. Learn more in our guide to generating more LinkedIn leads. 

2. That time saved can go into making reps more successful and effective. LinkedIn found top sellers were 33% more likely than other sellers to do research “all the time” before reaching out to prospects. Less time on the manual admin of prospecting means more time to create relevant outreach messages that catch buyers’ attention. And more responsive prospects only mean good things for your sales pipeline. 

3. For companies with fewer resources, doing more with less can be the difference between failure and success. ROI from automated LinkedIn lead gen can be higher than having to hire extra team members or sacrifice time from busy exec schedules. Learn about the benefits of LinkedIn automation for small businesses. 

How much money does automating LinkedIn lead gen save? 

Let’s say you save 10 hours a week by using LinkedIn lead generation automation to run outreach cadences to 100 leads. For a sales rep on $50,000 a year working a total of 1,936 hours, that’d work out as an effective cost saving of over $250 per week in labor costs. 

However, looking at the monetary impact of automation in this way is narrow-sighted. Rather than the immediate hours saved on a per-rep basis, consider the impact that getting just 5-10 extra qualified leads in the pipeline each month would make for your business. 

Since automation allows reps to reach more leads and operate with more consistency, your average number of qualified leads should increase when you adopt automated lead gen. 

To work out the actual ROI of lead gen automation for your business, you need to factor in the impact of gaining several more qualified opportunities a quarter. Say your average deal size is $5,000. Even an extra deal a month would lead to an extra $60,000 in the pipeline over a year.

When you take into account the strategic uplift as well as the efficiency gains of LinkedIn automation, the true impact of lead gen software for your business becomes transformational.  

See the difference LI lead gen automation could make for your business with the Salesflow ROI calculator. 

Learn the difference adopting automated lead gen made for SaaS company Redpoint Global

Other ways automating LinkedIn lead gen increases ROI 

Automating lead gen on LinkedIn transforms what’s possible on a strategic level. These other factors also have a significant impact on lead generation results, and all are improved by automating with a LinkedIn lead gen tool: 

Better product market fit 

Data and analytics from automation tools can help you hone your ICP and buyer personas to find the market that responds best to your offering. By targeting the most relevant audience, you increase the conversion rate and open the door for higher-value deals.

Better targeting

Automation tools like Salesflow sync with LinkedIn Sales Navigator to pull in highly targeted lead lists. So once you have your ICP down pat, you can be confident you’re spending precious rep time and connection request allowances on prospects that actually have the chance to convert. 

As a result, campaign metrics will be more accurate, reps can precisely target leads without resorting to ineffective spray-and-pray approaches, and it’s easier to get clever with segmented cadences for leads with different pain points – increasing your chance of success.

More consistent outreach

Automation tools don’t have to take on-the-spot sales calls, face demands from customers, or have off days. Onboarding reps with automation software increases the consistency of outreach. This means you’ll reach more prospects, finish more cadences, and see the end result of more qualified leads in your pipeline. 

Strategic uplift 

Without standardized messaging and cadences, it’s hard to see what works and do more of it. Reps remain in the dark and don’t have the groundwork to start experimenting and personalizing messages for the most important prospects on their list.

It’s also an incredibly inefficient way of prospecting. You have all the time spent manually searching and messaging individual prospects, plus extra spent thinking of messaging on the spot, choosing a cadence, or picking out industry-relevant pain points. 

And that’s just the process for fully ramped reps who completely understand your product and industry. Without standardized message cadences, less-senior reps run the risk of jeopardizing sales results with subpar or ineffective messaging. The result? Your company is held back from achieving the outreach results it’s capable of. 

The increased consistency and advanced reporting offered by lead gen automation software make it easier to systematically build out your LinkedIn strategy. Streamlining messaging will make prospecting more efficient and effective, improving results company-wide. 

Unified data

37% of sellers say their biggest challenge is having no “organization-wide, unified view of data”. Another 37% say their biggest challenge is siloed data. By automating your LinkedIn lead generation, you can make use of features such as Salesflow’s native CRM integrations to sync campaign results between your CRM and LinkedIn and create a central source of truth. 

A unified view of data means reps can work together more efficiently, avoid prospecting to the same accounts, and benefit from the strategic direction suggested by outreach reports.

Why now is the time to automate LinkedIn lead gen

The most important reason to add LinkedIn lead gen automation? In today’s climate, it’s the only way to access the necessary scale to compete. 

On average, it takes 8 touchpoints to make a sale. With a good conversion rate hovering somewhere around 3%, that’s a lot of groundwork needed to ensure a consistent pipeline and results. Manual prospecting simply isn’t enough to keep up with the numbers needed for sales success.

In such an atmosphere, automation is no longer a nice to have but a key part of solving the lead gen puzzle. It’s why 70% of organizations are at least piloting automation technologies, and why four out of five sellers who reach at least 150% of quota use sales tech at least once a week. 

For an example of the difference automation makes, consider that over half of high-performing sellers (53%) significantly expanded their LinkedIn network in 2021, compared to less than a quarter of other seller cohorts. Without automation, it’s hard to reach those numbers and still send messages that appear personalized. And even for sellers that manage it, there’s no easy way to navigate the tricky LinkedIn inbox to track follow-ups, replies, and warm leads.

LinkedIn lead gen automation enables the consistent use of cadences, is easy to track, and is the only way to scale. In a crowded market, it’s the key tool in the stack for reps and companies that want to stand out from the competition – while also reaching the number of prospects needed to generate qualified sales opportunities that drive results.

Get started with LinkedIn lead generation automation today

To start saving days of manual effort each week and reach the necessary scale to compete, try Salesflow today. Our free 7-day trial of the platform comes with no credit card required.