LinkedIn is the world leader in professional social networking. It is the perfect place to approach your prospects, share your ideas, skills, expertise, and attract the attention of the decision-makers. LinkedIn offers tools to target those who would benefit the most from your products or services. InMail, one of the features of LinkedIn, has become a preferred medium for sales communication. This article will see if LinkedIn InMail works for B2B Sales.
Does LinkedIn InMail work for B2B sales?
LinkedIn is one of the acquisition channels to help you develop your lead generation strategy, and LinkedIn InMail is a valuable communication channel for B2B sellers. A presence on LinkedIn can help you gain familiarity among B2B Buyers. While email is considered to be one of the most popular means of sales prospecting. Today, almost all businesses use LinkedIn InMail to approach their clients with an average response rate higher than an email.
What is LinkedIn InMail?
LinkedIn InMail is a premium feature that allows you to directly message someone you are not connected to. The number of InMail credits you get depends on your premium subscription. For Salespeople, it is recommended to buy Sales Navigator which gives you 50 InMail credits per month. You can also roll over your InMail credits for up to 90 days, after which they will expire.
Why should you send LinkedIn InMail instead of emails?
InMail is 2.6x more effective than an email
LinkedIn’s lead conversion rate for InMail is three times more than email conversion on average.
LinkedIn InMail is an excellent tool for cold leads
Cold leads are those who have never shown interest in your products or services and don’t know about your offerings. Reaching out to them is a great way to expand your network and make more sales.
InMail stands a higher chance of getting a response
An active businessperson will log into their LinkedIn account at least once daily. They can easily see your InMail message and reply. InMail messages are also sent as a notification to their email, so there is no chance of missing it.
You get InMail credits back for each response
If the recipient of your InMail message responds within 90 days of receiving your message, you will get your InMail credit back. You can use this credit to send more InMail to others without having to spend an additional amount on buying credits for the month.
LinkedIn InMail has an analytics page, but email doesn’t
The LinkedIn InMail feature has an analytics page that gives you a detailed insight into the performance of your messages. You can track which messages are performing well and which don’t. Based on the insights, you can improve your messaging to get better results.
How to send LinkedIn InMail messages?
Step 1 – Login to your LinkedIn account
Step 2 – Navigate to the profile of the prospect that you want to message
Step 3 – Tap ‘message’ on their profile page
Step 4 – Type in the subject line
Step 5 – Type in the message in the text box
Step 6 – Click ‘Send’
How to write a good LinkedIn InMail message?
Personalize subject line
A personalized subject line is the best way to convince your prospect to open your message. The subject line tactic works well because it shows that you have taken the time to research the prospect. You can also mention your mutual connection in your subject line. This is because the candidate might have not heard about you but mentioning someone known to them can endorse you and gives them a reason to speak with you.
Persuading message
Prospect wants to know how you can help them achieve their goals. If you feel you can help them with your products or services, explain it in your message. When you add value to your prospect, they are most likely to respond.
Have the right CTA at closing
The most common line that people write is ‘Let me know if you’re interested.’ This might be polite but not the best way to get a response. Try to close like ‘Can you take a call at 4 PM to discuss further?’ or How about a quick chat tomorrow at 2 PM. This makes the next step clear to the prospects and should improve response rates.
3 Ways to generate leads with LinkedIn InMail for B2B Sales
Target your leads with Sales Navigator
LinkedIn Sales Navigator has an advanced search tool that lets you perform unlimited searches for users by region, industry, job title, company size, etc. You can look for users who have open profiles and send them InMail, as it won’t count against your limit. You can also use the ‘Interested in’ filter to find users looking for the type of solutions you offer.
Follow the LinkedIn best practices
Send a short and crisp message stating the reason why you are reaching out to them. Be authentic and include CTA that enables them to respond to your message. For the best chance of getting a response, send InMail during the mid-week between 9 AM and 10 AM. Avoid sending InMail on Saturdays.
Automate your InMail Lead Generation
Automation can be a huge time-saver, but when using third-party tools with InMail, be careful to stay within their terms of use. If you use automation to compose your message, segment your audience based on different decision-maker types and tailor your message to them.
What is the character count of LinkedIn InMail messages?
LinkedIn allows you to type up to 200 characters in the subject line of your InMail and up to 1900 characters in the body of your InMail message. A dynamic counter will appear at the bottom right counter as you compose the message to let you know how many characters you have entered. This helps you to write an effective InMail message.
Key Takeaways
LinkedIn is the best place to find and connect with prospects, and InMail can be a powerful tool for getting your message in front of key individuals at the right place and time. LinkedIn InMail is a premium feature, so you need to upgrade to the premium business plan or sales navigator Plan.
