Follow the steps below...

It's easier than you think!

Step 2: Adjust filters

Click on All filters and start filling the details you know about your ideal client. Let's say I'm targeting US and UK solopreneurs, this is how I'd search for them:

Step 1: Open LinkedIn.com

Click on the Search bar on LinkedIn and press Enter (without typing anything). Then click on People.

I've also added a condition that they're a 2nd degree connection, so I can ask our mutual connection/s for an introduction.

I can take this even further with filtering the services:

Now, check out the results when I press Enter:

1. Sales Navigator

Let's not disregard the good old Sales Navigator. The best way to use it is this:

1. Create a list of companies

Yes, companies (Accounts tab in Sales Nav). Because in that list you can filter for revenue and that's a great way to filter out anyone who's merely pretending to have a business.

2. Create a list of leads

Use the Leads tab, and in the Workflow section press Account lists. From there, select the companies list you created in the previous step. Boom, now you're filtering only the decision makers from particular companies that match your criteria.

But wait, there's more...

19,000 potential clients! Now all you have to do is warm them up and reach out.

This is only 1 way to find prospects. I want to show you 4 more ways!

2. Your competitor’s comment section

1. Identify your competitors

2. Keep tabs of their content

Whenever they post a Centrepiece* post roam through their comment section and start conversations with the people there. You'll be surprised at how much people tend to share about their issues.

Suggested workflow for this: add a thoughtful and authoritative comment to your prospect's comment. No pitching! Show them they aren't looking at the issue from all possible angles. Then, add them as a connection (if they haven't added you already) and start a conversation.

*A Centrepiece post is a solid strategy to find out who in your audience is having the problem you're solving. Credit to Kevin Dowling for sharing this one, you can find more here:

3. Your own comment section

After a while, you'll get a feel for what a Centrepiece post looks like, and you can start using it in your own content.

For this to be successful, you need to have an active audience though, and your ideal client needs to be active too.

Bonus tip: pair this with regular polls. People love polls. Even if you don't get leads, the polls activity will tell you a lot about what your audience is like. Use this information to adjust your content strategy.

4. Inbound funnel

The crown jewel of sophisticated ways to get prospects. It takes some prep work but after that it works on autopilot.

1. Find out the piece of content that your audience resonated with most. Or the problem they're dying to solve.

2. Turn it into a video, PDF (whatever format is easier). Make sure it’s a quick win and it actually solves a problem. Don't get tempted to use whatever, this step is meant to build trust.

3. Collect emails for access to the lead magnet.

4. Place it in your Featured section/add CTAs about it to every post.

5. Once people have downloaded it, send an email sequence that nurtures the leads

This is a more advanced way to find leads because you need to create an email automation and write the email sequence. But it's worth giving it a shot because your leads pre-qualify themselves and they give you access to something more personal: their inbox where you get to talk to them 1:1.

Closing thoughts

When it comes to consistently sourcing prospects, the two things that matter the most are:

1. Knowing your client

2. Experimenting

You need to leave emotion aside and look at every attempt you make as a data point. Cold outreach isn't working? Maybe these people are not active on LinkedIn at all. Maybe cold emailing is a better idea. People are not accepting your connection requests? Warm them up first, and fix your profile and content in the meantime.

It's all connected. Make sure you diagnose your roadblocks well and are always willing to adjust.

Liked this? Make sure to stay in touch on LinkedIn.

Ultimate LinkedIn Guide