I'm Anna Troidl, Training & Coaching Manager at Tribal Impact. A recent workation (work + vacation!) retreat in Portugal reminded me of something I often say when training sales professionals – people don’t buy details, they buy outcomes.
Over the course of nearly 400 coaching sessions, I've had the pleasure of helping professionals build quality connections on LinkedIn by teaching them to sell the outcome, not the product or service.
Just like the guy who sold me the retreat, he didn’t overload me with details, instead, he asked the right questions to help show me how the retreat would help me get the results I wanted.
In fact, every single person at the retreat achieved what they wanted, even though we all got something slightly different. Much like the iceberg illustration I recently shared on LinkedIn, which reveals the hidden depth of every interaction, it’s about understanding the challenges of your audience and focusing on the outcome that matters to them.
The same approach applies to social selling, it should feel natural, more like a getting-to-know you conversation rather than a salesperson pushing their product or service. Research shows that sales teams using these techniques are 51% more likely to hit their quotas (LinkedIn).
That’s why I love the work we do here at Tribal Impact, helping our customers to connect with the right audiences by harnessing their online communication skills.
Keep reading, I want to share some practical insights, tips and strategies to help empower your teams to use LinkedIn to build quality connections focused on customer outcomes.
First, lay the groundwork for successful outreach
Before reaching out to prospects, start by building a strong foundation – ensure your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date and showcases your expertise.
Engage with your audience by liking, commenting and interacting with their content. This helps to keep you front of mind.
Learn more tips about how to stand out in our blog on how to optimise your LinkedIn profile.
Then, build connections through LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Once you've built a strong foundation, the next step is to be more strategic in how you identify and connect with the right people. This is where LinkedIn Sales Navigator comes in.
I’ve helped over 10,000 sales professionals in my training and coaching sessions. When I work with sales teams, I stress that using LinkedIn Sales Navigator is more about a thoughtful, step-by-step approach rather than a quick fix, because 41% of buyers say they want sellers to demonstrate a clear understanding of their business needs before they’ll buy from them (LinkedIn Deep Sales Playbook).
So, how do you do this? Here’s my step-by-step plan:
- Upload your target account list to Sales Navigator
Start by adding your priority accounts so you can track engagement, updates, and intent signals. - Review your existing connections
Look at your network and see if you’re already connected to key decision-makers in your target accounts. This helps you identify warm vs. cold prospects. - Check the buyer intent report
Use buyer intent and category intent signals to identify accounts showing interest in your company and / or products similar to yours. Buyer intent highlights how actively an account is engaging with your company profile, people and content. - Find warm introductions using Team Link
Before reaching out cold, check if anyone on your team is already connected to your prospect using LinkedIn’s Team Link feature. If they are, ask for an introduction. If there’s no mutual connection, use Sales Navigator’s search filters to identify the most relevant people in the organisation.
- Create an engagement list
Building an engaging list can help you connect more naturally. Before sending a connection request, start interacting with your prospects content. Thoughtful comments and engagements will get you on their radar and make your outreach more natural.
You can keep a track of this activity in Sales Navigator using the ‘Alerts’ option. My video underneath explains how to create this kind of list using your LinkedIn account.
However, if you have Sales Navigator, you can skip this step! The alert section already gives you everything you need to track and engage with key prospects efficiently. - Send a personalised connection request
Once you've built familiarity, send a request that references shared interests, mutual connections, or recent interactions.
Bonus tip: Use Sales Navigator’s “Understand Business Challenges” feature to gain insights into your prospect’s pain points and tailor your outreach accordingly.
- Personalise your InMail
Prospects are five times more likely to respond to your InMails when they’re active on LinkedIn and regularly exposed to your content (SocialPilot). That’s why it’s crucial to engage consistently and then reach out with a personalised InMail. Reference something specific like a recent post, a shared connection, or a relevant business challenge. This shows you’re invested in their needs and not just sending a generic message.
The response rate to your first InMail might be low, but that’s part of the process. Stay patient, keep engaging, and don't give up too early. Social selling is a long game, and consistency is key to building meaningful connections over time. For more tips on getting better InMail responses, check out our blog. - Don’t give up!
If you don’t get a response immediately, don’t assume they’re not interested. Keep engaging, keep showing up in their feed, and look for different ways to add value before re-engaging.
Stronger connections for better results
Building connections are at the heart of sales. When you're connected to the right people, opportunities naturally follow. In fact, 46% of top-performing sellers have relationships with seven or more decision-makers in their top accounts (LinkedIn).
During my workation retreat, I was reminded of the power of real, face-to-face connections. While LinkedIn and Sales Navigator open doors to decision-makers, nothing replaces genuine human interaction - whether it’s bonding over a tennis match, exploring a new co-working space, or attending industry events.
The same applies to LinkedIn. Social selling isn’t about the hard sell - it’s about showing up consistently, adding value, and focusing on what matters most to your audience.
I try to set aside 15 minutes a day to engage with my connections, with a simple question to guide me: "What outcome does my audience really need?"
When you build connections with that in mind, success follows naturally.
Want to help your team master LinkedIn for social selling? Talk to our team about how Tribal Impact training can help.
