u/GrowthWithNina

no ads. no premium tools. no automation software.

just a repeatable process that anyone can follow.

most people use linkedin for sales completely wrong.

they connect, pitch, get ignored, repeat. then complain that linkedin doesn't work for b2b. linkedin works fine. the approach doesn't.

here's what i did differently.

i stopped targeting decision makers first.

sounds counterintuitive but hear me out. decision makers are the most guarded people on linkedin. their inbox is a graveyard of pitches. instead i started engaging with the people around them. their team members, their colleagues, people in the same company.

by the time i reached the decision maker someone in their orbit already knew my name. warm by association.

i treated my profile as a landing page not a resume.

most sales profiles read like a cv. job titles, company names, dates. nobody buying from you cares about that. i rewrote everything around the problems i solve and who i solve them for. profile views started converting into conversations instead of just views.

i gave before i asked. every time.

before reaching out to anyone i'd spend a week commenting genuinely on their content. sharing something useful in their industry. asking a thoughtful question on their post. by the time i sent a dm it never felt cold.

the result after 6 months.

6 figures in closed deals. zero ad spend. zero automation. just consistency and actually treating people like people instead of leads in a pipeline.

what's the biggest mistake you see people making when using linkedin for sales?

i grew my linkedin network from 200 to 4,000 connections in 6 months without sending a single generic request. here's what i actually did

no "i'd like to add you to my network." not once.

here's what changed everything.

i stopped treating connection requests like a numbers game.

most people send 50 requests a day to anyone remotely relevant and wonder why nobody engages with their posts. a big network of strangers is just a vanity metric. i wanted people who actually knew who i was before they connected.

so i did this instead.

i spent 10 minutes a day leaving genuine comments on posts from people i wanted to connect with. not "great post" or "totally agree." actual thoughts that added something to the conversation. did this consistently for a few weeks before sending any request.

by the time i sent the connection request they already recognised my name.

acceptance rates were noticeably higher. but more importantly those connections actually engaged with my content later because there was already a small relationship there.

the other thing that worked was being specific in connection requests.

instead of the default message i'd reference exactly what we'd discussed in the comments. something like "enjoyed the conversation on your post about x, would love to stay connected." two sentences. nothing more.

the difference in response was night and day compared to before.

the thing nobody talks about on here.

your network is only as valuable as the relationships inside it. 500 warm connections will do more for you than 5000 people who have no idea who you are.

what's the one thing that helped you build genuine connections on linkedin?

every message written manually. no automation. just testing what actually gets a reply from a stranger.

here's what flopped:

"i came across your profile and was really impressed" -- 3% reply rate. everyone knows it's a template.

long first messages -- anything over 4 lines got ignored. a wall of text asks for too much upfront.

complimenting their company before making an ask -- sounds polite, reads like a warmup pitch.

here's what worked:

referencing something specific they posted. not "great post!" but actually engaging with a point they made. reply rates jumped immediately when i did this.

asking one small question instead of making a big ask. the goal of the first dm is just to get a reply. nothing more.

reaching out right after they'd been active. if they just posted or commented somewhere, that's your window. timing in dms matters more than people think.

the biggest lesson after 300 messages:

most people are terrible at dms because they focus on what they want to say instead of what the other person wants to read.

flip that and your reply rate changes overnight.

what's the worst linkedin dm you've ever received?