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Host: Richard Lowe | Guest: Mike O’Neil
Summary of Transcript
Introduction
Richard Lowe: Hello, this is Richard Lowe with Leaders and Their Stories. I’m here with Mike O’Neil from Integrated Alliances, and he’s going to talk about lead generation on LinkedIn. Take it away, Mike!
Mike O’Neil: Thanks, Richard! LinkedIn has been around for 21 years, and it has evolved a lot. We’ll focus on what works today, but let me start with a quick history.
When LinkedIn first launched, it was a free platform, and unless you were in San Francisco, you probably didn’t know what it was. Since then, it has grown to over a billion users.
Richard Lowe: That’s some serious growth!
Mike O’Neil: I was among the first 100,000 users, and almost everyone back then was from San Francisco. Over the years, different types of users have emerged. Some focus on careers, some on job postings, some on networking, and others on optimizing profiles.
I’ve written a couple of LinkedIn books, one in 2010 and another in 2015, focusing on profiles and branding. Being an industrial engineer, I tend to analyze LinkedIn from a technical perspective.
Richard Lowe: That makes sense. I also wrote a book on LinkedIn called Focus on LinkedIn, but it’s outdated since it was written before Microsoft acquired the platform.
Mike O’Neil: Same here. My books are out of date, but the principles remain relevant. The details, however, constantly change.
LinkedIn Account Types and Limitations
Mike O’Neil: LinkedIn now has three main account types: Free, Business Premium at $60 per month, and Sales Navigator, the high-end version for sales professionals.
Let’s start with the free account and how to maximize it. One major limitation is that you can only send five personalized invites per month. After that, your connection requests go out as blank messages. That’s why you often see invites with no notes.
Richard Lowe: I didn’t realize that. That explains why so many invites are blank.
Mike O’Neil: Exactly. Since invite messages are limited, your profile headline and photo become critical. When someone gets a connection request, they only see your name, photo, and headline, so you need to optimize that section.
A free account allows you to send up to 100 invites per month. If you upgrade to Business Premium, you get unlimited personalized invites, 90-day history of who viewed your profile, and a gold badge for credibility.
If you need advanced filtering and targeting, then Sales Navigator is the way to go.
How to Find the Right People on LinkedIn
Mike O’Neil: To generate leads effectively, you need to filter and target the right people. Here are the key criteria.
Location matters. If you’re in the U.S., the largest LinkedIn markets are Texas, Florida, California, Illinois, and New York. If you’re new to LinkedIn outreach, practice in smaller markets like Arkansas or Mississippi before going after high-value targets.
Richard Lowe: That makes sense. My main markets are Texas, Florida, and Georgia.
Mike O’Neil: Industry is the next filter. LinkedIn now has 430 industry categories, up from 147. Some industries, like Technology, include 45-plus sub-industries, and that includes libraries. In Sales Navigator, you can exclude irrelevant sub-industries, which is a big advantage.
Richard Lowe: I wouldn’t have expected libraries to be under Technology.
Mike O’Neil: Job titles are another key filter. Use Boolean search, like “President OR Founder OR Director,” to refine results. In Sales Navigator, you can exclude irrelevant titles, like Past Presidents or Fraternity Presidents.
Richard Lowe: I typically search for Presidents, Founders, C-levels, and VPs.
Mike O’Neil: Perfect. In Sales Navigator, you can refine further using AND or NOT filters.
Keywords are different from job titles because they scan the entire profile. Be cautious though. If someone writes “I hate motorcycles” and you search “motorcycles,” they’ll still appear in your results.
Richard Lowe: That reminds me of how AltaVista worked. Just keyword-driven.
How to Engage and Build Relationships
Richard Lowe: Once you’ve found the right people, what should you say in your message? “Buy my stuff”?
Mike O’Neil: Not yet! The right approach starts with a personalized connection request. Mention something from their profile, like their industry, an interest, or even their profile picture.
Once they accept, send a quick welcome message. Something like, “Thanks for connecting. I hope we can be good resources for each other.”
Then about a week later, follow up with a relevant comment or question. Something like, “I took another look at your profile and see you’re in cybersecurity. Have you thought about writing a book?”
Avoiding LinkedIn’s Spam Filters
Richard Lowe: A friend of mine tried connecting with 500-plus people per day. LinkedIn permanently banned him!
Mike O’Neil: Classic mistake. To stay safe, 20 connections per day or 100 per week is a safe limit. Spread requests naturally. Don’t send them all at once like a bot.
I usually send invites in the morning while listening to a podcast. Others prefer splitting them between morning and afternoon.
Final Thoughts and Best Practices
Richard Lowe: To summarize: find the right people using LinkedIn search or Sales Navigator, send a semi-personalized connection request, follow up strategically without an immediate sales pitch, and don’t spam or trigger LinkedIn’s filters. Would you agree?
Mike O’Neil: There’s a lot more we could cover, like content strategy and posting, but this is the core of LinkedIn lead generation. If anyone wants to dive deeper, they can book a call with me at schedulewithmike.com.
Richard Lowe: One last tip: get a professional headshot and optimize your headline to showcase what you offer.
Mike O’Neil: A great headline should include your role or company, your expertise, and a credibility marker like “Forbes Top 50 Social Media Expert.”
Richard Lowe: Thanks for joining me, Mike! I’m Richard Lowe, The Writing King. You can find me at thewritingking.com. I write books, case studies, and white papers, and I help with LinkedIn profiles. This has been Leaders and Their Stories. Thanks for tuning in!
Mike O’Neil: Thanks, Richard! This was great.