How I Generated $683,400 in Sales in 7 Weeks With My B2B LinkedIn Mistaken Identify Funnel

There are countless LinkedIn courses available, priced from $49 to $4,900, designed to help grow your business on the platform, but most fall short or are trying to sell you some A.I based automation that ends up doing more damage to your brand and reputation than good. This one however, is too good to keep behind a paywall. Enjoy!

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Contents 

Core Principles

The Approach

The Setup

Contextualise

Transcript

Summary

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The reality is, many people struggle in B2B marketing, as opposed to B2C marketing. Finding consumers isn't challenging, but reaching decision-makers within a business, who are often shielded by the brand's veil, is more complex.

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LinkedIn has revolutionised this aspect. It's almost like a public CV board where you can identify key decision-makers within organisations, a task that was nearly impossible before LinkedIn’s emergence. A special thanks to Reid Hoffman for this innovation.

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In 2019, I developed this strategy, reflecting on my understanding of human behavior. At that time, people misused LinkedIn by immediately pitching their products after connecting. By 2024, this problem has exacerbated with the advent of messaging bots that automate outreach, often leading to frustration and being blocked. These tactics usually involve a “genius” marketer's input but tend to be incredibly ineffective.

Before delving into the strategy, let's consider its three core principles first:

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• Targeted Networking: 

LinkedIn enables you to actively seek out professionals or decision-makers within organisations you want to target. This feature is key for successful networking. Utilise Sales Navigator to build a list of prospects.

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• Second-Order Thinking: 

Understanding human nature and communication preferences is essential in any marketing and sales strategy. Focusing only on the immediate step is short-sighted. In marketing, like in chess, you need to think several moves ahead. This is known as second-order thinking. Avoid immediately pushing your product; it's more likely to be counterproductive. Instead, focus on setting micro milestones leading to further engagement, like a coffee meeting or discovery call.

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• Differentiating Your Approach: 

Given the frequent spam and connection requests people receive, it's crucial not to appear as just another salesperson. The strategy aims to establish genuine connections and networking opportunities. This approach developed from sending hundreds of personalised messages and connection requests with minimal response.

 

 

The Approach

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The main tenet of the strategy is that you attended an industry conference and have mistakenly connected with the propsect, thinking that you spoke with them at the conference. From there, you meticulously funnel them into a deeper conversation and ultimately build their interest and obtain their  contact details for a meeting, Zoom call, coffee, etc.

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Here is the step-by-step playbook with a transcript from one of the largest companies in Australia, known for being impenetrable. The conversation is with a C-level executive and key decision-maker.

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Phase 1 (Setup)

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Step 1:

Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to identify your top 100, 200, or 500 prospects, depending on your goal.

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Step 2:

Identify and record in a sheet the location of each contact's head office; the city level is sufficient.

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Step 3:

Identify a recent industry conference or event you and the prospect could have plausibly attended.

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Step 4:

Develop a sales script contextualised to your industry or profession, or use mine.

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Step 5:

Set up notifications to know when connections are accepted.

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Step 6:

Send a connection request to each target without an accompanying message.

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Step 7:

Once connected, send (Message 1) with minor spelling and grammar imperfections to maintain a relaxed tone.

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Example message:

 

"Hi [Name], Did we chat at the XYZ conference, or am I losing my mind?" 😂

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Phase 2 (Contextualise)

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This opener prompts them to think deeply if they remember you. Common responses include:

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• "Hey Damian, haha, I think you're losing your mind. I wasn't at the event."

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• "Hey Damian, I didn't attend, but my colleague [Name] did. Maybe you spoke with them?"

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• (Unbelievably!) "Hey Damian, yes, we did chat :)"

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This is where skillful communication comes into play. Contextualising your response and understanding human behavior helps elicit a further response. Below is a transcript from an interaction with one of Australia's largest companies. Within 8 hours and 33 minutes, I had his email and contact details, leading to a meet-and-greet and eventually a six-figure partnership.

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Transcript 

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Damian Willis  10:20 AM

Hi CENSORED

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Did we chat at the CENSORED conference in CENSORED or am I losing my mind? 😂

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CENSORED  12:28 PM

Hey Damian,

 

Unfortunately, I wasn’t there. So I wouldn’t say losing your mind - we all look the same after you’ve been to many conferences haha

 

Damian Willis  12:56 PM

hahah sorry mate, I swear there was someone there from CENSORED though!

Your office is based in CENSORED isn't it?

 

 

CENSORED  1:00 PM

All good. Yeah CENSORED based here. How about yourself?

 

 

Damian Willis  1:06 PM

We are in CENSORED and CENSORED

Hows the battle taking down CENSORED going?

 

 

CENSORED 1:30 PM

Ah nice one. It’s a slow and consistent battle but it’s going solidly haha

And how is the CENSOREDup in CENSORED

 

 

Damian Willis  1:38 PM

I can imagine it’s a nightmare competing with a brand that doesn’t seem to care whether they are profitable or not!?

 

The landscape is pretty good at the moment, we just launched an office in CENSORED which is pretty exciting so will be spending a fair bit of time over there

 

 

CENSORED 1:51 PM

You are correct, makes it hard as we aim to be profitable.

That is very exciting. Congrats. Do you find yourself in CENSORED much?

 

 

Damian Willis  2:05 PM

Yeah I can imagine

Im down in CENSOREDandCENSOREDall the time, certainly for CENSORED most brands HQ's are based there Im sure as you know

 

 

CENSORED  4:14 PM

Yeah awesome. Happy to learn in more detail about what your business looks after!?

 

 

Damian Willis  4:16 PM

Sounds like a good plan to me, what's the best email and mobile to reach you on?

 

 

CENSORED 6:13 PM

CENSORED@CENSORED

CENSORED

 

Cheers mate :)

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Summary 

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The initial 7-week strategy resulted in the following outcome:

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Conversion rates are percentage-based, calculated from each cohort that moved through to the next stage.

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• Connection requests: 163

• Accepted connections: 132 (81%)

• Response to message 1: 88 (67%)

• Response to message 2: 47 (54%)

• Contact details obtained: 27 (58%)

• New clients: 9 (32%)

• Total sales: $683,000 + GST

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Naturally, each industry, service type, or offering requires a tailored communication approach, contextualization, and pacing to achieve similar results. However, this is something you can implement in your outreach strategy to drive immediate results into your business.