At Clariant Creative, we’ve spent over a decade helping B2B companies produce outstanding thought leadership content and build smart sales enablement programs. Frequently, our clients ask us a valid question: How should LinkedIn fit into our sales strategy?
To explore this, I recently sat down with Tom Martin, founder of Converse Digital and the mind behind the Painless Prospecting framework. Tom has decades of experience in business development and is widely respected for his practical, no-nonsense approach to sales. Through his weekly newsletter Painless Sales Prospecting, he shares advice on how salespeople can cut through the noise, stop wasting time on ineffective tactics, and actually build pipelines that convert.
I share below all the great tips and best practices Tom shared with me for using LinkedIn for business development that Tom shared with me. Let’s dive in!
These days, sales teams are bombarded with conflicting advice. “LinkedIn gurus” push one-size-fits-all formulas – such as posting at certain times, liking and commenting in prescribed ways, or following a rigid cadence. But those studies are usually based on massive, cross-industry datasets. What works for an agency like Clariant Creative trying to attract new clients might not work for an insurance rep trying to connect with buyers.
Without tailoring the advice to their specific audience, salespeople end up trying strategies that feel awkward and don’t deliver results. The problem isn’t that the advice is wrong, it’s just not right for you.
The solution is to not blindly follow recipes. Instead, pay attention to your niche. Test different approaches to see what resonates with your target prospects. And don’t ever be afraid to ignore the “expert advice” if it doesn’t fit your situation.
Watch Tom describe why so much LinkedIn prospecting advice falls flat.
There’s no blanket answer to this question. LinkedIn only matters if your prospects actually spend time there – and not just a profile collecting dust, but active users. Are they logging in multiple times a week? Are they posting, commenting, or at least engaging with other people’s posts? If not, then LinkedIn simply isn’t your channel. You’ll waste time chasing people who aren’t paying attention in the first place.
It’s also important not to rely too heavily on LinkedIn’s own filters, such as the “active in the last 90 days” metric in Sales Navigator. That filter only tracks posts, not likes or comments, which means it can be misleading. To get a true picture, you need to observe how your specific prospects behave over time.
But if you find your audience is active, LinkedIn can be incredibly powerful for you. Even if your prospects aren’t posting original content, they may be liking or commenting on other people’s posts. This activity creates opportunities for you to meet them in context by responding thoughtfully in a comment thread, adding to a discussion they’re part of, or following up in a DM once you’ve had a few natural touchpoints. Think of it less like “social selling” and more like showing up at the right networking event.
So – if your audience is there, it’s worth the effort. If they’re not, move on.
Tom shares how to figure out if LinkedIn is truly the right channel to reach your prospects.
Volume doesn’t win, but quality does. If your comments or messages don’t add value, you’ll come across as noise – or worse, spam. But a thoughtful, well-placed comment can be the digital equivalent of a first meeting. And when you’ve engaged with someone meaningfully two or three times, connecting with them doesn’t feel forced. It feels natural.
The thin line between effective outreach and spam is whether your prospect actually benefits from hearing from you.
For example, Tom once noticed a prospect had commented on someone else’s post. Instead of reaching out cold, he joined the conversation by replying directly to her comment with something thoughtful. They even exchanged a few replies back and forth. While this didn’t immediately lead to a deal, it did create familiarity. As Tom put it, “It was the equivalent of a cold call, but it didn’t at all feel like a cold call.”
In another case, Tom saw that a prospect had posted about hosting a monthly Zoom roundtable – and so he registered and joined the event. But he didn’t just passively attend and then follow up with a pitch. Instead, during the Zoom session, he asked a smart question that sparked a brief but valuable exchange with her. This also gave him excellent insight into this prospect’s priorities and gaps. He was able to use this helpful context later on in a much more impactful follow up – again, without ever feeling like spam.
Hear how Tom turned a cold prospect into a warm connection by engaging in the comments.
A great way to think about LinkedIn activity is on two levels: short daily habits and longer weekly blocks:
Every day, give yourself ~ 20 minutes on two core activities – intelligence gathering and engagement:
Two or three times per week, carve out slightly longer blocks of time (30+ minutes) for deeper engagement and authority building:
Together, these two layers of daily + weekly activities help create a sustainable rhythm. The daily habit keeps you visible and present in conversations, while the weekly time blocks ensure your content consistently reinforces your expertise.
Tom shares how to think about high-value activities on LinkedIn.
For all the marketers reading this article, don’t leave your salespeople on their own to “just figure it out.” Instead, give them tools to help them understand what to say and how to say it:
The landscape of social + selling is shifting fast. Tom pointed out that social media usage is declining across the board. We’re already seeing sales teams re-embracing legacy sales methods such as phone calls, face-to-face meetings, and even direct mail. Algorithm fatigue is real, and if LinkedIn and other platforms don’t address this soon, the entire concept of social selling may be at risk.
Adding to this change, AI-powered search is reshaping how buyers find vendors. In the near future (if not already), prospects will simply ask an AI assistant: “Find me the top five vendors for [this service] within 200 miles of my headquarters, with X, Y, and Z capabilities.” If your company doesn’t show up in that AI-curated short list, you won’t even get considered.
That means visibility won’t just depend on LinkedIn posting or SEO; it will hinge on AI Engine Optimization (AEO). Being “findable” in AI-driven search results could determine whether you’re even invited to the table. For sales teams, that’s both a challenge and an opportunity. Those who adapt quickly will have a major competitive edge.
Tom offers his prediction on how AI will reshape prospecting in the next few years.
Using LinkedIn for sales success today is about more than spamming inboxes and waiting for inbound leads to roll in. As Tom made clear in our conversation, success comes from three key factors:
Done right, LinkedIn becomes not just another social network, but a bridge between inbound credibility and outbound action – a place where sales conversations can start naturally and scale effectively. And as Tom cautions, the future may demand both back-to-basics sales skills and cutting-edge AI readiness. Sales leaders who prepare for both will be in the strongest position to thrive.
Strong LinkedIn outreach works best when it’s paired with smart follow-up. That’s why we created 14 Sales Email Examples – real-world, customizable templates you can adapt to your own prospecting. Use them to reinforce your LinkedIn engagement and keep the conversation moving forward. Click below to download these email templates today!