Sept. 27, 2025
Ep 156: Cold Outreach Is Dead: Why Relationship-Building Matters on LinkedIn
Send us a text Buy the LinkedIn Prospecting Course In this episode, I share the most common mistake B2B businesses make with LinkedIn prospecting: skipping the warming-up period before pitching offers. I provide a clip from my recent LinkedIn prospecting workshop that details my three-step approach to deepening connections and converting leads without feeling salesy. • Most businesses fail by sending cold outreach without building relationships first • The effective three-step LinkedIn DM ...
Buy the LinkedIn Prospecting Course
In this episode, I share the most common mistake B2B businesses make with LinkedIn prospecting: skipping the warming-up period before pitching offers. I provide a clip from my recent LinkedIn prospecting workshop that details my three-step approach to deepening connections and converting leads without feeling salesy.
• Most businesses fail by sending cold outreach without building relationships first
• The effective three-step LinkedIn DM approach: connection DM, problem exploration, and soft offer
• Problem exploration involves asking about specific challenges and relating to your experience
• The soft offer extends an invitation to connect further to discuss their challenges
• Consistency is key—just 15 minutes daily on LinkedIn can transform your prospecting results
• Warm leads by commenting on content before moving to DM conversations
• Have your "ask" and "give" prepared before connection calls to create natural follow-up opportunities
Want the full LinkedIn prospecting workshop with templates and scripts? Head to the show notes page to purchase the complete course. Follow me on LinkedIn (Sarah Noel Block) with any questions!
Join my events community for FREE monthly events.
I offer free events each month to help you master your business's growth through marketing, sales, systems, and offer strategy.
Join the community here!
Apply for the Tiny Marketing Club >>> Join the Club
Come tour my digital home :) >>>Website
Wanna be friends? >>> LinkedIn
Let's chat every Tuesday! >>> Newsletter
Catch the video podcast on YouTube >>>YouTube
Join my event group for live events >>> Meetup
01:37 - Intro to Tiny Marketing Podcast
02:10 - Episode Introduction and Host Update
03:33 - The Problem with Cold Outreach
05:42 - Workshop Clip on LinkedIn Prospecting
11:19 - Q&A Session from Workshop
12:56 - Final Tips and Episode Closing
WEBVTT
00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:07.599
Podcast that helps B2B service businesses do more with less.
00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:12.720
Learn lean, actionable, organic marketing strategies you can implement today.
00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:16.239
No fluff, just powerful growth tactics at work.
00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:18.000
Ready to scale smarter?
00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:22.160
Hit that subscribe button and start growing your business with tiny marketing.
00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:26.160
Hello everyone.
00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:29.199
Welcome to episode 156.
00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:32.159
I am sick.
00:00:33.119 --> 00:00:38.479
I have my throat coat tea right here, filled with like 50% honey.
00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:40.320
But we're gonna do this thing.
00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:48.719
Today I am sharing a clip from the workshop that I had on Monday on LinkedIn prospecting.
00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:59.119
And I'm sharing it's about like five to seven minutes of the part that I see most people get wrong with LinkedIn prospecting.
00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:02.640
So I thought that this would be the most powerful thing to share with you.
00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:10.159
And then down in the show notes, you can find the link to purchase the entire it's been turned into a course.
00:01:10.319 --> 00:01:13.280
So the entire course on LinkedIn prospecting.
00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:16.560
So let's talk a little bit about it.
00:01:16.879 --> 00:01:31.840
I just had a call with a client yesterday who has she has a salesperson on her team who's sending out 10,000 emails on her offer.
00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:34.640
She says, We're not getting anywhere.
00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:37.280
And I'm not really sure what the problem is.
00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:46.719
So I asked, are these cold or are we warming them up before we start talking about our offer?
00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:48.640
She's like, Yeah, they're cold.
00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:58.079
They're we're finding them on like Zoom info or we're finding them on LinkedIn Navigator, and then we're reaching out to them.
00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:14.719
I was like, okay, so here's the problem that is likely happening here is you aren't using a warming up period to build a relationship with them before you say, hey, here's my thing, purchase it.
00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:23.759
You need to have a fairly significant warming period where you build a relationship with them.
00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:34.319
You are commenting on their content, you're sliding into their DMs and having genuine conversations before you start talking about your offer.
00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:44.319
So right off the heels of that conversation, I thought that's the perfect clip to pull from this LinkedIn prospecting workshop.
00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:48.639
How do we deepen relationships and convert them?
00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:51.439
So that's what I'm sharing today.
00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:54.800
And let me tell you a little bit why I'm feeling sick right now.
00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:57.039
So my week was crazy.
00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:09.919
Last weekend, my alter ego, my award-winning contemporary romance author ego, I had a book signing right outside of Indianapolis.
00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:13.199
So that was an eight-hour round trip drive.
00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:14.240
It sold out.
00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:15.199
It was awesome.
00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:19.439
It was so cool to meet readers, but it was also a lot.
00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:24.719
And then the day I came back, I taught this LinkedIn prospecting workshop.
00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:32.159
And then the day after that, I teamed up with the community and I taught them a gateway offer workshop.
00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:35.759
So it was just like boom, boom, boom, boom.
00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:40.800
And now my body was like, Sarah, no, it's time to rest.
00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:44.560
So here I am being forced to rest.
00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:49.120
So none of that really matters, but I thought I'd share it anyway.
00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:50.800
Enjoy this clip.
00:03:50.960 --> 00:04:08.560
And if you want more, if you want the full workshop, which has been turned into a course that has templates and scripts that you can use, then head to the show notes page and the grab the LinkedIn prospecting workshop.
00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:09.680
It's there for you.
00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:10.400
All right.
00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:11.439
Thank you all.
00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:15.360
So rule number four is deepen the connection and convert.
00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:17.360
And this is the last rule.
00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:18.240
So we're good.
00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:25.360
So inside the LinkedIn playbook, you can find us there too in the Tiny Marketing Club.
00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:35.839
But there is a three-step approach to using DMs to move warm leads into a call without it feeling sadsly and gross.
00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:38.639
So the first one we've already learned about.
00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:39.519
So that's exciting.
00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:40.800
You've already done this.
00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:43.839
It's the connection DM, the magic DM.
00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:48.879
It is it tells them exactly what you do and who you do it for.
00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:54.079
Now the second one is a problem exploration one.
00:04:54.240 --> 00:04:57.519
So you want to ask about their specific challenges and goals.
00:04:57.680 --> 00:05:04.000
An easy way to do this would be like, what projects are you working on right now?
00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:07.839
So that's a nice and easy way you can do that.
00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:11.839
So you ask them, hey, are you working about on anything exciting?
00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:15.920
And then they'll tell you and say, Oh, I've experienced that before.
00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:18.480
Did you run across this problem like I did?
00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:19.920
Or something like that.
00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:22.720
Or one of my clients was doing that too.
00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:24.240
And they ran into this.
00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:25.920
Did you experience that?
00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:31.920
And then the third DM in this sequence is the soft offer.
00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:36.959
So you want to extend an invitation to connect and discuss the challenge further.
00:05:37.839 --> 00:05:41.199
So I use the same strategy in niche communities.
00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:50.079
What I'll do, because in niche communities, people are asking their questions publicly and people are answering them publicly.
00:05:50.319 --> 00:06:01.439
So I'll usually answer them publicly and then I'll DM them and ask if they want to connect on a call real quick so we can brainstorm on how to solve that problem.
00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:05.279
Or we can talk through my explanation a little bit deeper.
00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:16.720
But that's what you would do in the soft offer version is you would explore that problem and then you can talk about how you helped the client solve it.
00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:24.639
And then you could say, if you want, we can connect on a like 15-minute call and go over that strategy real quick.
00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:39.360
And that is an easy way to move into a connection call that usually converts into a sales call because you started it in this value point of view.
00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:41.360
I see the questions rolling in.
00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:42.560
I will get to them.
00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:46.319
Now I'll get to them now.
00:06:46.720 --> 00:06:47.040
Okay.
00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:51.600
After a connection call, I find that I don't always have a reason to follow up.
00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:52.480
Any tips?
00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:52.959
Okay.
00:06:54.000 --> 00:07:05.519
So Annette for you, you could go into just ping me and I will add you to the lead waterfall because that is another easy way to do it.
00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:12.000
If you are hosting a workshop or a training, that's another, that's an easy way you can follow up.
00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:14.319
I'm doing this on this date.
00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:16.560
If you want to attend, here you go.
00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:28.800
But my go-to on those connection calls, like reasons to follow up, is to have my ask and my give already available and in my head.
00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:33.920
So whenever you're doing a connection call, usually someone is going to be like, How can I help you?
00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:35.360
What are you trying to look for?
00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:38.079
Any specific resources, et cetera, et cetera.
00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:46.319
So I go into that conversation already having a give available and an ask available.
00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:52.800
So that will usually lead to a follow-up conversation based on what that was.
00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:58.959
So it might be I know about a really great niche community that you'd be part of.
00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:00.639
It's invitation only.
00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:04.560
Let me connect with them and then I'll reconnect with you.
00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:10.800
So that's another easy way that you can have a reason to follow up, is you're helping them with something.
00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:15.680
And that's my favorite way to do it is doing it by serving.
00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:26.399
And if you have a podcast or you have a partner style workshop where like it's two people that are training, you usually have a guest.
00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:34.879
That's another great way you can follow up because you can invite them into your spotlight and you can have them as a guest on your podcast or in your training.
00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:37.759
So those are a couple ways you can do it.
00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:44.720
Okay, Amy, if it's a cold LinkedIn connection, how soon after connecting can you ask the problem exploration?
00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:49.279
A worry that I would still feel too cold for them to respond.
00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:50.960
I agree with you, Amy.
00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:57.519
What I would do is I would do the connection request first.
00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:02.159
And then I would do those warming up tactics that I talked about first.
00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:12.080
And then once you've had a genuine interaction with them publicly, that's when I would move into that DM conversation once you've been warmed.
00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:22.480
So connection request first with that magic DM, then go into the warming techniques that I taught, and then go into that problem exploration.
00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:26.320
But it usually can happen really fast within a couple days.
00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:29.200
Okay.
00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:37.279
So we don't have time to craft your problem exploration DM live right now.
00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:44.480
We had a lot of nice QA happening, but I'm gonna have this in the replay.
00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:47.279
And you guys are invited to the office hours.
00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:58.879
So what I do want you to do is craft your problem exploration DM in between this time and come to the office hours and let's talk through it to make sure that it hits and it's working.
00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:05.919
And hopefully you'll have some time to be able to explore and practice and use it within those times.
00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:14.320
So our goal is to not have a sales script, but to have a friendly conversation with dream clients.
00:10:14.480 --> 00:10:20.799
And the biggest goal is to get them on a 15-minute call so you can have you can deepen that conversation.
00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:24.799
And if they are ready for a sales call, they will raise their hand at that point.
00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:46.080
Some just reminders is trigger hand raisers by using CT CTA's calls to action, like DM me if you want blah, blah, blah, whatever your post is about, and microhabits, just having 15-minute daily timers so you can comment on people's posts.
00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:56.080
Our goal is to go from content, prospecting, engagement, and calls and just be consistent.
00:10:56.240 --> 00:10:58.480
Spend 15 minutes on LinkedIn per day.
00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:17.919
That's all you really need is consistency over perfection and commit to using just like one of these habits and then adding the next one and the next one so you can start prospecting and getting really warm conversations happening that can convert into sales.
00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:21.440
Hi, beauties.
00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:26.080
I hope you enjoyed the snippet from the LinkedIn Prospecting Workshop.
00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:30.240
And if you want the whole replay, it is in the show notes page.
00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:37.360
If you have any questions that come up, then make sure to follow me over on LinkedIn.
00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:40.000
I'm Sarah Noel Block there.
00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:42.799
And you can DM me your questions.
00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:45.919
I'm looking forward to connecting with you.
00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:48.879
And I'll see you next time.
00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:49.679
Bye.
00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:52.639
You love all things tiny marketing.
00:11:52.960 --> 00:12:11.759
Head down to the show notes page and sign up for the wait list to join the Tiny Marketing Club, where you get to work one on one with me with trainings, feedback, and pop up coaching that will help you scale your marketing as a B2B service business.
00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:13.600
So I'll see you over in the club.
00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:07.599
00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:12.720
00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:16.239
00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:18.000
00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:22.160
00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:26.160
00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:29.199
00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:32.159
00:00:33.119 --> 00:00:38.479
00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:40.320
00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:48.719
00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:59.119
00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:02.640
00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:10.159
00:01:10.319 --> 00:01:13.280
00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:16.560
00:01:16.879 --> 00:01:31.840
00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:34.640
00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:37.280
00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:46.719
00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:48.640
00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:58.079
00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:14.719
00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:23.759
00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:34.319
00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:44.319
00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:48.639
00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:51.439
00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:54.800
00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:57.039
00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:09.919
00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:13.199
00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:14.240
00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:15.199
00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:19.439
00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:24.719
00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:32.159
00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:35.759
00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:40.800
00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:44.560
00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:49.120
00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:50.800
00:03:50.960 --> 00:04:08.560
00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:09.680
00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:10.400
00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:11.439
00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:15.360
00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:17.360
00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:18.240
00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:25.360
00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:35.839
00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:38.639
00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:39.519
00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:40.800
00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:43.839
00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:48.879
00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:54.079
00:04:54.240 --> 00:04:57.519
00:04:57.680 --> 00:05:04.000
00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:07.839
00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:11.839
00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:15.920
00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:18.480
00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:19.920
00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:22.720
00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:24.240
00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:25.920
00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:31.920
00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:36.959
00:05:37.839 --> 00:05:41.199
00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:50.079
00:05:50.319 --> 00:06:01.439
00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:05.279
00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:16.720
00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:24.639
00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:39.360
00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:41.360
00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:42.560
00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:46.319
00:06:46.720 --> 00:06:47.040
00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:51.600
00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:52.480
00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:52.959
00:06:54.000 --> 00:07:05.519
00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:12.000
00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:14.319
00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:16.560
00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:28.800
00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:33.920
00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:35.360
00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:38.079
00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:46.319
00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:52.800
00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:58.959
00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:00.639
00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:04.560
00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:10.800
00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:15.680
00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:26.399
00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:34.879
00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:37.759
00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:44.720
00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:49.279
00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:50.960
00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:57.519
00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:02.159
00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:12.080
00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:22.480
00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:26.320
00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:29.200
00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:37.279
00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:44.480
00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:47.279
00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:58.879
00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:05.919
00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:14.320
00:10:14.480 --> 00:10:20.799
00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:24.799
00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:46.080
00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:56.080
00:10:56.240 --> 00:10:58.480
00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:17.919
00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:21.440
00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:26.080
00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:30.240
00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:37.360
00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:40.000
00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:42.799
00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:45.919
00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:48.879
00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:49.679
00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:52.639
00:11:52.960 --> 00:12:11.759
00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:13.600
