Small Business Member Success Story

How I used LinkedIn to

target, research, and connect
with the very best leads

Early in his sales and business development career, Ben

Metzker, Vice President of Business Development and
Strategic Partnerships at Native Rank, realized that the
“volume” cold-calling approach was exhausting and not very
effective. “I quickly learned that making sales was not about
how many calls you make,” says Metzker.
Metzker discovered a better way to find sales leads when he
joined Native Rank in 2011, just as the digital marketing
company was opening its doors. The approach centered on
LinkedIn and its Sales Navigator solution.
Here’s how LinkedIn and Sales Navigator helped Metzker
radically change how he and his sales colleagues find and
develop leads.
Finding an alternative to cold-calling
Metzker was employee #2 at Native Rank, a company that
helps local businesses get access to the same online
marketing and search engine optimization tools used by the
Fortune 500. Metzker was tasked with building out the
company’s sales team and pitching Native Rank’s offerings to
their target audience.
Tips for using LinkedIn to prospect:
1) “Don’t do the hard sell the first time you reach
out to a prospect,” Metzker says. Whether you’re
sending an invitation to connect, or using an InMail
to get someone’s attention, offer yourself as a
resource first – save the product pitch for when the
relationship is already underway.
2) “Look for classmates,” he suggests. Sure, you
search LinkedIn for former business colleagues,
but don’t forget people you went to school with –
they could be at just the kind of company your
sales team wants to connect with.
3) “Fill out your profile all the way – don’t skip
sections,” advises Metzker. “Why just complete
20% of it, when you have more space to get your
message out?”
4) “Host events, and connect with the people who
attend,” Metzker says. Native Rank hosts a
monthly networking event in Denver that attracts
about 200 people per event. “We’ll invite
everyone to connect with us on LinkedIn after the
event. This helps us continue the conversations.”

“What I found right away was that many small businesses had
been burned by marketing companies that had
overpromised success, so they didn’t even want to take calls
from people like us,” Metzker explains. “Cold-calling these
businesses wasn’t going to work – if they didn’t know you,
they’d be too afraid to work with you.”
 Metzker knew he needed a better method than a cold call to
prove his company’s validity, and his own good reputation. “When you’re prospecting for new accounts among local
“I’d never really used LinkedIn before,” he says. “I realized that businesses, trustworthiness means everything. LinkedIn
with a LinkedIn profile, I could introduce myself and Native Sales Navigator helps us reach out to potential
Rank to prospects in a friendly, trustworthy way.” customers within a trusted community, and gives us the
research tools we need to find the very best targets.”
After setting up his profile, Metzker searched LinkedIn for
customers of Native Rank, as well as customers he’d worked Ben Metzker
with at past jobs. “It turned out I had a whole network I Vice President of Business Development and Strategic
Partnerships, Native Rank
didn’t even know existed,” Metzker says. “All of these
connections gave me many more ‘ins’ to the companies I
wanted to contact.”

As Metzker’s sales team continues to expand, Sales Navigator

A deep dive into sales research has become a must-have tool, especially for the Native Rank
sales people who focus on the larger deals.
As the business grew, Metzker realized there was even more
he could do with LinkedIn, so he upgraded to a Sales “Our CEO initially wasn’t sure about investing in Sales
Navigator subscription. “The research tools in Sales Navigator Navigator,” Metzker says. “But after seeing how much more
are invaluable – I can gather so much data before even efficient it’s made our research, he couldn’t be more excited
reaching out to a person,” he says. “I love using Lead about it.” Building a solid reputation among local businesses
Generator to track possible new leads – it updates is now a faster, easier task: “LinkedIn humanizes us,” Metzker
automatically based on the parameters that I’ve set.” says. “When we introduce ourselves to a prospect on
LinkedIn, they can see immediately who we are and what we
“The extra research power made it possible for us to go after know about digital marketing. It makes us trustworthy, and
larger deals,” Metzker explains. “With more advanced search that means a lot.”
facets, it became easier for us to find the right person at a
large organization – and then reach out to them using InMail,
making the first contact more personal.”

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