Outsourced Lead Generation: Why 1,500+ Clients Trust Us

With over 600 million members, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional social network in the world. Although free to join, LinkedIn’s capabilities run much deeper than the site makes available through their free accounts.

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For serious sales professionals, jobseekers and recruiters, upgrading to LinkedIn Premium (for a monthly fee) may be worthwhile.

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Is LinkedIn Premium worth it? In order to discern between LinkedIn Premium vs free, we’ll dive deep into each plan and its core differences, along with specific use cases.

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Differences Between LinkedIn Free and LinkedIn Premium

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LinkedIn is the greatest B2B database on the internet, so the core difference between free and premium is how much data, job/sales insights and search tools it limits.

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For example, LinkedIn enforces a commercial use limit which restricts searches and profiles views to a small amount for free accounts. LinkedIn premium users get unlimited searches, more filters and great sales, recruiting and job insights.

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What Are the LinkedIn Membership Levels?

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• Premium Career
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• Premium Business
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• Sales Navigator Professional
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• Recruiter Lite

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What Do You Get with LinkedIn Free?

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LinkedIn’s free membership makes the following tools and features available:

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• Ability to create a professional profile.
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• Basic search capabilities for people and jobs.
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• Three saved searches that can be used to create weekly email alerts.
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• Ability to provide and request recommendations from other members.

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What Do You Get with LinkedIn Premium?

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At present, LinkedIn splits their premium plans into four different categories -- Career, Hiring, Business, and Sales -- with each offering their own unique features and tools. Here are some of the benefits granted to LinkedIn Premium members across the different plans:‍

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LinkedIn Sales Navigator Professional (starting at $64.99 per mo. w/annual billing)*

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• 20 InMail messages per month, even if you’re not currently connected.
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• Access to 30+ advanced search filters for building dream prospect lists.
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• See who’s viewed your profile over the previous 90 days.
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• View unlimited profiles (up to 3rd degree connections) across the network.
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• Get in-depth Sales Insights on accounts and leads for customized outreach.
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• Save unlimited leads and get recommendations on who to prospect to.

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LinkedIn Premium Business (starting at $47.99 per mo. w/annual billing)*

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• Send 15 InMail messages per month, even if you’re not currently connected.
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• See who’s viewed your profile over the previous 90 days.
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• View unlimited profiles (up to 3rd-degree connections) across the network.
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• Access to Business Insights, offering data around a company’s growth and trends.
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• Access to Career Insights, allowing comparisons to other jobseekers, as well as salary information.

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LinkedIn Premium Career (starting at $29.99 per mo.)*

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• Send three InMail messages per month, even if you’re not currently connected.
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• See who’s viewed your profile over the previous 90 days.
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• Listed as a featured applicant for jobs.
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• See how you compare with other candidates through Applicant Insights
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• Access to Salary Insights on average pay ranges.

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LinkedIn Recruiter Lite (starting at $99.95 per mo. w/annual billing)*

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• Send 30 InMail messages per month, even if you’re not currently connected.
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• See who’s viewed your profile over the previous 90 days.
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• View unlimited profiles (up to 3rd degree connections) across the network.
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• Advanced search tools and Smart Suggestions for helping to find talent.
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• Candidate tracking and integrated hiring tools to manage talent and roles.

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Extending Your Network

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With LinkedIn Premium accounts, members can view an unlimited amount of profiles and are given InMail message credits, which allow users to bypass connection requests and get into the inbox of anyone on LinkedIn.

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The most practical business application of premium is based on volume. Only premium allows someone to send hundreds of connection requests a week, building a targeted network for nurturing through the LinkedIn inbox or the newsfeed with content.

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Top LinkedIn Premium Benefits

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LinkedIn Learning

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Premium members get access to a wide range of video courses through LinkedIn Learning, which hosts over 15,000 videos from Lynda.com (LinkedIn acquired Lynda.com for $1.5B in 2015) and offers detailed tutorials to build new skills in areas such as Business, Creative, and Technology.

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How Can Your Business Use LinkedIn Learning?

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Businesses can use LinkedIn Learning to upskill employees in specific areas. With courses such as Building Dashboards for Excel, Customer Insights and Consumer Analytics for Organizations, Marketing to Generation Z, and thousands more, LinkedIn Learning offers novice to expert-level training.

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InMail

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What is an InMail?

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InMail allows you to directly message LinkedIn members that you're not connected to.

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While free members can only message people they’re directly connected to, Premium members are given a certain amount credits (depending on the plan) that allow them to reach members outside their circle.

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Here’s an example of an InMail:

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How Can InMail Help with Prospecting?

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While other outreach tactics (email, phone, referrals) can book sales meetings, the LinkedIn inbox is often less saturated.

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So, InMails have higher open rates, 100% deliverability and enable a unique way to start a sales conversation. Additionally, prospects can click on your LinkedIn profile from an InMail message, which builds trust.

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What to Expect from LinkedIn Premium

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To generate a meaningful amount of leads and conversations through LinkedIn premium, a great LinkedIn profile combined with well-written messages, a targeted prospects list, and consistent outbound volume is key.

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If you’re strategically using the platform at least 2-3 times a week, you will get leads. For sales teams, the best way to build tight targeting lists and send messages at scale is through Sales Navigator Professional.

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LinkedIn Premium Business vs. LinkedIn Sales Navigator Professional

Sales Navigator Professional gives users access to advanced search filters that deliver nuanced results across LinkedIn’s entire database of users.

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Sales Navigator also generates talking points for warm and dark leads, such as job change alerts, as well as prospect and company news alerts. Combining these capabilities with unlimited profile views and increased InMails, Sales Navigator grants more access than Premium, while delivering highly specific and meaningful leads in return.

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Sales Navigator also offers two additional tiers above Professional, including Team and Enterprise that allow businesses to scale their social selling practices.

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If you'd like to speak to a LinkedIn expert on how we use Sales Navigator, find a time here.

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Is LinkedIn Sales Navigator Really Worth It?

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Here are the top three benefits and reasons why Sales Navigator is absolutely worth it:

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1. More Targeting Filters: Sales Navigator grants access to LinkedIn’s entire database of users, making it super easy to build highly specific lists of using advanced search filters only made available for Sales Navigator users.
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2. Unlimited Prospecting: There is no cap to the amount of profiles you can view. Additionally, Sales Navigator allows you to send more connection requests and messages than a free membership, which is essential to scale outreach to a volume that results in a meaningful amount of replies.
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3. Talking Points: Sales Navigator generates timely lead alerts that you can use to engage warm or dark leads, through features like job change notifications, alerts when a prospect posts content, and company news alerts.

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Why Outsource Lead Generation?

As many as 61% of marketing professionals identify lead generation as their top challenge. While they are experts in making sales, producing leads requires a different set of skills.  What’s more, 61% of marketers that generate their sales in-house report that they lack the staff, funding, and time to do so effectively.

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The good news: marketing companies that outsource lead generation see a 43% improvement in lead return compared to those that generate leads in-house. By investing in an outsourced sales lead partner, your business can see an immediate improvement in both the quantity and quality of your sales leads.

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More than half of all marketing companies report that lead generation takes up a solid majority of their budget. Generating enough leads to keep your business afloat may involve intensive email marketing, LinkedIn marketing, SEO, and marketing automation, to name a few.

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This can make the process of sales lead generation feel like a catch-22. You need to generate large numbers of leads to keep your company profitable, but doing so successfully leaves you with less time to dedicate to existing clients.

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The sheer number of variables can bring unpredictable expenses.  Lead outsourcing removes this uncertainty, allowing you to pay a flat fee to a service that takes up all the necessary tasks on your behalf. In addition to freeing up your time to invest in other aspects of the business, this leaves you with much greater control over your budget.

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The Benefits of LinkedIn for Outsourced B2B Lead Generation

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When it comes to sales lead generation, LinkedIn presents many advantages for businesses large and small. LinkedIn is unique among social media sites in part because of its abundant tools for connecting users based on shared business focus, interests, and industry needs.

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Of particular use is the ability to search for users by location, background, job title, group membership, and other identifiers. These tools are invaluable when using LinkedIn as a platform to generate potential sales leads for your business.

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LinkedIn provides both free and paid options for B2B networking. Using LinkedIn's free tools, you can search for and connect with potential sales partners, along with using your connections to message other users.

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LinkedIn also offers several paid options for lead generation. These include its LinkedIn Ads platform, InMail messaging service, and advanced audience-finding tools such as Sales Navigator.

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Like with any lead generation, finding sales leads on LinkedIn can consume a good deal of time and possibly money. This is why outsourcing your LinkedIn sales lead generation brings the best of both worlds.

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An outsourced sales generation partner knows how to navigate LinkedIn tools to reap maximum leads from the site.  

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At the same time, a partner can help improve your company's status on LinkedIn through such services as designing your company profile and assisting with messages — either through consultation or writing direct messages for you. As your LinkedIn presence improves, the opportunity to connect with new leads grows in tandem.

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How To Build an Outsourced Lead Generation Machine

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Now that you’ve seen the benefits of outsourcing, you can get started on building your company's lead-generating process. The first step is to determine what kind of partner you are looking for.

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If the bottom line is your priority, you may consider an independent lead generation contractor. Independent contractors are often freelancers who work on a contract basis to provide case-by-case lead generation. You can usually find these contractors on sites such as Upwork and Freelancer, or through their ads.

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In some cases, independent lead generation contractors provide adequate lead generation results for lower rates. This is especially true if the number of leads your company requires is limited and general.

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But be advised that this route may not provide you with the same returns as an experienced lead generation company. As opposed to individual freelancers, these are companies with accumulated experience and resources devoted to generating meaningful sales leads for clients. Lead generation companies may involve higher fees than independent contractors — but this is reflected in their results.

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An established lead generation company is a priority if your business works in a niche field or needs extensive sales leads to meet your annual sales quotas. In these cases, a sales lead company should have the necessary means to generate a superior quantity and quality of leads.  

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Customer reviews are an important part of the research process, along with examining the specialization of each lead generation service. Is this company experienced in generating sales leads for the type of product or service that your business offers?

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Further, consider what kind of lead generation strategies each service focuses on and if this corresponds to your needs. The majority of marketers report that the most effective B2B lead-generation strategies are email marketing, event marketing, and content marketing.

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Outsourced Lead Generation Services

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A good lead-generation service gives marketers the power to take their businesses to the next level. It may offer services such as sending sales generation emails, building targeted lists on Sales Navigator, writing copy, and composing follow-up messages to hundreds of prospective clients each month.

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What Is the Best Lead Generation Outsourcing Company?

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When it comes to outsourced lead generation, having the right partner in your corner is second to none. No matter your particular sales generation needs, an experienced lead generation service will provide the means to secure the sales that your business needs to excel.

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The Cleverly Difference

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Cleverly stands out among sales lead generation companies for its unique, data-driven focus. As a premier LinkedIn lead generation agency, we use LinkedIn pages to provide the best sales leads to marketing businesses.

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In addition to optimizing LinkedIn profiles to attract potential leads, Cleverly finds relevant LinkedIn sales prospects, crafts messages, and executes outreach using tried and true tools to maximize results. Other services include prospect list building and A/B-tested copywriting.

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Premier LinkedIn Services

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Thanks to Clevery's focus on four key areas of LinkedIn lead acquisition, we excel at turning LinkedIn profiles into revenue generation.

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LinkedIn Profile Optimization

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Cleverly provides businesses with polished, professional LinkedIn profiles designed with means-tested methods for maximizing views and generating sales leads.

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LinkedIn Direct Outreach

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We craft personalized messages for potential sales leads, then offer guidance on how to best manage replies and nurture relationships.

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LinkedIn Content and Ghostwriting

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Cleverly supplies businesses with engaging content for their LinkedIn profiles. Our posts help companies establish clear influence in their industries, which can translate into more sales leads.

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LinkedIn Ads

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We’ll design and manage your LinkedIn Ads campaigns so that you can focus on closing the resulting leads.

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LinkedIn Sales Strategy

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Cleverly provides tried-and-true systems for tracking and responding to all qualified leads. Using real-time data, our experienced account managers give companies proven strategies for turning LinkedIn connections into successful sales.

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Get in Touch With Cleverly for a Free Consultation

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At Cleverly clients come first. This focus has allowed us to secure sales for companies including Amazon, Sony, and Google. Our track record so far: around 151,400 leads, $37.6 million in revenue, and $229 million in client pipelines.

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With a strong focus on the best sales generation techniques and a firm grasp on client needs, it’s no wonder more than 1,500 marketing businesses place their trust in Cleverly for outsourced lead generation.

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‍Get in touch for a free consultation and the opportunity to transform your sales lead game into lasting success.

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