A Comprehensive Guide to Choosing the Best LinkedIn Lead Generation Agency for Your Business

LinkedIn is one of the top lead generation channels for businesses in all industries. Not only does it guarantee an outstanding lead quality, but the potential to grow your brand on the platform is limitless. 

The only downside is…

Finding quality prospects on LinkedIn can often be a difficult and time-consuming process. That’s especially true when you don’t have an experienced in-house team to build and execute the entire strategy for you.

So that’s when outsourcing LinkedIn lead generation to an agency becomes a necessity. 

In today’s guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about hiring LinkedIn lead generation partners. 

You’ll discover why outsourcing lead gen is crucial and which factors are most important to consider when choosing an agency. More importantly, we’ll share with you a step-by-step process for cultivating a long-lasting partnership with an outsourcing company that delivers tangible results. 

Ready? Let’s dive into it!

What is Lead Generation Using LinkedIn?

LinkedIn lead generation is the practice of capturing new prospects and getting them interested in your business using LinkedIn. It’s one of the best lead gen strategies due to how powerful this platform is when it comes to researching the right leads and engaging them in sales conversations.

LinkedIn is the largest professional network with over 875 million active users. So that makes it one of the best lead generation channels for any company that’s looking for serious growth. A lead generation agency is a partner specializing in LinkedIn will help you leverage the power of this platform by allowing you to find and convert better-quality clients in less time.

What Are the Advantages of Working With a LinkedIn Lead Generation Agency?

Lead generation using LinkedIn has become one of the best strategies that companies can use to increase sales. Instead of waiting for potential prospects to enter your sales funnel, you can actively search for them and engage them in sales conversations.

Working with a LinkedIn lead generation firm can guarantee you the following benefits:

1. Higher Sales Leads Quality

As already mentioned, LinkedIn is the largest business network there is today. Millions of people use the platform every day to exchange information with other professionals or make new deals.

What makes sales outreach tricky is that it’s hard to find the right people to talk to and engage them in real conversations. Even if you’re reaching out to irrelevant prospects randomly, a lot of them are going to talk to you and tell you how amazing your offers are. Yet, they’ll never buy your product or service.   

That’s when getting help from a LinkedIn lead generation specialist becomes a must… A lead generation company specializing in LinkedIn will help you go after the right prospects by developing an ideal customer profile (ICP). 

That’s going to help them target the right leads with LinkedIn Sales Navigator. And it’s also useful for creating highly-engaging content that boosts your brand on the platform. 

2. Lower Lead Generation Costs

Lead acquisition cost has always been a big challenge for companies on their path to sustainable growth. Very few lead gen strategies can guarantee a positive ROI — especially when it comes to generating high-quality prospects that convert in the end.

Many companies would try and hire in-house lead generation teams to improve their results with LinkedIn. However, this approach often fails due to inexperience and the additional costs that can result in a negative ROI in the end.  

A LinkedIn lead generation partner with a good reputation is your best chance for converting quality leads at a low cost. The outsourced lead gen specialists have all the resources and experience to take care of everything for you. That includes researching your target LinkedIn prospects, reaching out with personalized messages, and closing deals at a faster rate.

3. Faster Business Results

Speaking of closing deals at a faster rate, LinkedIn lead generation agencies are also a great way to shorten your sales cycle and sell more in less time. 

How is that possible?

First off, you’re saving yourself time by mainly focusing on quality leads. The sales team will only be dealing with laser-targeted prospects that are interested in your solutions. These potential clients have fewer objections in mind — so that makes them more likely to buy from you.

Moreover, outsourced partners specializing in LinkedIn lead generation will also free up valuable time in your schedule. Which you can use to focus on other key duties in your business. Instead of wasting hours every day thinking about how to sell more, you can leave all the guesswork to the pros and rest assured that they’re making all the right sales decisions.

4. Improved Sales Revenue

And now with the most obvious benefit of hiring a LinkedIn lead generation: increased sales.

An outsourced team of lead gen specialists can help you reach the right prospects and get them interested in your solutions. These professionals are qualified to leverage the most effective sales tools and tactics that your business needs to thrive. And they’re also better at aligning sales and marketing, allowing you to keep everything in order while driving more revenue.

All of these factors will eventually result in better conversions and a higher lead-to-customer rate.

5. Diversified Lead Generation Channels

Attracting new prospects through a variety of channels is essential for the sustainability of your growth plan. The more lead gen strategies and platforms you can use, the more competitive your company will be in capturing quality leads and converting them.

The only problem is… It takes a lot of expertise and knowledge to be able to diversify your lead sources. Because if you want to reach a broader range of prospects, you have to master different lead gen skills, tools, and strategies across different platforms.

That’s one of the many ways hiring a lead generation firm can put you at an advantage when honing in on LinkedIn prospects. By outsourcing the work to a qualified partner, you can go after a wide variety of leads faster and capture the low-hanging fruit easily.

How to Identify Reliable LinkedIn Lead Generation Services? (5 Questions to Ask Yourself)

Here are five important questions to ask about any lead gen outsourcing agency before hiring them:

1. Experience

Expertise is the first thing you should consider when outsourcing any kind of company work. That’s especially crucial when it comes to lead generation and sales, which are the heart and lungs of your company.

Is this partner qualified to handle my LinkedIn lead generation strategy?

To evaluate an agency’s level of expertise, you want to base your judgment on its online brand presence. Anything the company does online should affect how you view it, including its brand identity, published content, social media profiles, etc.

Here’s what all the best LinkedIn lead gen companies have in common:  

• A trustworthy brand presence with a modern logo, typography, and colors 
• A professionally designed website with a real team behind it
• A dedicated services page answering your questions and explaining all offers in detail
• A detailed explanation of how their outsourced lead gen specialists can help you be more efficient  
• An active blog section with tons of helpful content answering the most essential questions about LinkedIn lead generation
• A consistent presence on social media platforms (especially on LinkedIn)
• A strong portfolio of case studies, awards, and positive reviews 

Which brings us to the next most important factor: reputation…

2. Reputation

The best predictor of your customer experience with any partner is their reputation. And unfortunately, there’s no shortage of lead gen agencies with decades of experience who have a very bad reputation in the industry.

Can I trust this partner with my lead generation and sales strategy?

A LinkedIn lead gen agency with a lot of bad reviews isn’t going to make an exception for you when you decide to hire them. From the start, you want to choose a partner who’s going to value you as a client — no matter how successful they are. 

To find reliable LinkedIn lead generation firms, you must look for testimonials and reviews on their site and other third-party websites. You’re always one Google search away from finding out everything about any potential partner you want to work with. 

Past achievements and case studies are also important for making an informed hiring decision in this case. So be sure to look for reputable agencies that have served similar clients in your industry.

3. Relevance

LinkedIn lead generation companies that have experience working with clients in your industry will do a much better job. They’ll provide you with an outsourced team that has already served clients similar to you in company size, target audience, objectives, etc. So that makes them more qualified to use the tools and strategies that can help you capture more sales opportunities. 

Does this partner have experience working with clients similar to me?

Specialized LinkedIn lead gen skills and knowledge will save you a lot of time and money in the long term. A LinkedIn lead generation expert with a proven track record in your industry will do a better job understanding your target customers and converting them into buyers. They’ll also help you create more engaging content and communicate more effectively with each lead.

Answering the question above doesn’t have to be too complicated. You can take a look at the company’s “Customers” page to try and identify the types of clients they’ve worked with in the past. Or you can just ask them this question once you decide to reach out with an inquiry. 

4. Communication

Bad customer support can be a huge turnoff, even if the results are acceptable. That’s simply because you’re going to spend a lot of time making strategies, analyzing plans, and discussing progress with them. So if you’re not valued as a client, you’ll pass on many opportunities to grow and improve your lead generation results.

Can this partner communicate with you effectively at every step of the process?

Fortunately, reading reviews is often enough for you to set clear expectations of what it’s like to communicate with the agency you want to hire. Past client experiences are always a good indicator of customer service when hiring an outsourced lead gen team.

You can decide based on your own customer experience as well, which starts with the first message you reach out with to the agency. If you don’t feel comfortable with how the two of you are exchanging information, perhaps you should choose another firm to work with.

5. Cost

By this point, you should already have a list of reliable agencies that you’re ready to work with. So now would be a good time to compare pricing.

How much will these LinkedIn lead generation services cost you?

Cost shouldn’t be the main determining factor when hiring a lead gen agency specializing in LinkedIn. However, it’s still important to consider pricing and compare all your options if you want to reach your revenue goals and maintain a positive ROI.

The truth is: LinkedIn prospecting and outreach services are usually pricey. But still, it shouldn’t cost a fortune each month to get good leads and expand your market share. A well-streamlined lead generation process is one that drives your lead acquisition costs down over time.   

How to Hire a LinkedIn Lead Generation Agency For Your Business

So far, you’ve learned the most critical factors when it comes to outsourcing lead gen to an agency and why they matter. So now, it’s time to turn that knowledge into a simple yet practical step-by-step process.

Here’s how to hire a LinkedIn lead generation agency in five simple steps: 

Step 1. Set Your Lead Generation Objectives

Obviously, your main objective with outsourcing lead gen is to attract more prospects to your sales funnel and turn them into customers. But to attain such low-resolution goals, you have to turn them into smaller objectives that are easy to track from the start.

Setting actionable goals is also important when discussing the final deal with your lead generation partner. Monitoring the right key performance indicators (KPIs) helps you keep the sales team accountable and makes it easier for you to measure their success later on.

Some of the most essential LinkedIn lead gen KPIs to pay attention to are:

• Cost per lead (CPL)
• Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
• Number of leads contacted
• Number of InMails sent
• Meetings booked rate
• Average deal size
• Sales cycle length (SCL)
• Customer lifetime value (CLV)

Step 2. Research The Best Partners

We’ve already detailed how you can find and evaluate LinkedIn lead gen agencies online. By asking yourself the five questions shared above, you’ll be able to hire a trustworthy partner that can enhance your business growth overnight. 

At this point, your goal is not to find one agency to hire but instead to explore your options and determine which companies are best fit to work with you. So, it’s okay if you’re having a hard time choosing between a few final partners on your list.

One important thing to keep in mind is that you must review the packages offered by each agency and the deals they propose. That’s because some lead gen companies offer monthly services whereas others are project-based. For example, you should determine whether you’re going to be charged a fixed monthly rate or based on results (# of leads generated, # of appointments set, # of deals closed, etc.)

Also, you should always research the CEO and the team behind each lead generation agency. The way they describe themselves and Their presence on social media can help you set better expectations before you make the hiring decision.

Step 3. Schedule a Meeting

Meeting with a LinkedIn lead generation agency before hiring them is fundamental. This step is going to save you a lot of time, money, and frustration in the long term.

Here’s why:

By booking a call with an expert, you’ll be able to clarify all the details you need about the solutions they provide and how they approach lead generation on LinkedIn. 

This is also where you get to explain your needs and challenges as well as your expectations from the partnership. Basically, you’ll be able to ask all the questions you have in mind about how the two of you will work together.

Some of the most critical details to clarify at this point are:

• What range of lead generation services do they provide?
• Do they have any success stories with clients similar to you?
• What is the onboarding process like?
• What do they expect from you as a customer?
• How will they communicate progress and results with you?
• Are there any additional costs that you must be aware of?
• When should you expect to start seeing results?

Before you make up your mind, you should have multiple meetings with the lead generation agencies you’ve shortlisted. This will help you make a better-informed decision and choose an agency that’s going to treat you as their most valuable customer.

Step 4. Sign a Written Contract

Now that you’ve determined which LinkedIn lead gen partner is best for you, it’s time to work out the final details of the deal. This is where you’ll sign a written contract to protect both parties and keep everyone on the same wavelength. 

It’s always best not to get into a long-term agreement with an agency that you haven’t tested. Signing a yearly deal from the get-go can cost you a fortune if the lead quality is bad or if the firm fails to set any valuable appointments.

So it’s recommended to start with a trial period where you can test the services and evaluate the partnership with no risk. You can even try out a few LinkedIn lead generation agencies simultaneously and see which one will get you the most sales.

Step 5. Keep Track of Your Results

Congratulations! You’ve just hired a successful LinkedIn lead generation agency that’s going to help you grow. Now, it’s time to track how the outsourced team is performing so that you can better evaluate your hiring decision.

You’ve already identified your business goals and tied them to tangible lead generation metrics. So all you have to do now is follow your reports closely and make adjustments when necessary. 

And remember:

One of the main reasons why you’re outsourcing lead generation is to save yourself time and maintain high efficiency. So try not to fall for the micromanagement trap where you’re constantly worrying about how things are going.

It’s better to agree, instead, on regular meetings with the partner where you can exchange updates and feedback. This gives the outsourced lead gen team all the time and confidence they need to deliver actual results.

To Sum up

Lead generation using LinkedIn will always be one of the best strategies you can use to increase sales and promote your business. Thanks to outsourcing, you can hire a professional team of lead gen specialists to help you keep your sales pipeline flowing with high-quality prospects. 

Finding the right partners for LinkedIn lead gen starts by identifying your priorities. As long as you’re clear about your objectives from the beginning, you’ll easily be able to eliminate a lot of bad agencies and save your company time and money.

From there on, hiring a LinkedIn lead generation company doesn’t have to be too complicated! All you need to do is ask yourself a specific set of questions so that you’re able to choose a partner that can deliver. For example, any outsourced team you hire should have relevant expertise, a positive reputation, and good communication skills.

FAQs About LinkedIn Lead Generation Agencies

What Is the Best Lead Generation Agency for LinkedIn?

Here are our top picks for the best LinkedIn lead generation agencies

1. Martal Group

Martal Group is an industry-leading B2B sales agency that serves companies in a variety of industries — such as IT, SaaS, Marketing, and Telecom. As a leading sales service provider, Martal has helped dozens of brands over the years engage their ideal clients through LinkedIn lead generation. 

With over 14 years of experience in sales and business development, we’re best equipped to help you reach the right customers and increase your company sales.

Founded: 2009

Avg sales rep experience: 4 years

Team location: United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America

Find out more about Martal Group.

2. Belkins

Belkins is an ROI-focused sales firm that leverages LinkedIn for lead generation and appointment setting. This company helps B2B companies across different industries — including education, financial services, health and wellbeing, etc. 

Founded: 2015

Avg sales rep experience: 1 year

Team location: Ukraine

Find out more about Belkins.

3. CloudTask

Founded in 2008, CloudTask is an offshore sales platform focused on top-of-the-funnel sale cycle activities. This multilingual platform offers prospecting and outreach services using LinkedIn as well as a combination of other mediums, such as email, phone calls, and social media outreach.

Founded: 2004

Avg sales rep experience: 2 years

Team location: Columbia

Find out more about CloudTask.

4. CIENCE Technologies

Cience is a marketing and sales provider that mostly helps B2B companies in software development, marketing, and financial services. This agency provides orchestrated outbound solutions using a multi-channel approach that also includes LinkedIn.

Founded: 2015

Avg sales rep experience: 2 years

Team location: Ukraine

Find out more about CIENCE Technologies.

What Do LinkedIn Lead Generation Services Include?

Basically, the lead generation partner you hire will help you with everything your company needs to excel and grow on LinkedIn.

The ultimate goal of LinkedIn lead generation is to set appointments and close deals. But to get you there, LinkedIn lead generation agencies would typically offer a wide range of services including prospecting and outreach on the platform. 

Here are four of the most in-demand LinkedIn lead generation services:

1. Personal/Company Profile Optimization

Optimizing profiles on LinkedIn both for the company and its employees is the first step before any outreach and prospecting is done. The LinkedIn company you partner with will help you make your profiles more appealing to potential leads by improving your headline, summary, experience, and other sections of your profile.

2. Sales Navigator Prospecting

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is one of the best and most powerful features on the platform. However, it requires some training and sales expertise to be able to use this tool effectively.

Most LinkedIn service providers will offer to help you leverage Sales Navigator to create unique lead lists and conduct advanced searches. That includes building lists of potential clients based on specified criteria like industry, company size, job role, and more.

3. InMail Messaging Campaigns

Agencies specializing in LinkedIn lead generation will also help you launch and manage InMail messaging campaigns. They’ll handle both the initial outreach and the follow-up messages to nurture new connections and convert them into leads.

4. Content Marketing

Some agencies might offer content creation services to ensure that you’re posting engaging content on the platform. Sharing relevant content on LinkedIn is crucial for increasing visibility, engaging potential clients, and establishing thought leadership.

Is It Worth Marketing on LinkedIn?

Long story short, of course LinkedIn is worth it! With all of the excellent features it has to offer, LinkedIn remains the #1 platform for lead generation and an extremely valuable tool for sales and marketing, especially for B2B companies.

This business-focused network has well over 310 monthly active users, offering you a chance to connect with professionals and companies all over the world. Most of that user base comes with a business-oriented mindset on the platform — which increases your chances of success when reaching out and connecting with anyone.

The search functionality on LinkedIn Sales Navigator is exceptional with more than 20 filters to help you narrow down your lead results. Looking for “project managers” working at “tech companies” with less than “200 employees” in “New York”? Sales Navigator has hundreds of results for you.

As for paid advertising opportunities, LinkedIn offers a variety of advertising formats including Sponsored Content, Message Ads, Text Ads, and Dynamic Ads. And while the cost-per-click (CPC) on LinkedIn can be higher than on other platforms, the lead quality and the potential return on investment make it all worth it.

Resources You’ll Love

• Best Strategies to Dominate Your Competition on LinkedIn
• Appointment Setting for B2B: Scale Your Company with Done-for-You Lead Gen Services
• An Interactive ROI Calculator to Estimate Your Sales Outsourcing Growth
• Find Your Perfect Match: Top B2B Lead Generation Companies for 2023
• Case Study: Engaging 7000 Monthly Prospects Using Outbound Tactics and LinkedIn