Introduction
There are more and more lead generation agencies on the market, each with their own expertise. What they have in common: they all work on Linkedin. Whether you’re an inbound marketing agency, an outbound marketing agency or both, this channel is a must in 2024. Linkedin is the professional social network to be on. Outbound agencies focus on outbound prospecting channels, contacting your prospects directly. Inbound agencies focus on inbound prospecting, and include SEO agencies, ads agencies and web agencies.
But Linkedin is tightening the screws in many respects. The platform is increasingly difficult to use to boost sales. Linkedin is imposing ever-increasing quotas, making it difficult for lead generation agencies to reach their clients’ targets quickly. That’s why they’re increasingly using fake Linkedin or Mirror profiles. Here are the reasons why.
The challenges of lead generation
The importance of leads in marketing
Leads are the backbone of any effective digital marketing strategy. For a company, generating qualified leads is not just a question of volume, but also of quality. This is the key to growth and sustainability in a competitive market. Prospecting campaigns and outbound strategies play a major role in attracting these valuable prospects. In many sectors, there’s always room to gain market share. Timing is very important in prospecting, but in no way is it luck. “You have to make your own luck!” Lead Generation is a combination of 3 factors: expertise, quantity and iteration.
By using outbound marketing techniques, companies can actively target potential customers, reaching them directly through methods such as emailing and Linkedin prospecting. This approach proactively introduces prospects to their services, creating opportunities to convert them into loyal customers.
Linkedin lead generation tools
When it comes to lead generation, efficiency is largely dependent on the tools and platforms used. Linkedin is the spearhead of all B2B acquisition strategies, whether for prospects or candidates. That’s why we’re focusing here on Linkedin. As emailing is often well mastered, it’s important to bear in mind that the Linkedin channel can also be used for emailing if you know how to enrich your prospects.
Here are some of the most influential tools:
- LinkedIn: This professional network is crucial to your lead generation strategy. With over 700 million professional users, LinkedIn enables you to target prospects according to very specific criteria such as industry, company size, position held, and much more. Companies can use LinkedIn to publish relevant content, build professional relationships and strengthen their credibility in their field.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
This premium LinkedIn extension offers advanced features for marketing and sales professionals. Sales Navigator enables even more precise targeting, with personalized lead recommendations and the ability to track changes within target companies. This tool is ideal for a personalized, strategic approach, increasing the chances of converting prospects into customers.- Heyreach: Specializing in the automation of outreach campaigns, Heyreach is a powerful tool for efficiently reaching large numbers of prospects. It automates the sending of personalized messages on different platforms, including social networks and email. This facilitates the management of large-scale prospecting campaigns, while maintaining a high level of personalization.
- MirrorProfiles: Our tool lets you rent secure, customizable Linkedin profiles ready for automation. This means you’re no longer limited by Linkedin quotas, and can exploit Linkedin’s potential to the full.
These tools, when used strategically, can dramatically increase a company’s ability to generate qualified leads. The key lies in the judicious use of these platforms, combining them with a well-developed marketing strategy to maximize results.
Lead generation agencies
Lead generation agencies play an essential role in the world of digital marketing. They specialize in identifying and attracting potential customers for companies, a crucial step in increasing sales and market reach. Many companies specialize in a particular know-how or product, and being able to internalize everything is not for everyone, and is sometimes not the right choice. In fact, if you’re looking for support, here’s a list of the top lead generation agencies.
What are they for?
These lead generation agencies use a variety of strategies and tools to generate qualified leads. Their aim is to build acquisition channels with you over 3 timeframes: short / medium and long term. In fact, your closing rate and acquisition time are two factors that are often in your hands, which is why good agencies will work on these 3 factors to smooth lead generation and enable you to achieve consistent growth.
Their expertise lies in in-depth understanding of target markets, creating powerful message sequences and automating campaigns. Their aim is to create a constant flow of prospects interested in their customers’ products or services.
When and why use them?
Using a lead generation agency is particularly relevant when a company is looking to expand rapidly or enter a new market. These agencies offer expertise and resources that many companies don’t have in-house. They are also useful for companies that have difficulty generating quality leads on their own. By working with a specialized agency, they can concentrate their efforts on other aspects of their business, while benefiting from a steady flow of new prospects.
Lead generation agencies therefore represent a turnkey solution for companies looking to optimize their digital marketing strategy and accelerate their growth. They offer specialized expertise that can transform the way a company attracts and engages potential customers. But beware: agencies that base their business model solely on performance are not very reputable. In fact, as I was saying earlier, you mustn’t confuse quantity with quality. It’s perfectly possible to combine the 2, but to achieve quality you need to spend time on it, which implies a setup cost.
At a time when the generation of qualified leads is crucial, a controversial practice is emerging: the use of fake LinkedIn accounts.
Using fake Linkedin accounts, yes, but not just any old ones!
Lead generation agencies sometimes use fake LinkedIn accounts for several strategic reasons, each serving specific needs. The motivations are numerous and justified:
1. Increase prospecting volumes to meet targets
One of the main benefits of using fake LinkedIn accounts is to increase the volume of prospecting activity. This enables agencies to reach a greater number of potential prospects, maximizing the chances of meeting or exceeding targets. Agencies often only have a few months to prove to their clients that their actions have a direct impact on the company’s sales. But it’s hard to learn, iterate and perform in just a few months. Their customers are often under the impression that a quick training session will enable them to learn all the subtleties of their services/products with the snap of a finger.
This need for fast ROI won’t change. On the other hand, one of the solutions found by agencies is to increase the volume of e-mails and Linkedin messages sent. This allows them to do in a few weeks what would have taken several months to achieve.
Linkedin imposes quotas on message sending and connection requests. The most restrictive being the 100 weekly connection requests, if your prospect doesn’t fit into your 1st level connections, you can’t send him any messages.
Having several accounts allows you to bypass these restrictions and multiply your interactions with LinkedIn users. Each additional account offers a new quota of messages and connection requests, considerably increasing the total number of people an agency can contact. By generating a large number of connections and interactions, these accounts can effectively extend the reach of marketing campaigns, increasing the visibility of promoted products or services. When you consider that the average acceptance rate is 20% and the response rate 25%. To exchange with 50 people per week, you need to send 1,000 connection requests per week. That’s 10 Linkedin accounts for one agency to deploy.
2. Securing the sales pipeline
Using LinkedIn accounts belonging to the company rather than to individual employees offers a major advantage in terms of continuity and control for lead generation agencies. When a LinkedIn account is linked to the company, this means that all connections, interactions and accumulated data remain the property of the company, regardless of staff movements.
In a scenario where an employee leaves the company, if the LinkedIn account is personal, he takes with him his network of contacts and all the professional relationships established while working for the company. Between the time spent and possibly the different tool budgets, this can add even more weight to the loss of one person in your team.
This is a significant loss for the company, especially if this employee has played a key role in lead generation and communication activities. For example, if he regularly posts content on Linkedin and has visibility with your prospects, then you’ll lose that visibility too. But it’s hard to buy, and takes time and experience to build.
On the other hand, if the LinkedIn account is owned by the company, the contacts and leads generated remain accessible and can be managed by another member of the team. This ensures a smooth transition and maintains the integrity of the company’s lead pipeline, regardless of changes in personnel. This approach ensures that the valuable business relationships and networking efforts built up over time remain an asset to the company. In fact, it’s exactly the same thing if we transpose it to the recruiting profession. Instead of a sales pipe, we’ll call it a candidate pool.
These accounts guarantee constant activity, independent of human contingencies such as absences due to illness or vacations. This ensures continuity in prospecting and lead generation efforts, a crucial factor in maintaining a stable and reliable sales dynamic. This approach ensures that prospecting campaigns remain active and effective, regardless of fluctuations in human resources.
3. Risks and consequences
If you or your agency decide to use your employees’ Linkedin accounts, there are 2 major risks involved:
- Your employee has every right to refuse: a Linkedin account is personal.
- If you automate, you run the risk of permanently banning the account. When it’s a fake account, it’s annoying, but when it’s a real one and doesn’t belong to you, it’s dramatic.
If the fake accounts used are not of good quality, the risk of sanction by LinkedIn, such as a“strike” (ban), is high. That’s why at MirrorProfiles, we ensure the quality and security of our accounts with three key points: robustness, customization, and clear provenance. It’s crucial not to buy or rent accounts with verified IDs, as they are not customizable and their provenance remains dubious. Potentially hacked accounts present major risks for both security and corporate image.
To find out more about the risks involved inbuying LinkedIn accounts, you may find this article useful.
Some examples of MirrorProfiles use
Increased prospecting volume
The use of MirrorProfiles enables a significant increase in prospecting volume. With MirrorChat, a sales rep can manage up to 10 MirrorProfiles accounts. This increases its prospecting capacity tenfold, potentially transforming a sales pipeline into a veritable SalesMachine. For example, if a sales rep can handle around fifty conversations a week for a dozen appointments, it’s a good idea to increase the volume. Normally, prospecting is a probability tree, so what works for 1 works for 10.
Verticalization of Linkedin accounts
With MirrorProfiles, it’s possible to create specialized Linkedin networks, significantly increasing interaction on LinkedIn posts. This strategy is at the heart of inbound marketing, as it enables you to target specific communities, engage in more relevant conversations and create highly personalized content. A specialized network facilitates the establishment of stronger, more meaningful relationships, increasing the quality of interactions and the reach of messages.
Simple onboarding for agencies
MirrorProfiles makes integrating new customers even smoother. For each new customer, an agency can deploy up to 5 MirrorProfiles, eliminating the need to manage access to personal LinkedIn accounts. This approach also secures the sales pipeline: even if a salesperson leaves the company, the relationships and interactions accumulated on MirrorProfiles remain accessible and usable. This guarantees continuity and stability in your prospecting strategy.
Conclusion
Thanks to their expertise and strategic use of platforms like LinkedIn, lead generation agencies play a crucial role in the world of modern digital marketing. In 2024, LinkedIn remains an essential tool, whether the approach is inbound or outbound. However, the increasing restrictions imposed by LinkedIn, particularly in terms of message quotas and connection requests, have prompted these agencies to adopt innovative practices, such as the use of Mirror profiles, to effectively achieve their objectives.
These Mirror profiles, when used judiciously, offer several key advantages. They allow you to increase the volume of prospecting without infringing on employees’ privacy, and ensure continuity of business operations, even in the event of staff changes. However, it is essential to ensure the quality and security of these accounts to avoid the risks associated with their use, such as LinkedIn sanctions.
The impact of these accounts on prospecting volumes and the verticalization of LinkedIn networks is undeniable. They enable greater personalization and more targeted interaction, essential for an effective marketing strategy. What’s more, using MirrorProfiles simplifies customer onboarding for agencies, offering a smooth transition and secure management of business relationships.
In short, by integrating innovative tools like Mirror Profiles into their strategy, lead generation agencies strengthen their ability to generate quality leads and effectively navigate a constantly evolving digital landscape. This adaptability and innovation are essential to remain competitive and relevant in the world of digital marketing.
To find out more about best practices and tools for a successful lead generation strategy, please visit MirrorProfiles.
