Ep 98: You're Probably Using LinkedIn Wrong: How to Turn Conversations Into Clients with Sara Royf
I've landed clients from LinkedIn. I've had past clients come back and hire me again because they saw something I posted. And I've also spent months trying to get LinkedIn to work for a completely different offer, only to get basically zero traction.
So, naturally, I have some feelings about LinkedIn.
It's probably my least favorite platform, and every time a client asks whether they should start using it to find clients, I'm one of the few people in the business world who doesn't have a strong answer.
Because I've seen it work. I've experienced it working. But I've also experienced the frustration of posting good content and wondering if anyone is even seeing it.
That's why I brought Sara Royf, LinkedIn coach and lead generation strategist, back onto Sell the Damn Service for Episode 98.
Sara has a completely different perspective on how service providers should be using LinkedIn, and it involves spending less time on the platform, being much more selective about who you're talking to, and having conversations that can lead to actual paying clients.
And thank goodness, because I cannot handle another LinkedIn post about what someone's divorce taught them about B2B sales.
Why Posting on LinkedIn Isn't Enough Anymore
When I first started using LinkedIn in 2023, I was working with agency founders through high-ticket, long-term consulting and done-for-you services.
I'd write these longer, thought-leadership-style posts, almost like mini blog posts, and people outside my network would find them. One of those people ended up emailing me and becoming a client.
Later, after our contract ended, she saw another post and hired me again.
Pretty great, right?
But here's where things got interesting. As my business shifted toward Sold Out Services and helping one-on-one service providers productize their offers, I wanted LinkedIn to bring in a different type of client.
I changed my messaging, my content, and the offers I was talking about.
Crickets.
Meanwhile, any time I posted about my previous consulting work, the engagement would come back.
Sara had a perspective on this that made me rethink the whole strategy.
LinkedIn has changed. There are more people creating content, more competition for attention, and less certainty that your posts will reach the people you actually want to work with.
And even when your content gets incredible engagement, that doesn't guarantee anyone is going to hire you.
Sara shared the example of a consultant who was getting impressive engagement on LinkedIn but still wasn't turning that attention into clients. She eventually hired Sara to help figure out what was happening.
The solution involved fixing some positioning issues and adding intentional outreach to her existing content strategy.
Which brings us to the part I found particularly interesting.
The LinkedIn Strategy That Starts With 10 Messages a Week
Sara recommends that many of her clients focus on sending 10 thoughtful outreach messages per week.
Ten.
And she's very specific about what those messages should look like.
We're talking about reaching out to people you have a legitimate reason to contact, including people already in your network, past connections, referral partners, and potential clients who fit the type of business you want to serve.
Sara's approach is permission-based and relationship-oriented. There's a reason for the message, and the person receiving it should feel like you actually considered who they are before hitting send.
Because I think one of the biggest reasons service providers avoid outreach is that they have no idea what to say.
You sit down to send a message, immediately feel awkward, and start wondering whether the person on the other end is going to think you're trying to sell them something.
Sara made a point that I found really helpful.
Sometimes what we assume is a mindset problem is actually a problem with the message itself.
If you're sending outreach that focuses too much on yourself, doesn't give the person a reason to respond, or moves into selling before there's been a conversation, of course you're going to feel uncomfortable.
And when nobody responds, that discomfort gets worse.
The quality of the message matters, and so does your willingness to have a conversation without knowing exactly where it's going to lead.
Pay Attention to Who Responds, Not Just How Many
One of the things Sara and I agreed on was how we evaluate whether an outreach strategy is working.
I'm a very data-oriented business owner, but I don't spend much time obsessing over conversion percentages for individual conversations.
I pay attention to patterns.
Who is responding? What types of people am I enjoying talking to? Are these people I would actually want to work with?
Because there's no point building an entire lead generation strategy around a group of people you secretly dread serving.
Sara shared an example of a client who sent two messages to referral partners and ended up with a signed contract from one of those conversations.
That's useful information.
They found something that worked, so they could spend more time building similar relationships.
She also talked about identifying specific professional roles that respond well to outreach, then refining who her clients contact from there.
I think service providers sometimes get so caught up in whether their marketing is technically working that they forget to ask whether it's attracting the people they want in their business.
You get to decide who you work with. Your outreach should help you make better decisions about that.
Your Existing Leads Might Be the Best Place to Start
This is where Sara and I started connecting her LinkedIn strategy with what I'm already doing in my own business.
I have a free resource called Authority Anchor that helps service providers pressure-test their positioning. When someone completes it, they receive a score and a report with feedback.
I can see their results, which gives me a natural reason to reach out and ask what they thought.
Maybe they scored a two out of five. Maybe they realized their positioning needs some attention. Maybe they've already started implementing the recommendations.
I can start a conversation about something they voluntarily asked for help with.
And that's something I genuinely enjoy doing.
Right now, Authority Anchor brings in somewhere between 65 and 150 new leads per month. That's a lot of people who have already raised their hands and expressed interest in a problem I help solve.
I don't want to treat every single one of those people like they're ready to buy, because they're not.
But I do want to understand which of those people might be a fit for Sold Out Services and who could benefit from having a more personal conversation.
Sara pointed out that LinkedIn could be another place to have those conversations, especially if the people on your email list are active there.
You can use LinkedIn's search functionality to find specific people and decision-makers, which is something I find much more difficult on Instagram.
And for service providers targeting agencies, larger companies, or specific professional roles, that ability to find the actual person responsible for hiring can be incredibly useful.
How Personal Outreach Can Support Your Next Launch
Another part of our conversation that made me perk up was how Sara uses LinkedIn during launches.
She shared that approximately half of the registrations for one of her trainings came from personal DM outreach.
Half!
And the process was surprisingly straightforward.
She reached out to relevant people, invited them into a conversation about the training topic, and shared the details with those who were interested.
We also talked about using LinkedIn polls to identify people who want an invitation to a webinar.
The idea is to create a poll about the outcome your training helps someone achieve, then ask whether they want the invitation.
When someone expresses interest, you have a reason to follow up personally.
I already use a similar philosophy during my launches through Instagram DMs. My team helps me follow up with people who register for events, answer questions, and make sure they receive the information they requested.
And yes, it takes more attention than scheduling a bunch of posts and hoping people click.
But when your business is built around serving people one-on-one, those personal conversations are part of how prospective clients experience working with you.
You don't need thousands of new buyers to fill a service business. You need the right people to understand what you do and have enough trust in you to take the next step.
Should Every Service Provider Be Using LinkedIn?
One thing I appreciate about Sara is that she doesn't believe LinkedIn is the right marketing platform for every single business.
And neither do I.
If you're a website designer targeting established agencies or a consultant trying to connect with operations directors, there's a pretty compelling reason to explore LinkedIn.
If the people you want to serve aren't spending time there, your effort might be better directed somewhere else.
This is why I keep coming back to understanding your Level 10 Client and knowing who actually makes the hiring decisions for your services.
LinkedIn can help you research those people before you decide how much energy to give the platform.
And if it turns out your ideal clients are there, you have a much more specific starting point than simply deciding you're going to post five times a week.
I'd much rather see a service provider spend a small amount of time having worthwhile conversations with relevant people than pour hours into content with no plan for what happens after someone sees it.
Sara's Exclusive LinkedIn Training for Sold Out Services Clients on October 27th
And here's the fun part.
Sara is joining us inside Sold Out Services on October 27th for an exclusive guest expert training called "LinkedIn Without the Bro."
We're getting into the practical side of starting conversations on LinkedIn, including six plug-and-play messaging templates that Sara shares with her private clients.
She'll teach you how to customize those templates for your own business and use them to contact people in a way that feels natural.
The training includes a curriculum module and a live session, with an opportunity for SOS clients to submit their questions ahead of time.
If you're already an active Sold Out Services client, your access is included. Head into the Events tab in your client portal to RSVP and submit anything you'd love Sara to cover.
And if you can't attend live, you'll get the replay.
If you're interested in joining Sold Out Services before the training, I'd love to have a conversation about whether the program is right for your business.
In the meantime, listen to Episode 98 of Sell the Damn Service, "You're Probably Using LinkedIn Wrong: How to Turn Conversations Into Clients with Sara Royf."
Especially if you've been staring at LinkedIn wondering what the heck you're supposed to be doing over there.
I was right there with you.
Chapters
00:00 - Why I have a love-hate relationship with LinkedIn
02:17 - Sara's approach to LinkedIn and her upcoming SOS training
06:18 - Why sending DMs feels awkward and how to improve your messages
07:52 - The 10-messages-a-week outreach approach
08:55 - Learning from the people who respond to your messages
15:00 - Using your existing leads and LinkedIn search to find prospects
17:51 - How to know whether LinkedIn makes sense for your industry
20:18 - My accidental LinkedIn success and why it stopped working
24:01 - Why posting and waiting for clients can be unreliable
30:28 - Proactive conversations and starting outreach with a reason
33:54 - Using personal invitations to support launches
45:32 - Getting webinar registrations through LinkedIn outreach and polls
53:45 - Sara's SOS guest training and how clients can participate
55:10 - Sara's free LinkedIn training
About the Guest
Guest Bio
Sara Royf is a LinkedIn coach who helps consultants and service-based business owners find clients through targeted outreach, stronger positioning, and relationship-based marketing.
She founded the nonprofit Student Organ Donation Advocates (SODA), where she developed her approach to using LinkedIn to build relationships and reach potential supporters. She later brought that experience into her own coaching business, Marketing with Sara.
Sara's approach focuses on making the time business owners spend on LinkedIn productive, with an emphasis on personal conversations that lead to business opportunities.
Connect with Sara Royf
Website: Sara Royf
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-royf
Guest Offers and Resources
Sara mentions a free training, approximately 45 minutes long, that covers the LinkedIn strategy she recommends for finding clients, along with follow-up emails sharing strategies and client case studies.
Sara's official one-on-one coaching program for consultants covers LinkedIn profile positioning, posts, and direct messaging.
Ready to Restructure and Productize Your Service?
Inside Sold Out Services, I help service providers examine who each offer serves, what happens after someone buys, and where qualified clients are being left without a clear next step.
You do not need to create an entirely new business every time you reach capacity.
There may be more revenue, impact, and long-term client value hiding inside the client relationships you have already built.
If you’d like to see a library of all published episodes in a gallery with easy-to-find links to all listening platforms be sure to check out the Sell The Damn Service Episode Library.
