Read ~ 3 minutes

26.06.2025

Want a predictable flow of warm leads — without paid ads? Let us show you how we build high-converting LinkedIn funnels for SaaS.

Getadvantage.io / Blog / +100% SQLs. Zero ads. Zero pitching. Just conversations that convert.

We introduced LinkedIn automation — but not the usual kind.
Instead of blasting templates or pitching right away, we focused on starting real conversations. That meant:

• Researching each segment: who we were targeting, what they cared about, how they talked on LinkedIn.
• Writing opening messages that asked, not sold.

For example:

• “Do you currently use a service for cross-border payroll, or manage it in-house?”
• “What’s been the trickiest part of growing your distributed team?”
• “If you could fix one thing about your global payment setup, what would it be?”

No links. No sales pitch. Just questions that made sense for their role.
And it worked. People replied. They shared problems and ideas. Some even said, “Thanks for asking something relevant for once.”

Here’s what wasn’t working:

1. Paid ads didn’t land. The company offered several services (payroll, team management, compliance), which made it hard to explain in one ad. Click-throughs were low, cost per lead was high.
2. Mass emails were too generic. Without segmentation, they barely got replies.
3. Manual LinkedIn outreach took a lot of time, but led to very few leads. One person spent three months sending personalized messages and barely moved the needle.
4. Reaching actual decision-makers was a struggle. Messages often got ignored or lost in inboxes.

In 2023, a SaaS company offering cross-border payment and distributed team management tools came to us with a problem: their traditional lead generation channels were underperforming.
Paid ads weren’t converting. Cold emails got buried. Manual outreach on LinkedIn was time-consuming and didn’t bring results.
They’d already tried expanding into new markets, but getting in front of the right people — and getting a response — was tougher than expected.

Client & context

What we did differently

The challenge

One thing that stood out: when we mentioned that our client was preparing a talk or article for an upcoming event — and asked for input — the response rate jumped. It felt like collaboration, not outreach.

Here’s what changed in numbers:
— 2X more accepted connection requests. Typical campaigns get ~15% acceptance. We got 32%.
— +48% reply rate on messages. Industry average: ~30%. Ours: nearly half of all recipients replied.
— Higher trust from LinkedIn. No bans, no warnings. Our research-based messages kept the client under LinkedIn’s radar, allowing more outreach per day.
— No ad spend. No money burned on clicks. The only cost: the tool itself and the time to set it up.

What we changed on LinkedIn

Why it worked

The results

Once someone replied, we handed them over to the client’s sales team, who followed up manually. The handoff was smooth — warm leads were actually warm.