If you sell to businesses, LinkedIn is a goldmine—but actually getting qualified leads from it is a slog. Endless connection requests, spammy messages, and lots of noise. If you’re looking for a real, step-by-step way to use Pick (a LinkedIn lead gen tool) to actually find and qualify B2B leads—without wasting your time or getting your account flagged—this guide is for you.
Let’s skip the hype and get practical.
Step 1: Get Clear on Who You’re After
Before you even fire up Pick, you need a tight definition of your ideal customer. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a bloated list of people you’ll never be able to close.
What to do:
- Write down the exact job titles, industries, company sizes, and locations you care about.
- Be brutal—if a lead isn’t likely to buy in the next 6 months, don’t bother.
- LinkedIn is full of “consultants” and “coaches” who aren’t real prospects. Ignore them.
Pro tip:
Save your ideal customer profile (ICP) somewhere handy. You’ll refer back to it constantly.
Step 2: Set Up Pick and Connect It to LinkedIn
Pick works as a Chrome extension or web app (depending on your plan). You’ll need a LinkedIn account (obviously), and ideally, LinkedIn Sales Navigator for better search filters. Basic LinkedIn works, but you’ll be limited.
How to get started:
- Install the Pick extension or sign in to the web app.
- Connect Pick to your LinkedIn account. This usually just takes a couple of clicks.
- If you have Sales Navigator, connect that too—it’s worth it for serious lead gen.
What to skip:
Don’t bother importing spreadsheets yet, and ignore any “AI magic” features for now. Focus on getting the basics working.
Step 3: Build a Targeted LinkedIn Search
Here’s where most people go wrong: they build huge, unfocused lists and hope for the best. Don’t do that.
How to do it right:
- Use LinkedIn’s advanced search filters:
- Job title (be specific: “VP of Marketing” not “Marketing”)
- Industry
- Company headcount (size matters—be honest about who you can actually sell to)
- Geography
- Filter for people active in the last 30 days, if possible. (This isn’t always available, but active users respond more.)
- Save your search results.
Reality check:
You’ll always get some junk in your results—LinkedIn’s filters aren’t perfect. But the more specific your criteria, the less cleanup you’ll have to do later.
Step 4: Import and Clean Your List in Pick
Now, use Pick to pull your filtered list of leads from LinkedIn. Pick will scrape the data for you—names, job titles, companies, etc.—and dump it into a dashboard.
What to actually do:
- Click “Import” or “Scrape” (depends on Pick’s latest UI—don’t overthink it).
- Let Pick pull data from your current LinkedIn search.
- Review the imported list. Remove obviously bad fits, spam profiles, or irrelevant roles.
- Tag or score leads as you go, if Pick supports it. (Some versions do.)
Don’t:
Don’t chase perfection here. You’re just trying to weed out the worst leads, not manually research every single one.
Step 5: Qualify Leads—Don’t Just Collect Them
Here’s where most lead gen tools drop the ball. It’s not about quantity; it’s about finding people who might actually buy.
How to qualify efficiently:
- Look for signals of buying intent:
- Recent LinkedIn posts or engagement (Pick sometimes shows this)
- Job tenure (someone new in their role is more likely to change vendors)
- Company growth or news (check their company page)
- Ditch anyone who doesn’t fit your ICP—even if “more leads” feels good.
Pro tip:
If you’re not sure, check their company website. If it’s a five-person agency but you sell big-ticket SaaS, move on.
Step 6: Craft (and Test) Your Outreach Message
Pick can automate connection requests and messaging, but don’t just use the default templates. That’s how you get ignored (or flagged as spam).
How to write a message that gets replies:
- Keep it short—2-3 sentences tops.
- Reference something specific: their company, role, or recent LinkedIn post.
- Don’t pitch in the first message. Just start a conversation.
Example:
“Hi {First Name}, saw you lead marketing at {Company}. Curious how your team is approaching [problem you solve] this year. Open to share notes?”
What not to do:
- Don’t copy-paste the same pitch to 100 people.
- Don’t promise “guaranteed ROI” or use cringe-inducing buzzwords.
Reality check:
Expect a 10-20% reply rate, tops. Most people won’t respond. That’s normal.
Step 7: Automate—But Don’t Get Your Account Restricted
Pick’s automation is handy, but LinkedIn doesn’t like bots. There’s always a risk of getting restricted if you go too fast or too broad.
How to play it safe:
- Limit connection requests to 20-40 per day (even if Pick says you can do more).
- Personalize messages—at least tweak the intro line.
- Don’t run campaigns 24/7. Take weekends off.
- Watch for warning emails from LinkedIn. If you get one, pause all activity for a few days.
Ignore:
Anyone who says you can “blast” hundreds of messages a day without risk is selling snake oil. LinkedIn is cracking down harder every year.
Step 8: Track Replies and Move to Real Conversations
Pick can track who’s replied and who’s ignored you. Don’t let hot leads sit in your inbox.
How to stay on top of it:
- Check Pick’s dashboard daily for new replies.
- Move real conversations to email or a phone call ASAP. LinkedIn messaging is clunky.
- Keep notes on what’s working (which messages, which companies, etc.).
Don’t:
Don’t hound people who don’t reply. A single follow-up is fine. More than that, and you’re just being annoying.
Step 9: Review, Adjust, and Rinse and Repeat
Lead gen isn’t “set it and forget it.” Every month, review what’s working and cut what’s not.
What to review:
- Which job titles/industries are replying?
- Are you getting real sales conversations, or just polite “not interested” replies?
- Which messages got the best response?
Tweak your search criteria, clean up your outreach, and try again. It’s a game of small improvements.
What Actually Works (and What to Ignore)
Works:
- Tight, focused searches. Quality > quantity every time.
- Short, personalized messages.
- Following up once. Not more.
Doesn’t work:
- Copy-pasting generic pitches.
- Sending hundreds of connection requests a day.
- Relying on “AI lead scoring” or magic features to do the hard work for you.
Ignore:
- Any tool or guru promising “done-for-you” leads. It’s never that easy.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
Don’t get distracted by shiny features or “growth hacks.” The basics—clear target, clean list, real outreach—are what actually move the needle. Get those right, then automate carefully. If you’re not getting results, change one thing at a time and keep it simple.
Lead gen with Pick can work, but only if you treat it as a process, not a silver bullet. Stay skeptical, stay focused, and you’ll start seeing real, qualified leads—without burning your LinkedIn account in the process.