July 10, 2025 • 9 mins
Think LinkedIn is just for job hunting? Think again. In this episode, Carly flips the script and interviews Joe about one of the most underrated lead gen tools for solopreneurs: LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
They pull back the curtain on exactly how they use it to fill their events, build real relationships, and grow their network—without ever sounding salesy. If you've been hesitant about spending money on a tool like this, Joe’s breakdown might just change your mind.
Being a solopreneur is awesome but it’s not easy. It's hard to get noticed. Most business advice is for bigger companies, and you're all alone...until now. LifeStarr Intro gives you free education, community, and tools to build a thriving one-person business. So, if you are lacking direction, having a hard time generating leads, or are having trouble keeping up with everything you have to do, or even just lonely running a company of one, be sure to check out LifeStarr Intro!
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Episode Transcript
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Carly Ries (00:00):
What if one $100 tool could change the way you
(00:03):
find clients forever? In thisepisode of the Aspiring
Solopreneur, I flipped thescript and I interviewed my
cohost Joe Rando about his notso secret weapon for lead
generation, LinkedIn SalesNavigator. From how to actually
use it without being salesy, tohow it's helped us pack out
events with ideal attendees, Joewalks you through the behind the
scenes process that turns coldconnections into warm leads, and
(00:26):
eventually, into loyal clients.In this episode, you'll learn
why your offer isn't what youthink it is, the one thing not
to do when starting aconnection, how Joe gets a 40%
plus acceptance rate from ourtarget audience, and creative
ways to build trust, not just acontact list. No sponsorships,
no fluff, just real tacticalinsights from the trenches.
(00:47):
If you're ready to stop shoutinginto the void and start
connecting with the rightpeople, this episode is for you.
You're listening to the AspiringSolopreneur, the podcast for
those just taking the bold stepor even just thinking about
taking that step into the worldof solo entrepreneurship. My
name is Carly Ries, and mycohost Joe Rando and I are your
(01:08):
guides navigating this crazy butawesome journey as a company of
one. We take pride in being partof LifeStarr, a digital hub
dedicated to all aspects ofsolopreneurship that has
empowered and educated countlesssolopreneurs looking to build a
business that resonates withtheir life's ambitions. We help
people work to live, not live towork.
(01:29):
And if you're looking for a getrich quick scheme, this is not
the show for you. So if you'reeager to gain valuable insights
from industry experts on runninga business the right way the
first time around or want tolearn from the missteps of
solopreneurs who paved the waybefore you, then stick around.
We've got your back becauseflying solo in business doesn't
mean you're alone. So in ourexpert interviews that we have
(01:53):
on Tuesdays for this show, Iusually take the lead as like
the primary interviewer, andthen we have our guest. And I'm
gonna take that same approachfor today.
And I'm gonna pretend likeyou're the guest, Joe, on the
show because between the two ofus, this is your cup of tea that
we're gonna dive into. And thatis LinkedIn Sales Navigator. We
have talked about it with ourcommunity. We've talked about it
in different events that we'vehad, and I think we've alluded
(02:14):
to it on the show. But we useLinkedIn Sales Navigator, as a
big lead gen tool for us,especially for getting people to
our events.
And you are the one that, iskinda behind the scenes. So can
you walk our listeners throughwhat LinkedIn Sales Navigator
is, how we use it, and why itmight be beneficial for them?
Joe Rando (02:36):
Yeah. I mean, if you've used LinkedIn, then you
know that in regular LinkedIn,you can kinda find people by
doing these searches, and youcan search on companies and
people and that kind of thing.LinkedIn Sales Navigator is
basically that on steroids.
It gives you a lot more ways ofkind of filtering down, finding
people, saving them on lists,and being able to follow-up with
(02:58):
them and getting notified whenthings happen with them. So it's
an incredibly powerful tool forfinding people that are in need
of your product or service. Alot of solopreneurs say, oh,
it's kind of expensive. Youknow, if it's monthly, you're
paying a $100 a month. If youcommit annually, I think it's
(03:18):
like $80 a month for the basicversion, which is all you
probably need.
And I just wanna argue thatthat's peanuts compared to what
you can get out of this. I mean,obviously, depending on your
business, but if you need eitherbusinesses or certain kinds of
people that, can be identified,it's definitely worth it. So
(03:38):
we're obviously looking forsolopreneurs, and it is
astonishingly good atidentifying solopreneurs. And
you can identify people byindustries, by companies they
work for. There are just so manyways that you can kind of create
these filters and get theselists of people, and then
interact with them.
So, it's good to maybe test itout, you know, invest a $100 to
(04:01):
try it for a month and see if itworks for you and finds the
people you're looking for. Thenwell, that's kind of the the
beginnings of it. What elsewould you like to know?
Carly Ries (04:13):
I feel like we should give, like, a case study
of how exactly we use it so thatthey can kinda see the ins and
outs. I mean, it just has donewonders for our lead gen.
Joe Rando (04:22):
So you need something, an offer. And okay, I
want everybody grab a pen andwrite this down. The offer is
not you selling your product orservice. Don't do that.
Carly Ries (04:35):
And so many people do.
Joe Rando (04:36):
Don't do that. That's not how you start off a
relationship. You know? Hi, niceto meet you.
Will you marry me? No. No. No,no. So, what you wanna do is you
wanna offer something that theywill find valuable.
You want to be helpful. And youwant to be helpful without any
expectation. Because maybenumber one, they don't need what
(04:58):
you're doing. Maybe number two,they already have a solution.
But you want to basically builda relationship. And there are a
couple of ways to do this. Now,there are two ways to do it, I
and can only speak to one ofthem because that's all I've
ever used. But the other way,the way I don't do it, is using
InMail. So you get this certainnumber of ability to contact
(05:20):
people you're not connectedwith, and sending them a message
inside of LinkedIn, an InMail,they call it. So that's one way
to do it, and that's the way alot of people use Sales
Navigator.
I do something different becauseI am, trying to build up a
network of solopreneurs, and Iuse Sales Navigator, and then
(05:44):
send them a connection request.And once I do that, I think the
numbers are coming in about 40%of the solopreneurs, it may be a
little higher, accept thatconnection request, and then I'm
free to communicate with them onunlimited fashion using the
InMails because we're connected.It also builds out my network. I
have more people seeing my stuffwhen I post, And I just wanna be
(06:07):
connected to solopreneurs.That's what I'm doing, and it's
just really valuable, and I tryto add value for them.
But when I send the connectionrequest, I'm inviting them to
something that is, I believe,valuable for them or potentially
valuable for them and free,which is to basically join one
of our online virtualsolopreneur events. So we have
(06:28):
two a month, and whatever one'supcoming, I invite them to. If
they have questions, I answerthe questions. A lot of those
people then can accept theirconnection request basically, I
start with kind of a littleshort pitch because it's a
connection request, it can't belong. "I have a community of
solopreneurs, we have eventsevery month, which I think you'd
be a great fit."
(06:49):
Something like that, you know,maybe something about their
business. And then if theyaccept the request, I get
notified, and then I can invitethem with the details to the
event. And a lot of the peopleaccept and show up. It doesn't
have to be an event. It could besomething else.
I'm a fan of things that would,you know, when you talk about
lead magnets, it's nice to havean investment from the
(07:10):
participants, so it's not justdownload my white paper. But,
maybe you have a really valuablewhite paper, a really valuable
checklist, or something reallyvaluable to what they do that
they'll download and read.Anything like that. But give
them something to create thatrelationship, to start that
trust that you're somebody that,number one, knows what you're
(07:30):
doing, and number two, isn'tjust there to try to pitch them.
And if you can get them engaged,then eventually, as you
interact, you can start to maybethrow a little bit in about what
to do, and depending on yourbusiness and how you do it,
create that relationship, andmaybe gain yourself with
customers.
But that's the general way thatwe do it. anything that you
(07:54):
think needs clarification onthat, Carly?
Carly Ries (07:56):
No. No. I just sometimes think it's helpful to
get a little bit, like, to peelback the curtain for these
things, because people can talkabout it, but until they hear,
how it's actually used, it's notalways beneficial. So I think
this is really helpful. Andbefore we end this episode, I
have to say we are notaffiliates of LinkedIn Sales
Navigator.
We just genuinely really likethis product, so we thought we'd
(08:17):
share how we use it with you.But listeners, thank you so much
for tuning in. We so appreciateit. As always, leave that five
star review, share this episodewith a friend, and subscribe on
your favorite podcast platform,and we will see you next time on
The Aspiring Solopreneur. Youmay be going solo in business,
but that doesn't mean you'realone.
In fact, millions of people arein your shoes, running a one
(08:39):
person business and figuring itout as they go. So why not
connect with them and learn fromeach other's successes and
failures? At LifeStarr, we'recreating a one person business
community where you can go tomeet and get advice from other
solopreneurs. Be sure to join inon the conversations at
community.lifestarr.com.
What if one $100 tool could change the way you
(00:03):
find clients forever? In thisepisode of the Aspiring
Solopreneur, I flipped thescript and I interviewed my
cohost Joe Rando about his notso secret weapon for lead
generation, LinkedIn SalesNavigator. From how to actually
use it without being salesy, tohow it's helped us pack out
events with ideal attendees, Joewalks you through the behind the
scenes process that turns coldconnections into warm leads, and
(00:26):
eventually, into loyal clients.In this episode, you'll learn
why your offer isn't what youthink it is, the one thing not
to do when starting aconnection, how Joe gets a 40%
plus acceptance rate from ourtarget audience, and creative
ways to build trust, not just acontact list. No sponsorships,
no fluff, just real tacticalinsights from the trenches.
(00:47):
If you're ready to stop shoutinginto the void and start
connecting with the rightpeople, this episode is for you.
You're listening to the AspiringSolopreneur, the podcast for
those just taking the bold stepor even just thinking about
taking that step into the worldof solo entrepreneurship. My
name is Carly Ries, and mycohost Joe Rando and I are your
(01:08):
guides navigating this crazy butawesome journey as a company of
one. We take pride in being partof LifeStarr, a digital hub
dedicated to all aspects ofsolopreneurship that has
empowered and educated countlesssolopreneurs looking to build a
business that resonates withtheir life's ambitions. We help
people work to live, not live towork.
(01:29):
And if you're looking for a getrich quick scheme, this is not
the show for you. So if you'reeager to gain valuable insights
from industry experts on runninga business the right way the
first time around or want tolearn from the missteps of
solopreneurs who paved the waybefore you, then stick around.
We've got your back becauseflying solo in business doesn't
mean you're alone. So in ourexpert interviews that we have
(01:53):
on Tuesdays for this show, Iusually take the lead as like
the primary interviewer, andthen we have our guest. And I'm
gonna take that same approachfor today.
And I'm gonna pretend likeyou're the guest, Joe, on the
show because between the two ofus, this is your cup of tea that
we're gonna dive into. And thatis LinkedIn Sales Navigator. We
have talked about it with ourcommunity. We've talked about it
in different events that we'vehad, and I think we've alluded
(02:14):
to it on the show. But we useLinkedIn Sales Navigator, as a
big lead gen tool for us,especially for getting people to
our events.
And you are the one that, iskinda behind the scenes. So can
you walk our listeners throughwhat LinkedIn Sales Navigator
is, how we use it, and why itmight be beneficial for them?
Joe Rando (02:36):
Yeah. I mean, if you've used LinkedIn, then you
know that in regular LinkedIn,you can kinda find people by
doing these searches, and youcan search on companies and
people and that kind of thing.LinkedIn Sales Navigator is
basically that on steroids.
It gives you a lot more ways ofkind of filtering down, finding
people, saving them on lists,and being able to follow-up with
(02:58):
them and getting notified whenthings happen with them. So it's
an incredibly powerful tool forfinding people that are in need
of your product or service. Alot of solopreneurs say, oh,
it's kind of expensive. Youknow, if it's monthly, you're
paying a $100 a month. If youcommit annually, I think it's
(03:18):
like $80 a month for the basicversion, which is all you
probably need.
And I just wanna argue thatthat's peanuts compared to what
you can get out of this. I mean,obviously, depending on your
business, but if you need eitherbusinesses or certain kinds of
people that, can be identified,it's definitely worth it. So
(03:38):
we're obviously looking forsolopreneurs, and it is
astonishingly good atidentifying solopreneurs. And
you can identify people byindustries, by companies they
work for. There are just so manyways that you can kind of create
these filters and get theselists of people, and then
interact with them.
So, it's good to maybe test itout, you know, invest a $100 to
(04:01):
try it for a month and see if itworks for you and finds the
people you're looking for. Thenwell, that's kind of the the
beginnings of it. What elsewould you like to know?
Carly Ries (04:13):
I feel like we should give, like, a case study
of how exactly we use it so thatthey can kinda see the ins and
outs. I mean, it just has donewonders for our lead gen.
Joe Rando (04:22):
So you need something, an offer. And okay, I
want everybody grab a pen andwrite this down. The offer is
not you selling your product orservice. Don't do that.
Carly Ries (04:35):
And so many people do.
Joe Rando (04:36):
Don't do that. That's not how you start off a
relationship. You know? Hi, niceto meet you.
Will you marry me? No. No. No,no. So, what you wanna do is you
wanna offer something that theywill find valuable.
You want to be helpful. And youwant to be helpful without any
expectation. Because maybenumber one, they don't need what
(04:58):
you're doing. Maybe number two,they already have a solution.
But you want to basically builda relationship. And there are a
couple of ways to do this. Now,there are two ways to do it, I
and can only speak to one ofthem because that's all I've
ever used. But the other way,the way I don't do it, is using
InMail. So you get this certainnumber of ability to contact
(05:20):
people you're not connectedwith, and sending them a message
inside of LinkedIn, an InMail,they call it. So that's one way
to do it, and that's the way alot of people use Sales
Navigator.
I do something different becauseI am, trying to build up a
network of solopreneurs, and Iuse Sales Navigator, and then
(05:44):
send them a connection request.And once I do that, I think the
numbers are coming in about 40%of the solopreneurs, it may be a
little higher, accept thatconnection request, and then I'm
free to communicate with them onunlimited fashion using the
InMails because we're connected.It also builds out my network. I
have more people seeing my stuffwhen I post, And I just wanna be
(06:07):
connected to solopreneurs.That's what I'm doing, and it's
just really valuable, and I tryto add value for them.
But when I send the connectionrequest, I'm inviting them to
something that is, I believe,valuable for them or potentially
valuable for them and free,which is to basically join one
of our online virtualsolopreneur events. So we have
(06:28):
two a month, and whatever one'supcoming, I invite them to. If
they have questions, I answerthe questions. A lot of those
people then can accept theirconnection request basically, I
start with kind of a littleshort pitch because it's a
connection request, it can't belong. "I have a community of
solopreneurs, we have eventsevery month, which I think you'd
be a great fit."
(06:49):
Something like that, you know,maybe something about their
business. And then if theyaccept the request, I get
notified, and then I can invitethem with the details to the
event. And a lot of the peopleaccept and show up. It doesn't
have to be an event. It could besomething else.
I'm a fan of things that would,you know, when you talk about
lead magnets, it's nice to havean investment from the
(07:10):
participants, so it's not justdownload my white paper. But,
maybe you have a really valuablewhite paper, a really valuable
checklist, or something reallyvaluable to what they do that
they'll download and read.Anything like that. But give
them something to create thatrelationship, to start that
trust that you're somebody that,number one, knows what you're
(07:30):
doing, and number two, isn'tjust there to try to pitch them.
And if you can get them engaged,then eventually, as you
interact, you can start to maybethrow a little bit in about what
to do, and depending on yourbusiness and how you do it,
create that relationship, andmaybe gain yourself with
customers.
But that's the general way thatwe do it. anything that you
(07:54):
think needs clarification onthat, Carly?
Carly Ries (07:56):
No. No. I just sometimes think it's helpful to
get a little bit, like, to peelback the curtain for these
things, because people can talkabout it, but until they hear,
how it's actually used, it's notalways beneficial. So I think
this is really helpful. Andbefore we end this episode, I
have to say we are notaffiliates of LinkedIn Sales
Navigator.
We just genuinely really likethis product, so we thought we'd
(08:17):
share how we use it with you.But listeners, thank you so much
for tuning in. We so appreciateit. As always, leave that five
star review, share this episodewith a friend, and subscribe on
your favorite podcast platform,and we will see you next time on
The Aspiring Solopreneur. Youmay be going solo in business,
but that doesn't mean you'realone.
In fact, millions of people arein your shoes, running a one
(08:39):
person business and figuring itout as they go. So why not
connect with them and learn fromeach other's successes and
failures? At LifeStarr, we'recreating a one person business
community where you can go tomeet and get advice from other
solopreneurs. Be sure to join inon the conversations at
community.lifestarr.com.
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