Startup 2 Standup 
Five practical takeaways
- Define the business outcome before chasing LinkedIn activity.
- Build a relevant network, not simply a bigger one.
- Build credibility before making a commercial ask.
- Keep outreach conversational rather than promotional.
- Look beyond likes and comments when judging attention.
Summary
During our session, Tony Restell, founder of Social-Hire.com, explained how founders can use LinkedIn as part of a practical business-development process.
His central point was that LinkedIn should support the commercial journey your business actually needs.
Introduction
One founder had 30,000 connections. Another did not want dozens of meetings for lower-value software. Another was selling a roughly £30,000 life-sciences pilot.
Tony’s answers changed with the business.
LinkedIn activity, he explained, should fit the commercial model rather than becoming an end in itself.
Takeaway 1: Start with the business outcome and work backwards
Tony encouraged founders to define what a LinkedIn “win” actually means.
That might be a meeting, a demo request, an event registration or another step that moves someone towards a sale.
When one founder questioned the value of generating dozens of meetings for a lower-value product, Tony agreed that meetings might not be the right objective. He suggested that a repeatable webinar could make more sense, allowing prospects to understand the product before deciding whether they wanted a conversation.
Ask yourself: What next step does our business actually need more of?
Takeaway 2: Build the right network, not simply a bigger one
Tony described building a network of relevant prospects as an important first step.
But when one founder explained that he had already reached 30,000 LinkedIn connections, Tony did not suggest growing the network simply for the sake of it.
If the right people are already there, the challenge becomes using that network more effectively.
Takeaway 3: Build credibility before asking for something
Tony warned against connecting with someone and immediately asking for a meeting.
Instead, he suggested allowing relevant people to see useful insights over time, particularly through specific topics, stories and recent anecdotes.
One example involved a recruitment business. Rather than publishing a promotional post, Tony suggested telling the story of a candidate who walked away from an opportunity because something went wrong during the interview process, then explaining what could have been handled differently.
That demonstrates expertise without simply telling people how good the business is.
Takeaway 4: Make outreach conversational, not promotional
Tony contrasted long promotional event invitations with a short message explaining that an event was happening and asking whether it sounded interesting.
His point was simple: the less promotional the first message feels, the more room there is for a genuine conversation.
That conversation might lead to attendance. It might lead to a different meeting. Or it might simply reveal that there is a reason to speak.
Takeaway 5: Give people a useful reason to engage
Tony suggested several alternatives to immediately asking somebody for a sales meeting.
These included meeting for coffee while travelling, asking whether someone was attending an industry event, inviting prospects to a business event, asking for input into research, inviting someone onto a podcast, arranging a panel discussion or hosting a round table.
The common thread was giving people a relevant reason to start talking.
Tony also reported that one client had 95 business owners signed up for a London event through LinkedIn messaging. This was a Social-Hire client example shared during the session, not an independent LinkedIn benchmark.
Takeaway 6: Make LinkedIn fit the sales process you already have
One founder asked whether Tony’s approach could work for a life-sciences business selling into Europe and the US, where even a pilot was around £30,000.
Tony said it could.
But he also made an important distinction. If a business normally has a long sales cycle, LinkedIn is not suddenly going to produce ready-to-buy customers.
It can help create the first conversation and keep the business visible while the existing sales process continues.
LinkedIn supports the sales process; it does not replace it.
Takeaway 7: Do not confuse visible engagement with real attention
Near the end of the session, one founder raised what he called “LinkedIn lurker syndrome”.
He shared examples where business emerged from content the eventual prospect had never visibly liked or commented on.
Tony agreed, saying that almost every client he had won had never commented on or liked his posts.
His suggestion was to look beyond surface-level engagement and consider whether the right companies, industries and levels of seniority were actually seeing the content.
How can founders continue the conversation with SU2SU?
LinkedIn already comes up in our Founder Surgery discussions, and during this session our host asked Tony to return because founders clearly had more questions.
You can watch Tony’s full session, explore the SU2SU YouTube channel and browse our guest-speaker archive.
You can also explore the member benefits on our SU2SU homepage, including Knowledge Bank access, learn more about becoming part of the community through Become a Member.
“Real Startup Questions. Real Founder Answers.” is at the heart of how these conversations work. Our role is to bring founder questions into the room with people who understand them, then help the conversation continue.
Conclusion
What we took away from Tony’s session was that winning business on LinkedIn is not simply about posting more, collecting connections or sending more messages.
Tony’s session pointed to a clear sequence: start with the commercial outcome, build credibility with relevant people, give them a useful reason to engage and use LinkedIn to support the sales process your business already has.
If this is a question you are working through now, bring it into a SU2SU Founder Surgery, watch the full session or explore Startup 2 Standup membership to continue the conversation.
FAQs
Should founders ask for meetings immediately after connecting?
Tony advised against it. His suggestion was to build familiarity and professional credibility first, then approach people with a relevant reason to engage.
Do founders need thousands of new LinkedIn connections?
Not necessarily. Tony explained that if a founder already has a large network containing the right prospects, using that network effectively may matter more than continuing to grow it.
Can LinkedIn work for a long B2B sales cycle?
Tony said it can help create the first conversation and maintain visibility, but it does not replace the underlying sales process.
What kind of LinkedIn messages did Tony recommend?
Short, conversational messages that give the recipient an easy and relevant reason to respond rather than long promotional pitches.
Do likes and comments show whether LinkedIn is generating business?
Not always. Both Tony and a founder in the room described situations where prospects consumed content without visibly engaging before a business opportunity emerged.
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