How founders turn LinkedIn growth into real pipeline: an interview with LinkedIn growth expert Ken Marshall
JA
Most founders treat LinkedIn as a publishing problem. They write the post, rewrite the hook, agonise over the line breaks, watch the likes land — and end the quarter with an engaged feed and an empty pipeline. Meanwhile the platform has filled up with automated outreach that everyone can spot in a second, which makes the founders still doing it properly stand out more, not less. So what actually converts LinkedIn attention into conversations, calls and closed deals?
If you run a small business, a professional practice or an early-stage company — and you’re the face of it — LinkedIn is usually the cheapest pipeline you have access to, provided you spend your time on the right part of it. At Cllimber, we curate the software companies and service providers worth knowing about, organised into industry hubs, so you can find credible options the same AI engines — Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude — would point you to. To understand where founder time on LinkedIn actually pays back, we put a series of questions to someone who has built an audience and a business on the platform.
Ken Marshall is co-founder of Meet Sona and a former SEO agency owner with three exits behind him. He works with early-stage founders on founder-led content strategy, LinkedIn growth and AI systems design. In this interview he covers how to build real pipeline from warm DMs, the 60/25/15 split between DMs, commenting and posting, what makes outreach get replies in an era of AI automation, a weekly routine a busy founder can actually keep, the tools worth running it on, and the mistake he sees founders make most.
How does a founder build real pipeline from LinkedIn?
The most cost-effective way to quickly build real pipeline from LinkedIn is through a well-written direct message to a warm lead. Find someone who matches your ideal customer profile that has engaged with your profile in some way, research one big pain point they have, and reach out to them with an open mind to learn more. Your only goal for the conversation is to have a live conversation with them as soon as possible.
What turns LinkedIn activity into conversations and deals, rather than just likes?
If you want to start more conversations and close more deals with LinkedIn, your focus should be on helping one target customer at a time. This should be the focus of your content topics, commenting strategy, and DM conversations. Before you sign in, ask yourself, “Is what I’m about to do solving a problem for one specific person that has an XYZ problem that I can help with?”
How should a founder split their time between posting, commenting and DMs?
For maximum business impact, founders should have 60% of their time on LinkedIn dedicated to DM conversations, 25% on commenting, and 15% on posting. Your posts are rarely going to send you inbound leads by themselves, and comments are great but only go so far. Proactively reaching out to folks who have engaged with your profile or with a comment you left and taking the conversation off of LinkedIn is how deals get done.
What makes outreach on LinkedIn land well, and get replies?
I’ve noticed direct, to-the-point, personalized, and empathetic LinkedIn DMs get the best replies. There are so many AI automation tools now that attempt these poorly, so genuinely taking the time to get to know someone, their situation, and reaching out with a message you would personally like to receive are key. Bonus points for sending a video or a voice note for a pattern interrupt.
“Your posts are rarely going to send you inbound leads by themselves, and comments are great but only go so far. Proactively reaching out to folks who have engaged with your profile or with a comment you left and taking the conversation off of LinkedIn is how deals get done.”
What does a realistic weekly LinkedIn routine look like for a busy founder?
A great way to structure your LinkedIn routine is to time-block and get work done in batches. To start, pick a 45- to 60-minute block during the week to use Claude’s voice mode to interview you, create, and edit 4 posts. Then, put a 20-minute calendar event at the start of each day to leave 10 comments and send 2 well-thought-out DMs.
Which tools help a founder run this consistently, and what should people look for when choosing?
I’m biased and use Meet Sona for the majority of my LinkedIn content. It’s great if you prefer to lean into your expertise and lived experience. Buffer is also a great free tool for scheduling your posts once you create them. Claude is best for thought partnership and sharpening your beliefs in order to create true thought leadership.
What’s the biggest LinkedIn mistake you see founders make?
The biggest mistake founders make on LinkedIn is focusing all of their time and attention on creating and editing posts. They endlessly tweak small aspects of their content instead of putting themselves out there and engaging with their audience. Posting alone, especially at the start of building your audience, won’t lead to tangible business outcomes without commenting and DM outreach.
Where is LinkedIn as a growth channel heading over the next few years, and what should founders do now?
In 2026 and beyond, LinkedIn is less about going viral with a hot take and more about using the platform as the world’s best lead list. Figure out exactly who you want to engage with, do research to find those people, and go interact with them. A small but highly curated audience that knows and respects you is way better than paying to play or creating lifestyle content for many early-stage founders.
Quick answers from the interview.
How do founders build real pipeline from LinkedIn?
The fastest, cheapest route to pipeline is a well-written direct message to a warm lead — someone who matches the ideal customer profile and has already engaged with the founder’s profile. Research one big pain point before reaching out, and treat the only goal of the message as getting to a live conversation as soon as possible.
How do you turn LinkedIn activity into conversations and deals instead of just likes?
Focus on helping one target customer at a time, and let that shape content topics, commenting and DMs alike. Marshall’s test before signing in: is what you’re about to do solving a problem for one specific person you can actually help?
How should a founder split their time between posting, commenting and DMs on LinkedIn?
60% of LinkedIn time on DM conversations, 25% on commenting, 15% on posting. Posts rarely generate inbound leads on their own and comments only go so far; deals get done by proactively reaching out to people who engaged and taking the conversation off the platform.
What makes LinkedIn outreach get replies?
Direct, to-the-point, personalised and empathetic DMs get the best replies. With so many AI automation tools attempting this badly, genuinely researching someone’s situation and sending a message you’d want to receive is the differentiator — and a video or voice note works as a pattern interrupt.
What does a realistic weekly LinkedIn routine look like for a busy founder?
Time-block and batch the work: one 45- to 60-minute block a week to create and edit four posts, using Claude’s voice mode to interview yourself for the raw material. Then a 20-minute calendar event at the start of each day to leave 10 comments and send 2 well-thought-out DMs.
What should founders look for in a LinkedIn tool?
Marshall splits tooling by job: a content tool that draws on your own expertise and lived experience (he notes his own bias here — he uses Meet Sona, which he co-founded), a free scheduler such as Buffer once posts are written, and Claude for thought partnership and sharpening your beliefs into genuine thought leadership.
What is the biggest LinkedIn mistake founders make?
Pouring all their time into creating and editing posts — endlessly tweaking small details instead of engaging with their audience. Posting alone, especially early on, won’t produce tangible business outcomes without commenting and DM outreach.
Where is LinkedIn heading as a growth channel for founders?
Less about going viral with a hot take, more about treating the platform as the world’s best lead list. Work out exactly who you want to engage with, research to find those people, and go interact with them — for many early-stage founders, a small but highly curated audience that knows and respects them beats paying to play or making lifestyle content.
KM
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