Should You Pay for LinkedIn?

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Without fail, if I run a masterclass, training, workshop, or webinar on LinkedIn, someone will ask about upgrading their LinkedIn account.

“Should I pay to upgrade? Should I get the Premium LinkedIn account or buy a subscription to Sales Navigator?”

It’s a great question. And one that doesn’t necessarily have a clear-cut answer. I don’t work for LinkedIn and I don’t own Microsoft stock, so I don’t have a vested interest in someone anteing up for the paid accounts.

On the other hand, I do want you to get the biggest bang for your LinkedIn buck (and that means the time you are spending here). And so I think it makes sense to use the platform as much as possible to move towards your business goals. In the end, my answer is usually some variation of, “Yes. Eventually.”

Why You Shouldn't Pay for an Upgraded LinkedIn Account

Let me tell you why you shouldn’t upgrade your account:

Because you think that doing so will make your LinkedIn presence more effective without any additional work.

It’s an easy mental trap to get caught in. Many professionals aren’t completely comfortable with social media for business. People hope that by paying for LinkedIn it will somehow magically work better.

The thinking goes something like, “It’s hard to believe that LinkedIn can offer their really fantastic tools for free, so the good stuff must be in the premium account! That’s how I’ll get more engagement, build my network, and find more clients!”

I see this happen a lot when sales teams get Sales Navigator seats and then magically think that more prospects and customers are going to start pouring in. And then nothing happens.

(I've seen many sales enablement professionals frustrated by this. Yes, it's great for the organization to pony up for the tools, but you also need to develop the skills and mindsets to effectively leverage those tools.)

Too many professionals think that the secret to using LinkedIn is behind the magic curtain of a paid account (and LinkedIn’s marketing department is happy to help them think that). But then they sign up, start paying…and nothing different happens.

Create the Foundation for Your Social Selling First

While the premium account does give access to some very powerful features (more about that in a second), it doesn’t do any of the work for you. You can have a premium account and still have no idea how to use LinkedIn effectively. Having access to these features doesn’t guarantee success in itself. You still need to approach these features strategically and execute on a tactical level.

If you want to get the most out of the advanced features that the paid accounts provide, you need to start by maximizing the capabilities in your free account. You can optimize your profile, build a large network, and share content all without paying a dime. And you can be very successful doing so.

While there isn’t a “perfect” time to upgrade to a premium account, a few minutes of honest analysis will probably let you know where you are with your LinkedIn use. Just like a new piece of exercise equipment won’t do your workouts for you, the paid features aren’t going to connect and network for you. The paid versions of LinkedIn, while incredibly useful, aren’t the magic pill for your LinkedIn results. You and your efforts are still going to be the driving force behind its value.

The key is to maximize the use of the free features until you are being held back by the limits of the basic account.

This is the best time to upgrade to the premium account: when you have bumped up against the ceiling of what you can do with the free account. If you’ve been using LinkedIn a lot, and you get irritated that you can’t do more, that’s the time to upgrade. You know that you’re using all the available opportunities, and you want to open the net a bit and gain access to additional functions.

Connect Premium Features with Your Current Business Development

For example, you might want to find more prospective connections or get a better sense of who is visiting your profile. Those are both examples where the paid subscriptions can help.

For example, they allow access to fantastic tools like including an expanded “Who’s Viewed Your Profile” section and additional search filters. Those allow you to track your activity and visitors to uncover prospects and other business opportunities.

You can also get access to LinkedIn Inmails through the paid accounts that allow you to reach out beyond your immediate network. You can view a full list of the premium features on LinkedIn’s site (it does evolve and change). LinkedIn isn’t foolish. If it has an incredibly useful feature that they think people will pay for, they are going charge users!

But the foundation you create and the active engagement you bring to your LinkedIn use will always be key to your success with the platform. Don’t put the cart before the horse.

Your success with the Premium or Sales Navigator account will be based on what you do with them. They are powerful tools, but even the best tool won’t help if it’s left in the drawer. You have to use it to get the true benefits of it.

If you want to give Sales Navigator a try, LinkedIn Sales Solutions has given me the opportunity to share 60-day free trials. This is an affiliate link, but it's all about whether or not it works for you! DM me and I'll send you the link.

This article was adapted from a chapter in the #1 best-selling Networking in the 21st Century on LinkedIn. If you are looking for more ideas on how to leverage LinkedIn to create connections and relationships with prospects, clients, and partners.

And if you have questions, want me to help your organization leverage social selling, or just want to say hello, feel free to send me an invite or a DM. I'll get back to you.