How to find your first buyers in your LinkedIn network with Claude

1. On LinkedIn, open Settings & Privacy, then Data privacy, then Get a copy of your data.
2. Choose Connections only and request the file.
3. LinkedIn emails you a download link, usually within about ten minutes. Unzip it and open Connections.csv.

Your ideal customer profile (ICP) describes the person and company most likely to buy from you. Claude scores each connection against one sentence about who you sell to, so write that sentence now, using this shape.

I help [job title] at [type of company, size and stage] who struggle with [specific problem] that costs them [time or money each month].

1. Open a new chat in Claude and attach Connections.csv.
2. Copy the prompt below and paste it in.
3. Replace the highlighted line with your ICP line, then send.

You are helping me find the best potential buyers and referrers in my LinkedIn network. I am attaching a list of my connections (name, company, job title).

My ideal customer profile (ICP) is: [PASTE YOUR ONE-LINE ICP HERE]

Before you score anyone, check my ICP. Tell me in two sentences whether it is specific enough to score against. If it is not, ask me up to three questions that would sharpen it, and wait for my answers.

Then score each connection from 1 to 5 on fit, where 5 is an ideal direct buyer and 1 is no fit. Tag each one:
BUYER: could buy from me directly
CHAMPION: works at a fitting company and could push internally, but would not sign off
CONNECTOR: knows many people who fit (investors, advisors, agencies, community leads)
SKIP: no clear link

Return a table sorted by score, highest first, with the columns: Name, Company, Title, Score, Tag, one-line reason. Only include connections scoring 3 or above. If the file is too long to cover in one go, tell me where you stopped and I will ask you to continue.

Claude checks your ICP line before it scores anyone and may ask up to three questions. Answer them. That exchange is often the most useful part of the exercise.

Work down the table from the top. Each tag tells you what to do.

BUYER

Could buy from you directly. Message these first.

CHAMPION

Works at a fitting company and could push for you internally, but will not sign off. Ask how their team handles the problem today.

CONNECTOR

Knows many people who fit, such as investors, advisors and agency owners. Ask who else is dealing with the problem.

SKIP

No clear link. Leave them for now.

Check before you trust it

• Read the top 20 yourself. Anything that looks wrong shows you what Claude misunderstood.
• Paste your corrections back: "Rows 4 and 9 are wrong because [reason]. Re-score using that."
• If most scores sit at 3, or more than a third score 5, the ICP line is too loose. Go back to step 2 and tighten it.

No pitch and no link in the first message. Stay in the same chat and send this next.

Take the top 10 rows from your table. For each person, write a LinkedIn message of under 60 words.

My proof points: [PASTE ONE OR TWO SHORT PROOF POINTS, SUCH AS A RESULT YOU GOT FOR A SIMILAR COMPANY]

Rules:
No pitch and no links.
Open with one specific, true reason I am contacting them, based on their title or company.
Work in one proof point as a short line of credibility, not a pitch.
Ask one question about how they handle [THE PROBLEM FROM MY ICP LINE] today.
Plain, friendly language. No flattery and no jargon.
End with: If it's useful, I'll share what I'm hearing from others.

Give me the ten messages as a numbered list, with the person's name above each one.

Send five a day. Keep a simple sheet with name, date sent, reply and next step. A reply is the start of a conversation. Ask about the problem and listen before you say what you sell.

Xi is a fractional sales leader who helps early-stage AI and B2B SaaS founders build their first repeatable sales process. He has 16 years in B2B revenue, including senior roles at monday.com, Fountain and Captify.