Business Development Doesn’t Have to Be a Grind

Connie Lund has been doing Fractional Marketing work for 3 years. She realized that her approach to finding clients in LinkedIn could be used by other Fractionals. Growth Rebel was born.
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As a fractional, the business development aspect is the hardest part.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

You can take your expertise to LinkedIn and attract clients.

(And skip the personal branding because very few see that content.)

I created a method that helps fractionals use LinkedIn in a way that’s simple, repeatable, and 20 minutes a day without cold-pitching or content burnout.

Let me tell you how it started.

Laid Off for the Last Time

In late 2022, I decided I was done with full-time roles.

I’d been the first marketer in multiple startups. And I’d been marketing on social channels for 18 years.

So I went to LinkedIn and started doing two things:

1. Looking for the best advice
2. Hanging out where startup founders were already spending time

The advice? Post daily. Build a personal brand.

I’m a marketer but copywriting isn’t my jam. That lasted about 7 days.

I realized quickly that that wasn’t going to work.

Then something unexpected happened.

Founders started booking meetings directly from my profile. No posts. No pitch.

I reverse-engineered what was working.

In talking to fractionals it was clear that this was something everyone needed.

So I started teaching it to other fractionals. And it worked for them too.

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The 5-Step Growth Rebel System

This is how we build a consistent lead habit on LinkedIn—without the content grind.

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Step 1: Identify Your Offer

This is the pivot point for most people.

You’ve probably been taught to lead with your resume or a long list of skills. But clients don’t want a skillset they want a solution.

That means getting clear on:

• Who you help
• What painful problem you solve
• Why your approach stands out
• What the next step is (your actual offer)

When I made the shift from “fractional CMO” to “I help startup founders double revenue in 10 months,” I stopped getting ghosted and started getting booked.

Many of my students geek out on this part. Because for the first time, they realize they don’t have to keep doing what they were as an employee.
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They can offer something sharper, more strategic and more aligned with what they love doing.

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Step 2: Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile

This is where trust begins.

When I first started getting meetings, it wasn’t from posts. It was because people were reading my profile and seeing themselves in the messaging.

Here’s what I teach:

• Use a banner that quickly shows what you do
• Write a headline that speaks to your audience’s pain or goal
• Rework your About section to focus on outcomes, not experience
• Add a calendar link to make booking easy

Your profile becomes your landing page. And if it’s done right, it turns views into leads without you needing to post every day.

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Step 3: Attract Inbound Leads

Let’s be real: most people aren’t reading your content at first.
They’re discovering you through other people’s posts.

That’s how it started for me. I’d leave thoughtful comments on posts by founders or operators with big audiences. Those comments led to profile views. The profile led to meetings.

You don’t need to become a content machine.

Instead:

• Follow people your ideal clients already follow
• Add thoughtful, relevant comments
• Post 1–2x per week to reinforce your credibility

That’s it. No algorithm-chasing. Just be visible where it counts.

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Step 4: Use Outreach to Build Your Audience

This step scares people but it doesn’t have to.

You don’t need to pitch strangers. You need to connect with intention.

Here’s what I did:

• Built lists carefully
• Let my profile speak for itself
• Followed up with a casual message once they accepted

Because I had the offer, profile, and positioning locked in—this worked.
And once I saw it was repeatable, I built systems to automate parts of it.

This is what I teach:
✅ Who to connect with
✅ How to create a low-friction system
✅ How to stay human—because that’s what gets responses

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Step 5: Host a LinkedIn Event

This step is the most underrated lead engine on LinkedIn.
(And my favorite.)

The first time I held a short, interactive event, it led to a dozen real conversations—and multiple new clients.

Here’s why it works:

• LinkedIn lets you invite your connections to attend
• You don’t need a big audience—just a relevant topic
• One event gives you a reason to start (or restart) conversations

You don’t need to be a professional speaker. Just teach one idea that solves one real problem.

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So… what about content?

You can still post. I do!
But it’s not the foundation it’s the amplifier.

In Growth Rebel, I teach how to use a custom GPT to save 75% of your time writing content.
(Yes, even if you hate writing like I did.)

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Ready to build your lead habit?

This is the exact system I teach inside Growth Rebel and it works for fractional leaders, consultants and coaches who are ready to grow using a 20 minute routine.

Get the 5 steps in a PDF here with a link to Bonus AI Templates.

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Connie Lund is the creator of Growth Rebel, a system for fractionals, consultants, and coaches who want leads—not likes. After ditching the 9–5 and burning out on “post daily” advice, she built a smarter way to use LinkedIn. Now she teaches others how to turn 20-minute routines into real conversations (and real clients). Expect a little rule-breaking, a lot of clarity, and maybe even a pineapple or two.
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Connect with Connie on LinkedIn.

If fractional work sounds exciting to you, or you want to learn more, check us out at https://fractionaljobs.io. We've got plenty of live jobs from startups looking for senior-level fractional talent.