TL;DR: LinkedIn Sales Navigator helps you prospect efficiently with advanced search filters, InMail, and lead management features. It allow you to customize search preferences, and use Boolean search for more targeted results. On the other side, maintaining an active, professional LinkedIn profile is a must to improve your outreach success.

What is LinkedIn Sales Navigator?

The first question that comes to mind is: what exactly is LinkedIn Sales Navigator?

As you might have noticed, when you’re on LinkedIn, there’s a basic search bar at the top of the platform.

However, when it comes to prospecting, finding the right profiles, sending messages, and adding connections, this standard search bar can only take you so far.

It’s a good starting point, but you’ll quickly find yourself overwhelmed by the sheer number of profiles it suggests.

This is where LinkedIn Sales Navigator comes in.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator offers advanced search capabilities with a variety of filters that help you narrow down your prospects based on criteria like company, job role, interests, past work experience, current position, and even whether or not they’re active on LinkedIn.

With these powerful features, you can conduct detailed searches as often as needed, helping you find the perfect prospects to connect with.

Key Features of LinkedIn Sales Navigator

The features you can access with LinkedIn Sales Navigator depend on the plan you choose.

However, the core features are included in the basic plan and focus primarily on advanced filters, such as filtering by company, job role, persona type, previous work experience, whether they post on LinkedIn, and more.

Once you've created a list of prospects, you can contact them directly, either through InMail or by selecting multiple profiles and sending messages in bulk.

One particularly powerful feature is Boolean Search, which enables you to refine your search with parentheses, quotes, and other modifiers.

This technique helps you generate highly targeted lists of prospects based on specific criteria.

Another key capability is the option to connect directly with your prospects or send them personalized messages after building your list.

Additionally, you can set up alerts to notify you when new leads are identified or when you receive responses.

If needed, you can also export your list to a CSV file to capture email addresses and other details of your prospects.

Importantly, all of this is done with respect for privacy regulations. If a prospect has chosen not to share their email or other contact information, it will not be accessible to you.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator Pricing

LinkedIn Sales Navigator offers a wide range of advanced features, but these are not available for free.

The pricing for LinkedIn Sales Navigator depends on the plan you choose:

The Core plan, ideal for individual sales professionals, costs $99 per month.
The Advanced plan, designed for teams, is priced at $169.99 per month.
The Advanced Plus plan, tailored for businesses, starts at $1,600 per year, with pricing adjusted based on the size and specific needs of your organization.

If you choose an annual plan, you can save up to 25% on all options:

The Core plan is reduced to $79.99 per month,
The Advanced plan costs $135 per month,
And the price of the Advanced Plus plan will depend on your company’s needs.

For most professionals, the Core plan is the most popular choice, especially for salespeople and recruiters.

The Advanced plan offers additional benefits, such as tools to track engagement with your content (e.g., shared links) and the option to download prospect lists in CSV format for better organization and outreach.

When deciding which plan is right for you, consider factors such as whether you’ll use it individually, as part of a team, or as a business strategy.

Evaluate your overall goals to ensure that the chosen plan aligns with your needs.

While the Core plan offers a wide range of features, it’s not particularly cheap, so selecting the right plan based on your goals is key.

How to Set Up LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Once you’ve made the decision to try LinkedIn Sales Navigator—whether through a trial period like the 30 days it offers—it’s time to set it up.

If you’re unfamiliar with the platform, it’s a good idea to explore the different filters and features to understand the results you can achieve.

Step-by-Step Setup Process

When you first activate your Sales Navigator account, you’ll receive a welcome email from LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

This email will contain a link to a quick onboarding guide that walks you through the basics of getting started.

Here’s how to set it up step by step:

Sign in and follow the instructions to link your Sales Navigator account to LinkedIn.
Sign in with your LinkedIn credentials, then you'll be directed to Sales Navigator’s homepage, where you'll find sections like "Lead Builder" and "Account Lists" to help you search for and organize prospects.
Use the search bar to apply filters based on industry, company size, job title, etc., to refine your lead list and target the right audience.
Once you’ve found potential leads, save them to lists for easier management. You’ll get notifications about their activity, such as new posts or engagement.

Customizing Your Preferences

Now that your account is set up, it's important to fine-tune your preferences to ensure you're receiving the most relevant information and working as efficiently as possible.

The goal of Sales Navigator is to create well-defined searches and filters to avoid drowning in irrelevant results.

To achieve this, there are several adjustments you can make to customize your preferences and searches:

Customize your search results by adjusting your criteria in the settings. This ensures you receive suggestions that align with your specific goals and target audience.
Use Boolean search. By applying specific operators (like AND, OR, NOT), you can refine your searches further, filtering out irrelevant profiles and focusing on your ideal leads.
Set up custom account alerts to choose which types of updates you want to be notified about. This helps you stay on top of the most relevant changes in your target market.
Personalize your messaging preferences, including setting up templates or auto-responses. This can save time while maintaining a personalized outreach approach, especially for LinkedIn InMail.

How to Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator Effectively

LinkedIn Sales Navigator can be a goldmine for prospecting, but like any powerful tool, its effectiveness depends on how well you use it.

If you’re not leveraging it correctly, you might find yourself wasting time on unqualified leads and missing out on potential opportunities.

To help you make the most of this platform, here are some advanced tips for improving your searches and boosting your outreach strategy.

Advanced Search Tips

The first key to effective prospecting is knowing exactly who you want to target.

Studies show that about 80-90% of top sales professionals invest time in thoroughly researching their prospects before reaching out.

Once you have a clear understanding of your ideal connection, there are several important filters in LinkedIn Sales Navigator that you can use to narrow down your search.

Job Titles vs. Functions: It's essential to understand both the job title and the role a person plays within the company. These can sometimes differ, so be mindful of both when searching.
Geography: Targeting specific regions—not just countries, but cities as well—can dramatically improve your results and refine your outreach.
Seniority Level: This filter allows you to focus on decision-makers or other key individuals based on their experience level.
Recent Activity: This ensures you're reaching out to prospects who are active on LinkedIn and more likely to respond.
Job Changes: You can also filter for people who have recently changed jobs. These prospects may be more receptive to outreach as they might be in a transition phase.

Once you've identified potential prospects, the next step is to add them to your lists and start warming them up.

The “warm-up” technique refers to engaging with your prospects before sending direct sales messages. Instead of immediately pitching your service, focus on building a relationship first.

To do this, start by checking if you share any common connections and send them a personalized message.

Secondly, if the prospect has posted recently, leave thoughtful comments on their content. This helps build rapport and shows genuine interest.

Remember that when reaching out for the first time, keep the message light. Introduce yourself, mention any common connections or interests, and build trust before offering your service.

The key is to establish rapport and understand the prospect's pain points before proposing your solution.

Building and Managing Lead Lists

Once you've identified relevant prospects, you can save them directly in LinkedIn Sales Navigator and begin building lead lists that are easier to manage.

This allows you to keep track of potential clients, even if they aren’t immediately ready for outreach. You can save individual profiles or save your searches to receive automatic updates.

After saving leads, you can organize them into customized lists. For example, you could create lists based on lead stage (e.g., warm leads, cold leads), industry, or even how you plan to engage with them.

This helps you stay organized and allows you to tailor your messaging based on each list.

Finally, you can set up alerts in Sales Navigator for your saved leads. This means you’ll be notified when there’s a change in their profile, such as a new post or a job change.

To keep your lead lists effective, regularly review and clean them.

Lead information can change over time, so it's important to update your lists to reflect any shifts in their role or company.

This ensures you're always targeting the right individuals with the most relevant information.

Engaging with Prospects

Finally, one of the most important stages in making your prospecting messages effective is engagement.

Engaging with your prospects goes beyond simply sending a message. It’s about building a meaningful connection by showing genuine interest in their activity on LinkedIn.

Here’s how to do it:

If your prospect has posted something recently, take the time to leave a thoughtful comment. This not only shows that you’ve read their content but also helps build rapport.
Check if they’re part of any LinkedIn groups or have shared any articles, and engage with those as well. Liking, sharing, or commenting on their posts and activities is a subtle but effective way to stay on their radar.
Instead of leading with a sales pitch, focus on creating a genuine professional connection. Show interest in their work, ask insightful questions, and offer value where possible.

This approach fosters a more personal connection, which is much more likely to lead to positive outcomes in the long run.

Conclusion: Maximizing LinkedIn Sales Navigator Through Posting

The final, but equally important point, is that for the loop to be complete, it's essential to have an active and professional LinkedIn profile.

Before reaching out to potential leads, your profile should reflect credibility and trustworthiness.

An active profile means regularly posting, engaging with content, and updating your experiences and skills.

This shows prospects that you are engaged on the platform and serious about building professional relationships.

The Importance of a Professional and Active LinkedIn Profile

Having an active and professional LinkedIn profile can significantly enhance the success of your LinkedIn Sales Navigator efforts.

It’s not just about filling out your profile—it’s about making sure it’s compelling, authentic, and engaging.

Consider your headline, experience, and skills to align with your current goals and the type of leads you're trying to attract.

Having a complete profile that clearly reflects what you do and what you offer is essential.

On the other hand, having an active profile means sharing insightful posts, articles, or updates that demonstrate your expertise.

This positions you as a thought leader in your field, making you more appealing to potential clients and leads who come across your profile.

Additionally, it can be one of the ways to acquire clients without direct prospecting.

By maintaining a profile that reflects your expertise and activity, you make yourself more approachable and trustworthy to potential prospects, leading to higher engagement and more meaningful connections through LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

I encourage you to give LinkedIn Sales Navigator a try, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions.