There’s the LinkedIn we all know and love. And then there’s LinkedIn’s smoothe older brother, LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
If you’re not familiar, Sales Navigator is a social selling platform for B2B sales. It’s where people go to discover new leads, connect with prospects, and ultimately drive revenue for their organization.
The last I checked, the platform had over 10 million users spread across 200 countries. And its database houses nearly 600 million companies. Everyone from small startup founders to large Fortune 500 executives use Sales Navigator. It’s the who’s who of the business world.
Sales Navigator’s biggest industries include:
- Tech
- Financial services
- Healthcare
There are a few different tiers of service you can sign up for: Professional, Team, and Enterprise. And there’s even a Sales Navigator app that I use quite often.
So, with all these stats and figures, it looks like LinkedIn Sales Nav is the tool for B2B sales, right? Well, not so fast.
I’d say it’s one tool that you must have in your sales toolbox – or one arrow in the quiver. But it shouldn’t be the only tool. I’d recommend using Sales Nav alongside other hard-hitting prospecting tools like ZoomInfo, Leadfeeder, Hubspot, and others.
Today, I’m going to cover a few tips, tricks, and hacks for using Sales Navigator. So let’s get started.
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The Basics of LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Most Sales Navigator users only scratch the surface of this powerful tool. If you’re considering purchasing Sales Nav (about $79 per month for the Professional subscription), then you’ll spend most of your time in the ‘Advanced Search’ function.
Advanced search allows you to filter for leads based on keyword, industry, geography, seniority, years in position, years at company, company size, company revenue, and more. From there you can build and save lead lists, which is another huge advantage of Sales Nav. All of your leads in one place.
Hunting for leads from fortune 500 companies? Just dropdown to “Fortune.” Searching for companies with between 500-5,000 employees? Done. How about small mom and pop pizzerias, located in Kalamazoo, MI, with annual revenue of $100,000 or more? You can have those leads served up on a silver platter.
You can also set job change alerts, so if a contact or prospect accepts a new position at a different company, you can be one of the first people to reach out (but let’s be honest, these newly minted positions get pummeled by salespeople, so we’ll have to be a little more creative).
Another great thing about LinkedIn Sales Navigator is that you get unlimited profile searches. If you don’t have the paid version, you’re capped at around 300 profile views per month. That means you can only drill down on 300 prospects each month, which is nothing. I’d rather you be looking at 5,000-10,000 profiles each month. You are making that many calls, right?
OK – with the basics out of the way (yes, even ‘Advanced Search’ is pretty basic these days), it’s time to get into some high-octane LinkedIn Sales Navigator tips, tricks, and hacks. Start implementing these regularly and you might be surprised by how your sales numbers skyrocket.
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LinkedIn Sales Navigator Tips and Tricks
‘View Similar’
The ‘View similar’ feature is a hidden gem in Sales Nav. If you’re on the trail of a hot lead, just click the dropdown option (the three little dots) and select “View similar,” which will then give you a list of 100 or more leads similar to the one you’re looking at. And with very little effort (really, none at all), you’ve got loads of high-quality leads — or at least legitimate leads — to cold call or cold email. Just be careful, as the further down the rabbit hole you get from your original lead, the worse the leads will become.
‘Interested In’
The next little-know-but-highly-effective Sales Nav feature is actually a filter option called ‘Interested in’. Click on this to search en masse for prospects who are interested in the things that you are interested in… or things that you can deliver on. For instance, if you’re in software sales, select ‘Interested In: cloud-based software training’ to find professionals who are tech forward and maybe looking to expand their tech stack. Only you know what your prospects are searching for, so just think of their pain points and try those key terms.
‘Shared Interests’
If you go with Sales Navigator ‘Team’ subscription, you can filter even further to find prospects with the same interests as you. This intel can be massive when it comes to customizing first lines of cold emails or during the first cold call. But besides that, sales is all about connecting with people on an authentic level. If you and your prospect both share a passion for cooking, well that’s a connection point that’s important to know!
Unlock Prospect Profiles
Also included with the Sales Nav ‘Team’ subscription is the ability to unlock up to 25 prospect profiles who are not in your LinkedIn network (25 per team member). Once it’s unlocked, you and your whole team can view it. This isn’t earth-shattering, but it’s good to know. If you want to unlock more than 25 out-of-network profiles, then you’ll have to jump up to the Enterprise tier.
Data Validation
Lead lists and prospect data is the lifeblood of any cold outreach campaign, and so it has to be clean. But how do you get clean data? One way is to use data validation software from your CRM (if it offers it), or a third-party provider, or right in LinkedIn Sales Nav. With LinkedIn, it will automatically validate or “clean” your data automatically as things change (i.e. your prospect gets a new phone number, changes titles, moves to a different company, etc.).
Now, the Data Validation feature is only available with the Enterprise tier, otherwise you might have to pay a pretty penny for it. But clean, accurate, up-to-date data is critical to your success. Your prospects expect it, and it’ll help you establish trust and credibility.
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Final Words
It’s worth repeating: While LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a powerful weapon in the salesperson arsenal, it’s only one weapon. If you’re serious about generating pipeline, you have to have a well-rounded sales stack that includes more powerful tools like Salesforce and ZoomInfo.
It’s also worth mentioning that any technology, including Sales Nav, can make you real busy, real fast. And I don’t mean the good kind of busy work. If you’re not careful, you could find yourself pushing the buttons and pulling the levers all day long without actually picking up the phones. You don’t need a perfect list. You need a good list fast. And then you need to close the Sales Nav window and start dialing.
And I’ll leave you with that.
Until next time…
Johnny-Lee Reinoso