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How to Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to Maximize Sales

How to Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to Maximize Sales
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LinkedIn is a popular platform for lead generation and sales conversion. Hubspot cites it as the fourth most used social media channel (at 25%) after Facebook (38%), Instagram (31%), and YouTube (29%).

most used social media platform
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But did you know it can boost your sales? Enter LinkedIn Sales Navigator, a premium subscription for generating leads and converting sales. But what is it exactly, and how does it work? 

This page tackles what you ought to know about LinkedIn Sales Navigator, including its key features and potential benefits for your business. Read on to learn how to maximize your sales using this tool.

An Overview of LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn is a social media channel for professional networking and business connections. The digital platform has over 922 million members worldwide with more than 300 million active users each month and is considered one of the most popular networking sites today.

LinkedIn audience statistics
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LinkedIn offers a plethora of professional and business opportunities. It allows you to look for jobs, explore career options, build a network, as well as share your knowledge, skills, and expertise. But it can go as far as letting you promote your brand, generate leads, and convert sales. 

That's where the LinkedIn Sales Navigator comes into play.

LinkedIn sales navigator is a sales tool that is readily available on the LinkedIn platform but on premium subscriptions. This tool allows you to find, engage, and nurture leads (potential clients or customers) on the platform. It uses key features, such as advanced search filters, lead recommendations, and data insights. 

However, there is more to this than meets the eye. Explore some of its best features below.

Key features of LinkedIn sales navigator

LinkedIn sales navigator comes with incredibly amazing features. It allows you to perform several functions revolving around lead generation and sales conversion. That said, here are some of its advanced features to employ:

  • Advanced lead search: Are you looking to connect with as many sales prospects as possible? This tool offers advanced search filters, letting you go beyond basic lead searches on the platform. With this in place, you can target ideal prospects by industry, company size, title, job changes, and even keywords.
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  • Targeted lead recommendations: Seeking to harness the power of automation and artificial intelligence (AI)? This tool provides precise lead recommendations using its algorithms. It helps discover potential customers based on your search criteria and buying signals.
linkedin sales navigator lead recommendations
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  • Enhanced InMail messaging: Planning to optimize your email outreach by personalizing your content and building connections? This tool gives you inMail credits that bypass the connection limits. With this in place, you can send personalized emails and connect with various stakeholders.
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  • Seamless CRM integration: Hoping to manage all your leads and customers in one place? It enables you to integrate the tool with other customer relationship management (CRM) platforms. You can easily record, organize, analyze, and manage your leads and sales.
linkedin seamless crm
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  • Data-driven insights and sales reporting: As cited, this tool harnesses the power of AI and automation. As such, it allows you to save, track, and analyze lead and sales datasets for informed decision-making.
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Discover how LinkedIn sales navigator proves beneficial to your business below.

Potential benefits of LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Now, why is there a need to leverage LinkedIn's Sales Navigator? Since LinkedIn is an excellent platform for acquiring customers and converting sales, this tool will help you optimize your entire sales process. 

Grant Aldrich, Founder of Online Degree, recommends using LinkedIn Sales Navigator for lead generation and sales conversion. "As a Founder, I've leveraged LinkedIn to connect with various stakeholders. But nothing beats subscribing to the sales navigator to acquire prospects and win new customers. It makes the whole sales process much easier, faster, and more results-driven."

Aldrich highlights the potential benefits of using LinkedIn sales navigator:

  • Efficient search: LinkedIn lets you search for prospects and get recommendations, but it has limitations. Nothing beats using advanced search filters to target leads and connect with prospects.
  • Effective contact: Lead generation and sales conversion don't stop with mere connections. You must reach out to prospects and personalize your content. That's where InMail messaging can help enhance communication.
  • High-quality leads: When it comes to sales, the goal isn't only to get as many prospects as possible. The goal is to acquire and earn quality leads that have the potential to convert into sales. The advanced search filters and lead recommendations let you do that!
  • Increased sales: Of course, the end goal is to boost sales or win more customers for your business. The LinkedIn sales navigator can help streamline your entire sales process, from lead prospecting to sales conversion. 
  • Scalable business: To scale up your business, you must leverage digital tools and advanced technologies. The LinkedIn sales navigator should be added to your arsenal of sales tools. You'll be surprised at how it can work wonders on your business as far as boosting sales is concerned.

In the next section, learn effective ways and practical steps for leveraging LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

How To Maximize Your Sales with LinkedIn Sales Navigator

At this point, we've learned much about what LinkedIn sales navigator is and how it works. We've also tackled its key features and potential benefits for your company or organization. It's time to use LinkedIn sales navigator to boost your sales. Here's how:

1. Set up your LinkedIn sales navigator

First and foremost, you must have a LinkedIn account. But of course, you ought to subscribe to a free trial or paid plan for the sales navigator. Don't worry, as the steps are pretty straightforward:

Linkedin sales navigator subscription
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  • Log in to your LinkedIn account.
  • Search for the' Sales Solution' option.
  • Select a free trial or a paid subscription plan.
  • Follow the guide for the onboarding process.
  • Start using key features like advanced search filters, lead recommendations, and InMail credits.

Jeffrey Zhou, CEO and Founder of Fig Loans, has his fair share of leveraging LinkedIn Sales Navigator. He started using LinkedIn to connect with various stakeholders. Over time, he needed to capitalize on the tool to engage with potential clients for his loan and credit business.

Zhou says, "Setting up a LinkedIn Sales Navigator account is painless and easy.  Either try its free trial or subscribe to a paid plan. Ultimately, it's all worth it for your sales process."

2. Identify and target leads

After setting up your account, you can start your LinkedIn prospecting. The goal here is to identify and target as many leads as possible. Fret not, as the advanced search filters and lead recommendations can work wonders. Here's what you need to do:

  • Use advanced search filters like current company, business size, and account list.
  • Create your ideal customer profile (ICP) using Personas so the tool can help you find the most relevant leads.
  • Save your top searches for notifications in case new leads match your search criteria.

Roman Zrazhevskiy, Founder & CEO at MIRA Safety, cites the value of LinkedIn Sales Navigator for robust lead generation. Their company leverages this tool to find potential clients interested in gas masks, PPE gear, and accessories.

Zrazhevskiy explains, "As we're catering to a unique customer base, this tool allows us to connect with the right customers or clients. Not only does it help us find prospects, but it also lets us target quality leads."

3. Personalize your outreach

Now, it's time to kick off your warm or cold email outreach. As the name suggests, it involves reaching out to prospects after connecting with leads earlier. The key here is to create relevant, valuable content that resonates with them. Here's how the InMail messaging can help:

  • Check your list of prospects and conduct a little research about them.
  • Personalize your content by referencing things like the prospect's role, company, and recent activities.
  • Send messages directly to these leads outside your LinkedIn network.

John Baek, Founder of JSB Digital Works, highlights the power of content personalization for email outreach. They leverage the InMail messaging on sales navigator to contact professionals and businesses interested in digital marketing, whether SEO or web design.

Baek argues, "It's not enough to email as many targeted prospects as possible. You must customize your content pieces to appeal to them. Harnessing the power of InMail messaging is key!"

4. Engage with prospects

You might have used sales email templates and sent messages to your list of prospects. However, it's not enough that you simply wait for their responses.  It's best to be proactive in your outreach via the sales navigator. Here's how:

  • Monitor the responses to your InMails.
  • Respond to prospects as promptly as possible.
  • Also, set reminders for follow-up emails.
  • Send follow-up messages politely and strategically.

Logan Mallory, Vice President of Marketing at Motivosity, recommends maximizing the InMail messaging capabilities on the sales navigator. Their company uses this feature to connect with companies looking to boost employee rewards and recognition.

Mallory says, "How can you convert your leads into sales? You've got to convince them to buy your products or hire your services via the InMail messages. It's crucial to engage with your LinkedIn prospects promptly, constantly, and professionally."

5. Nurture leads consistently

Now, it's about time to nurture your leads on the LinkedIn platform. Lead nurturing is the process of engaging with prospects and establishing good relationships with them. The sales navigator allows you to build and manage your list of leads. Here's how:

  • Create a list of prospects.
  • Add new leads to your list through advanced searches and lead recommendations.
  • Organize your leads based on categories, such as industry, location, or company type.
  • Monitor changes in your lead profiles and update them when necessary.

Jonathan Feniak, General Counsel at LLC Attorney, suggests prioritizing top accounts on the sales navigator. They tap into this tool to find, target, and interact with potential clients looking for legal services required to launch a business.

Feniak explains, "Focus on top lead accounts that have the potential to be converted into sales. All it takes is to compare and organize accounts according to connections, intent, paths, as well as growth and risk factors. Then, constantly engage with these prospects until they say yes to your offerings."

6. Incorporate into sales processes

The entire sales process can be complex, from lead prospecting to sales outreach to closing. But, of course, your LinkedIn campaign should be a part of the overall equation. 

Unfortunately, the basic LinkedIn platform has some restrictions. It's hard to navigate LinkedIn's limits, which hinder connections and engagement levels. That's where the sales navigator can help.

Thomas Medlin, Co-founder at JumpMD, advises capitalizing on the LinkedIn Sales Navigator for lead generation and sales conversion. They access this tool to connect and engage with healthcare prospects interested in using their referral platform.

Medlin believes that "Companies should take advantage of the LinkedIn Sales Navigator for their campaigns. Suppose you seek to acquire and win new customers on the LinkedIn platform. In that case, this tool can make a difference in your sales process because of accuracy, efficiency, and productivity."

7. Track and measure sales performance

Finally, it's vital to monitor and measure your sales performance via LinkedIn. Don't worry; the sales navigator platform offers customer insights and data analytics. With these in place, you can adjust your sales tactics to yield the best opportunities.

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Leigh McKenzie, Community Advocate at Traffic Think Tank, recommends leveraging LinkedIn Sales Navigator for sales performance monitoring. They leverage this tool for recording and analyzing leads and sales.

McKenzie suggests taking the three crucial steps below:

  • Measure. Start by setting key performance indicators (KPIs) on the LinkedIn platform. Measure critical metrics, such as the number of connections, profile views, engagement rates, InMail response rates, and sales conversion rates.
  • Monitor. Track your performance in every stage of the sales funnel, from lead generation to sales conversion. Use the LinkedIn Sales Navigator analytics to analyze trends and patterns as well as generate performance reports.
  • Manage. Using customer insights and data analytics, organize your leads and adjust your sales tactics when necessary. They can help you with sales forecasting, business reporting, and decision-making.

Using LinkedIn Sales Navigator with Skrapp

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a great tool for sales professionals. However, it has its limitations. LinkedIn doesn't want you to leave its platform, so if you want to send an email to the list of prospects you have identified, it can be a problem.

In such a case, the Skrapp LinkedIn Extension helps. You install the Chrome extension and find the email addresses of your prospects. You can either find emails one by one or do a bulk extract.

Skrapp is not limited to that; it also helps you fetch details of the prospects, from their role and experience to their company details, like the number of employees and more.

As a result, you get a list of prospects emails with details related to their professional achievements and company info. And we don't charge you for invalid emails.

You can start free with 100 credits. Give it a try here!