5 Sales Navigator features you aren't using correctly

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LinkedIn like other social channels has a ton of features. It can be confusing to join the dots and find a process which works, especially given there is so much conflicting advice.

Here are 3 sales navigator tricks to find more prospects....

Don't use Industry on Lead Filters

This is one of the biggest mistakes with Sales Navigator which knocks out so many potential prospects.

The industry filter on Lead searches is specific to the person, whereas the filter on account searches is by business.

So, for example, If I wanted to target HR leaders in manufacturing. The instinctive thing to do is filter the industry to manufacturing.

But will a HR professional really list their personal industry as manufacturing?

Or would they list as Human Resources?

In fact, most people use the industry of their profession on their profile, not the industry of their employer.

If I search for HR professionals in the manufacturing sector using the industry filter on a lead search, I'll eliminate a huge chunk of potential prospects.

I've head so many people message me and say "my prospects aren't on LinkedIn" which is nonsense.

It's the searches they are doing which are wrong.

Instead, you need to search by account, find the companies and then search the employees of those companies.

It's more accurate and you'll find more of the right people.

Use Smart Links to find curiosity

Smart Links is one of those great features, that people can't quite get their heads around how to deploy.

The idea behind it is sound. Trackable content where you can see who looked at it and for how long.

I use them regularly and it allows me to see the interest level of my prospects are they look through the links.

Here is one of my Smart Links...

Every time someone view this, I can see specifically who looked and for how long.

But what's the best way to use it?

Smart Links are a great way to share PDF resources with your prospects which add value.

The common compliant is nobody opens the links.

....and it's true.

The open rate of a link like this is relatively small, but here is a quick way to get more people to view the link.

The first thing is that the success of a Smart Link campaign is based on two things...

Do people trust you - sending a Smart Link out of the blue to a prospect you've never interacted before could be perceived as phishing message or a scam. Before you send a smart link - ask can you send some resources (make sure they are relevant) or engage and share blogs from trusted sites prior to starting a Smart Link campaign.

The other thing which increases open rates is the social preview - how it looks in the feed or message box. This is what the graphic looks like. I tend to follow the Ronseal strategy to ensure the click throughs are as successful as possible.

Use the buying intent to time your outreach

LinkedIn's buying intent features are a great way to judge receptivity to your outreach.

Buyers do more research than ever. LinkedIn's intent features whilst not a silver bullet can help you time outreach for optimal response.

By reaching out as the buying intent rises can give you a handy list of people it's worth opening up lines of communication.

I've found that as I build relationships with companies at multiple levels of the business both horizontal and vertical to my decision makers, the buying intent score rises.

Whilst this doesn't mean they are ready to hand over the cash / purchase order. It does mean they are familiar with who you are. They've likely looked at multiple profiles, been to your company page a few times and consumed some of your content.

It's an easy way to find and engage with people who are more receptive.

On the account search filters, you can search for companies using Buying intent filters.

It's a handy way to find companies that are interested in what you do.

Headcount filters

Whilst we are here, we'll also look at using the headcount growth filters.

The headcount growth filters in account searches can help you

Find companies where specific departments are hiring or downsizing.

Find companies where their overall headcount is growing or contracting.

This can help you find companies that are in a specific set of circumstances so you can tailor your approach with them based on their increase or reduction in headcount.

You can also search by department headcount size.

So, for example, if you were in a marketing or creative agency, you could search for companies with a low marketing headcount (implying they don't do a lot of creative in-house).

These filters are massively underused can give you a much higher quality list of prospects and companies to engage.

Without Sales Navigator, you'd be shooting in the dark.

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