LinkedIn Sales Navigator takes the world’s largest professional network (LinkedIn) and turns it into a lead generation and relationship-building powerhouse. 

This guide explains what it is, its features, how to use it, costs, and tips for better outreach. 

What is a LinkedIn Sales Navigator?

It is used by sales professionals, sales managers, business development managers, and recruiters to find, engage, and build relationships with targeted leads and decision-makers.

Features like search filters, AI-driven insights, CRM integrations, and direct outreach (InMail) make it easier for salespeople to find and connect with prospects. 

A Forrester study found that the ROI of a company that was using LinkedIn Sales Navigator was 312 over three years, paying for itself in under six months. 

What are the key features of LinkedIn Sales Navigator? (With example use cases)

All insights and actions stay in one place, and the advanced plus subscription even syncs with CRM systems so you can track Sales Navigator activity alongside other sales data.

In short, Sales Navigator equips you with everything you need to build a prioritized pipeline and nurture relationships faster. 

How to use LinkedIn Sales Navigator?

1. Search for Prospects
   

• The Sales Navigator homepage provides a clean interface for prospecting. Tabs like Home, Accounts, Leads, and Alerts run along the top.
• To find new prospects, click Leads (or Accounts for target companies).
• Use the left-hand Lead filters panel to narrow your search by criteria such as job title, location, industry, or company size. Applying targeted filters ensures you only see the most relevant leads for your sales campaign.
• Use the keyword search box to find leads matching specific terms. For example, searching for “sales” in the Lead search page returns profiles with that keyword in their titles or summaries.

• After entering a keyword, refine your list further using filters on the left (e.g., add an industry or company name filter) to hone in on your ideal prospects. This layered filtering approach saves time compared to scrolling through generic lists.
• You can also filter by Company. For instance, select a Current Company filter and type in a target firm’s name to find who works there.
• Sales Navigator even allows filtering by your Account lists (custom lists of priority companies) to focus searches on strategic accounts. Filtering this way helps you quickly gather contacts at key organizations you want to sell into.

2. Save Leads and Set Alerts
   

• As you find a qualified person or account, click Save to add them to your saved leads/accounts list.
• Saved items let you easily return later and enable alerts.
• For example, you’ll get notifications when a saved lead changes jobs or shares an update. These alerts give you natural reasons to reach out (“Congrats on the new role!”) and keep your pipeline fresh.

3. Reach Out with InMail and Messages

• Use your InMail credits to message saved leads directly, even if you’re not connected.
• Always personalize your messages (mention mutual interests or connections) for higher response rates.
• Sales Navigator also syncs with your LinkedIn inbox, so you can track all replies in one place.

How much does LinkedIn Sales Navigator cost?

The Linkedin Sales Navigator has 3 pricing plans: Core, Advanced, and Advanced Plus.

Core plan: $99.99

Advanced plan: $179.99

Advanced plus plan: Requires custom pricing, commonly for large enterprises

Pricing may vary by region; check LinkedIn’s pricing page for latest updates. For detailed features that come with each plan, check here: https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/compare-plans 

Pro tips to win with Sales Navigator

1. Master Boolean Search to refine results

Boolean operators can help you zero in on your ICP.

Use operators like:

AND: Finds results containing both terms

OR: Broadens your pool (e.g., CTO OR "tech lead")

NOT: Excludes unwanted results

Use quotes ("") for exact phrases

For example, "Marketing AND automation" NOT intern in the keywords box weeds out junior roles and gets you senior marketers working on automation tools.

2. Leverage shared LinkedIn groups to boost response rates

Prospects are more likely to respond when you mention a group or common community you’re part of. 

For example, “Hi Priya - saw we’re both in the ‘RevOps Leaders India’ group. Thought I’d reach out with something that might interest you…”

3. Avoid InMail during weekends or public holidays

Engagement rates tend to drop on Saturdays and Sundays because professionals are offline and by Monday, your messages are deep buried. 

Tip: Send InMails Tuesday to Thursday, 9:30 am - 11:30 am in the lead’s local time zone. Use Scheduled Send if your workflow is international.

4. Save accounts before saving leads

Sales Nav’s algorithm learns from account based behavior. When you save an account first, AI recommends a better fit lead that matches your ICP.

5. Don’t send generic InMail - Personalize with context

Sales is a game of personalization. 

Instead of “Hi, can we connect?”

Try:

“Hi Arjun, I saw your post about scaling AI in B2B SaaS - curious how you’re approaching GTM automation. I help SaaS teams streamline outbound using X. Open to chat?”

6. Track smart link engagement to time your follow-ups

Smart Links tell you who viewed what, and for how long - excellent for follow-up timing.

Let’s say a prospect views your pricing page for 3+ minutes, your AE should be on the phone within the hour.

Sales Navigator vs. Free LinkedIn vs. Sales Tools like ZoomInfo

When used well, LinkedIn Sales Navigator can shorten your prospecting cycle, improve personalization, and boost reply rates.Try it yourself to see results!