Generating leads and pushing sales through the sales funnel are every business’ main concerns. As marketing efforts get more complex, including digital, outbound, and organic marketing, this sales funnel gets increasingly convoluted. But what if there was a way to attract qualified leads more easily?
Enter LinkedIn’s tool, Sales Navigator. According to LinkedIn, Sales Navigator “features sophisticated algorithms to give you lead recommendations that are tailored to you.” You can “easily save leads and create a sales lead list.”
How does LinkedIn Sales Navigator work?
LinkedIn Sales Navigator leverages the network already on LinkedIn to salespeople’s advantages by suggesting leads that fit certain standards, such as industry, seniority, location, and many more. Through these keywords, you can connect with the decision-makers and influencers of your industry.
For example, if you were trying to find a client looking toward retirement, you could search for senior-level engineers in San Diego, CA. It’s likely that these individuals might be thinking about retirement and may have questions.
Once you find these individuals, you can save them as leads and make your own lead lists, which are private. You can also input data from Salesforce to keep your leads in one place. When you have solid lead lists, you can see their activity, such as job changes and updates. This is Sales Navigator’s version of a news feed.
Lastly, you can reach out to your leads, either directly through InMail or through connections that you share.
How much does LinkedIn Sales Navigator cost?
There are different tiers of service, including an individual plan and a team plan. For most of our clients, the individual plan would be the best bet and it costs about $80 a month. LinkedIn offers a free 30 day trial to try the software out.
How would I take advantage of the program?
Just like meeting with clients and prospects in real life, leads on Sales Navigator don’t mean a lot unless you engage with them. While it is an option to send direct InMail and promote your services, this is likely not the best approach.
Instead, connect with them and see what they are doing in their professional lives. For example, if one of your leads leaves their job, you may want to reach out and see what they are doing with their 401(k). Or if you see one of your leads post that they are a new parent or grandparent, it might be a great time to talk about college savings.
One of the nicest things about LinkedIn is that it shows you how you are connected with someone and advisors can use this to their advantage. These connections can be a source of referrals, recommendations, or introductions.
Is LinkedIn Sales Navigator worth it?
Because we don’t have any experience using the program, we can’t say if it is worth it or not. But, if you want to grow your firm and generate new business using online tools, it is probably worth checking out their free month trial. While organic, in-person referrals are ideal, leads on Sales Navigator might be the second best.