- Start with account filters, then narrow to people — it produces cleaner lists.
- Intent filters (recent posts, job changes, growth) outperform static title filters.
- Saved searches turn Sales Navigator into a steady daily lead feed.
- Leads only become pipeline when they are enriched and pushed into a sequence.
Sales Navigator is LinkedIn's paid prospecting product, and it remains the most accurate source of who works where, in which role, right now. But most teams use a fraction of it: a job-title search, a long list, and a lot of manual copying. This playbook shows how to turn it into a repeatable lead engine.
Step 1: Translate your ICP into filters
Before opening Sales Navigator, write down the company profile and the buyer profile separately. For example: B2B software companies, 20–200 employees, headcount growing, based in North America; buyer is Head of Sales or VP Sales. If you haven't formalised this yet, start with our ideal customer profile guide.
Step 2: Use the filters that actually predict a response
| Filter | Type | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Company headcount & headcount growth | Account | Growing teams are buying teams |
| Industry & geography | Account | Keeps messaging relevant and time zones workable |
| Function + seniority | Lead | More reliable than job titles, which vary wildly |
| Changed jobs in past 90 days | Intent | New leaders review tools and vendors early |
| Posted on LinkedIn in past 30 days | Intent | Active users accept and reply far more often |
| Shared experiences / connections | Warmth | A common thread lifts acceptance rates |
Step 3: Refine with Boolean search
Use the keyword field with Boolean operators to catch title variations and exclude noise:
Quotes lock exact phrases, OR widens, AND narrows, and NOT removes. Keep searches between a few hundred and roughly 2,500 results — small enough to be relevant, large enough to be worth automating.
Step 4: Save searches and build lead lists
A saved search alerts you to new people who match your criteria — new hires, promotions, companies entering your size band. Save one search per segment, and use lead lists to group prospects by campaign. This turns Sales Navigator from a one-off search into a daily feed of fresh, relevant leads.
Step 5: Enrich every lead
A LinkedIn profile alone limits you to LinkedIn. Adding a verified work email and phone number lets your sequence continue when an invitation goes unanswered. Always verify emails before sending to protect your domain — see email verification and deliverability best practices.
Step 6: Turn lists into automated, multichannel outreach
The highest-performing pattern we see is: profile visit, like a recent post, connection request with a short note, a value-first message on acceptance, two follow-ups, and an email if the invite is not accepted within a week. Message examples are in 7 LinkedIn message sequences that book meetings.
Common Sales Navigator mistakes
- Searching by job title only and missing half the market.
- Building one giant list instead of segmented lists with tailored messages.
- Ignoring intent filters such as recent posts and job changes.
- Copying leads by hand into spreadsheets — slow, error-prone and never enriched.
From saved search to booked meeting, automatically
- Search LinkedIn Classic and Sales Navigator directly inside BixJet — or ask the AI agent to do it.
- Every lead is enriched from a 275M+ verified contact database with email and phone.
- Launch LinkedIn, email and WhatsApp sequences from the same list, with every reply in one CRM.