LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Lead Generation from Search to CRM

This session guides you through LinkedIn Sales Navigator from initial setup to a fully operational prospecting system. You will learn how to construct highly targeted lead searches using layered filters—job title, industry, geography, connection degree, and recent activity—and understand why each filter layer matters for response rates. The session then covers saving searches for reuse, organising leads into named lists, and using InMail credits strategically to maximise reply-based credit replenishment. You will also explore account-level searches, interpret the Sales Navigator homepage as a live alert feed for timely engagement triggers, and evaluate options for connecting your lead data to a CRM, including third-party export tools that work on the free trial tier.

Learning objectives

• Apply multi-layered lead search filters—including job title, industry keywords, location, connection degree, and recent activity signals—to produce a tightly scoped prospect list
• Save, rename, and revisit searches so that recurring prospecting workflows require no manual filter reconstruction
• Organise saved leads into named lead lists and use Sales Navigator's similarity suggestions to expand lists efficiently
• Compose InMail messages optimised for replies in order to replenish InMail credits and sustain outreach volume
• Interpret homepage alerts as engagement triggers and act on job changes, post activity, and connection acceptances at the right moment
• Evaluate CRM integration options, including native connectors and third-party export tools, and select the approach appropriate to your Sales Navigator plan

Key takeaways

• Searching for 'software' alone returns poor industry results; adding 'technology', 'information', and 'internet' as separate terms captures the correct LinkedIn taxonomy
• Filtering by second-degree connections and recent activity signals (job changes, LinkedIn posts) concentrates outreach on reachable, active prospects
• Every InMail reply earns an additional credit, so open-ended, personalised messages that invite a response directly increase your total outreach capacity
• Saved searches eliminate the need to rebuild complex filter sets and allow you to return to or modify a search at any time
• The Sales Navigator homepage functions as a curated news feed for your saved leads, surfacing timely reasons to engage rather than requiring cold outreach
• Native CRM integration requires the highest-tier plan, but third-party tools can export verified contact data and sync it to a CRM or spreadsheet even on the free trial