How To Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator To Generate Leads (2026 Guide)

You want to find qualified leads on LinkedIn. Fast.

But manual prospecting is slow. You open profiles one by one. You copy names, job titles, companies. Hours disappear. Your pipeline barely moves.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator fixes that.

It gives you 30+ advanced filters, real-time alerts, and intent data. You find the right people, at the right time, with the right context.

In this guide, you'll learn:

• What LinkedIn Sales Navigator is and how it works
• Which plan is right for you
• How to find qualified leads with the best filters
• How to catch warm leads using intent data
• How to export your leads with verified emails in one click

Let's start!

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What Is LinkedIn Sales Navigator?

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a premium prospecting tool built for sales teams.

You use it to find, filter, and reach decision-makers faster than with regular LinkedIn.

It sits on top of LinkedIn's database of 1 billion+ users. But it gives you access to advanced search filters, saved lead lists, and real-time alerts that the free version simply doesn't have.

What Can You Do With Sales Navigator?

Here's what makes Sales Navigator useful:

• Search with 30+ advanced filters (job title, company size, location, seniority, and more)
• Create a lead list
• Create an account list
• Get alerts when a lead changes jobs, gets promoted, or posts on LinkedIn
• Create Personas
• See who viewed your profile in the last 90 days
• Send InMails to people outside your network
• Use intent signals to reach out at the perfect moment

In short: Sales Navigator turns LinkedIn into a B2B lead generation machine.

Why Is Sales Navigator Better Than Free LinkedIn?

Free LinkedIn is built for networking. Sales Navigator is built for sales.

Here's how they compare:

With a free account, you hit search limits fast. You can view around 80 profiles per day before LinkedIn cuts you off.

With Sales Navigator, those limits are much higher. And the data is fresher and more accurate than any B2B database you can buy.

What Sales Navigator Plan Is Best for You?

LinkedIn offers three plans. Each one is built for a different stage of growth.

Here's how to pick the right one.

1 - Sales Navigator Core

Price: $99/month — or $79.99/month if you pay annually ($959.88/year)

Core is the starting point. And for most users, it's all you'll ever need.

You get:

• 30+ advanced search filters
• Lead and account lists
• Alerts on job changes, promotions, and new posts
• 50 InMail credits per month
• Profile viewers (last 90 days)
• Saved searches with automatic new lead alerts

Sales Navigator Advanced

Price: $179/month — or $139.99/month annually ($1,679.88/year)

Advanced adds team features on top of everything in Core.

You get everything in Core, plus:

• Shared lead and account lists across your team
• CRM integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot, and more)
• TeamLink — see shared connections across your whole team
• Engagement tracking across team members

Sales Navigator Enterprise

Price: Custom — usually $1,000+/year per seat

Enterprise is for large sales organizations that need full control and deep integrations.

You get everything in Advanced, plus:

• Full CRM sync with advanced API access
• Admin controls and user management
• Advanced reporting and usage analytics
• Custom onboarding and dedicated support

Plans Comparison Table

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How To Find Qualified Leads on LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Sales Navigator gives you 30+ filters. But most of them aren't worth your time.

The goal is simple: find the right people, fast. Here's how to do it.

The 5 Filters That Actually Matter

You don't need all 30 filters. You need the right 5.

These are the ones that give you the most qualified results:

1. Current Job Title

This is your most important filter.

You use it to target decision-makers directly. No guessing. No wasting time on people who can't sign the deal.

Example:

"Head of Sales" OR "Sales Director" OR "VP Sales" NOT "Assistant" NOT "Intern"

This finds everyone with buying power in sales — regardless of how they wrote their title.

2. Company Headcount

Company size tells you a lot about budget.

A 10-person startup and a 500-person company have very different needs — and very different budgets.

Use this filter to match your offer to the right company size:

3. Geography

Target by country, region, or city.

This matters for two reasons:

• Language: You want to reach out in the right language.
• Buying power: Some regions have higher average salaries and bigger budgets (US, UK, Switzerland, UAE).

4. Company Industry

Not all industries spend the same.

Some are cash-rich. Others are always tight on budget.

Here are the industries that tend to buy more:

• Finance and banking
• Insurance
• Legal
• SaaS and tech
• Healthcare
• Consulting

5. Posted on LinkedIn

This filter shows leads who posted something in the last 30 days.

Why does it matter? Active leads are warm leads. They're on LinkedIn right now. They're more likely to see your message and reply.

Here are the details of all the lead filters:

It's a lot, but most of them are not useful. You will see later what filters are the best to find qualified leads.

How to Save Your Lead Search

Found the right filters? Don't lose them.

Click "Save Search" at the top of your results. Sales Navigator will notify you every time a new lead matches your criteria.

This means your lead list updates automatically. You don't have to redo your search every week.

You can manage your saved searches by clicking on "Manage saved searches".

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How to Use Boolean Search

Boolean search is the fastest way to be precise with your targeting.

You can use it in two fields on Sales Navigator:

• Current job title
• Keywords

Here's how it works:

Here's how they work:

Boolean Search Examples by Job Title

Here are ready-to-use Boolean searches for the most common decision-makers:

CEO / Founder

"CEO" OR "Founder" OR "Co-Founder" NOT "Assistant" NOT "Part Time"

Chief Marketing Officer

"CMO" OR "Chief Marketing Officer" NOT "Fractional" NOT "Part Time"

Head of Sales

"Head of Sales" OR "Sales Director" OR "VP Sales" NOT "Marketing" NOT "Assistant"

Head of Growth

"Head of Growth" OR "Growth Manager" OR "VP Growth" NOT "Intern"

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How to Create a Lead List

You've found good leads? It's time to save them in a lead list.

You can save specific leads in a list by clicking on the box next to the lead:

Or you can click on "Select all" to select the 25 leads of the page:

Then, you click on "Save to list", "Create new list":

To create a lead list, choose a List name, list description and click on "Create and save":

If you want to add leads in the list, you just need to select the leads and select your list.

You will have the number of leads in it.

You have to go on the next page to add the next 25 leads.

Unfortunately, you have to repeat this process page by page :/

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How To Find Leads in Your Competitors' Networks

This is one of the most underrated filters on Sales Navigator.

Use the "Connections of" filter to see the network of a specific person — like a competitor or a past client.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Lead filters
2. Click "Connections of"
3. Type the name of your competitor or target
4. Add extra filters like job title or location

This gives you a list of warm, qualified leads who are already in the right ecosystem.

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How to Exclude Clients & Competitors From Search Results

You want a clean lists? A best practice is to exclude people you already work with. Or your competitors.

Here's how:

1. Create a list with your clients or competitors
2. When searching, click "Exclude from lists"
3. Select the list you created

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How to Export Your Profile Viewers

Sales Navigator can show you who viewed your profile recently (last 90 days). These are warm leads because they might have a good idea of who you are and what you do.

If you want to identify them:

1. Click on "Viewed your profile recently"
2. Add filters like "Current job title"

Oh and by the way, it's one of the quickest way to book sales calls with qualified leads.

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How To Find Warm Leads on LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Cold outreach is hard. Reply rates are low. Most messages get ignored.

But warm leads are different.

Warm leads already know you exist. They've visited your profile. They follow your company. They're active on LinkedIn right now.

When you reach out to them, it doesn't feel cold. It feels natural.

Here's how to find them using Sales Navigator's intent data.

What Is Intent Data?

Intent data tells you who is showing interest — before you even reach out.

On Sales Navigator, intent signals come from real LinkedIn behavior:

• Someone viewed your profile
• Someone followed your company page
• Someone changed jobs recently
• Someone posted on LinkedIn this week

These signals tell you: this person is active and open to conversation.

That's your window. Use it.

The 6 Best Intent Filters on Sales Navigator

1. Viewed Your Profile Recently

This is your hottest signal.

These people searched for someone like you — and landed on your profile. They're curious. They might even be ready to buy.

Sales Navigator shows you everyone who viewed your profile in the last 90 days.

Here's what to do:

1. Go to Lead filters
2. Click "Viewed your profile recently"
3. Add filters like job title or company size to qualify them further
4. Save them to a lead list
5. Reach out within 48 hours

2. Following Your Company

Someone follows your company page. They didn't have to. They chose to.

That's a buying signal.

They know what you do. They're interested in what you offer. They're just waiting for the right moment.

Don't wait for them to come to you. Go to them.

Here's how to find them:

1. Go to Lead filters
2. Click "Following your company"
3. Add filters to narrow down by job title or seniority
4. Reach out with context: reference what you do and why you thought of them

3. Changed Jobs Recently

A new job means new priorities. New budget. New problems to solve.

People who just started a new role are often actively looking for tools and services to help them succeed. They want to make an impact fast.

That's your opportunity.

Here's what to look for:

4. Posted on LinkedIn Recently

If someone posted in the last 30 days, they're active. They're on the platform. They'll see your message.

But there's a smarter way to use this filter.

Don't just message them cold. Engage with their post first.

Here's the sequence:

1. Find leads with the "Posted on LinkedIn" filter
2. Read their latest post
3. Leave a genuine comment
4. Wait 24-48 hours
5. Send a connection request with a personalized note referencing their post
6. Follow up with your pitch after they connect

5. 1st-Degree Connections

Your existing network is your warmest audience.

These people already know you. They've accepted your connection request. They're much more likely to reply than a cold contact.

Use this filter to:

• Re-engage connections you haven't spoken to in a while
• Identify people in your network who match your ICP
• Ask for warm introductions to their colleagues

6. Connections of [a Specific Person]

This is one of the most powerful — and most underused — filters on Sales Navigator.

You pick a person. Sales Navigator shows you their entire network.

Use it to:

• Mine your best client's network for similar profiles
• Access your competitor's connections
• Leverage a mutual contact for warm introductions

Here's how:

1. Go to Lead filters
2. Click "Connections of"
3. Type the name of the person whose network you want to explore
4. Add filters like job title, location, or company size

Intent Data: Quick Reference Table

How to Export Leads From Sales Navigator

Follow the 6 steps to export your leads from LinkedIn Sales Navigator with their verified emails:

1. Create a GiveMeLeads account
2. Download the Chrome Extension
3. Select your target on LinkedIn Sales Navigator
4. Launch your export
5. Schedule your export (Optional)
6. Download your leads file

Let's dive in!

Step 1: Create a GiveMeLeads account

Go on GiveMeLeads. Then click on "Get first 20 leads for free".

Then, you have to write your:

1. First Name
2. Last Name
3. Email
4. Password

And click on "Create account".

Step 2: Download the Chrome Extension

To get started, install the GiveMeLeads Chrome extension from the Chrome Web Store.

Once installed, it integrates directly into LinkedIn Sales Navigator, allowing you to extract your leads instantly while browsing your search results or saved lead lists.

Step 3: Select your target on LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Go to LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

Use filters to find your ideal leads (like job title, company size, or location). Like decision makers for example.

Then click "Extract leads" using the GiveMeLeads extension or paste the search URL on the platform.

Step 4: Launch your export

Your target is set up. Now it's time to export your leads. For that, click on "New Export".

You will get a pop-up where you can select:

• The number of leads you want to export
• If you want to get the verified emails (of all leads or filtered leads only)
• If you want to schedule this export on a weekly basis

Then click on "Export Leads".

Step 5: Schedule your leads export (Optional)

GiveMeLeads lets you schedule lead exports. Pick the day you want, and you'll receive fresh leads weekly.

Each lead is unique, and the system ensures there are no duplicates. This saves you time and keeps your CRM clean, so you can focus on outreach, not data cleaning.

Step 6: Download your leads file

When your export is finished, you'll receive an email with a download link.

You can also download your file directly by clicking the "Download" button in your dashboard. You'll see two options.

1. "Open in Sheets"

This gives you a simple version of your lead list. You have:

• matches_filters / invalid_reason
• First Name
• Last Name
• Profile picture
• Company name
• Job title
• Headline
• LinkedIn URL
• Email

It doesn't include all the data, but it's perfect if you just want to import leads into your CRM or a B2B outreach tool like Lemlist or Expandi.

2. "Download CSV"

This gives you the full file with all available data. For each lead, you'll see extra info like whether they have LinkedIn Premium, their total years of experience, and company details like size, industry, and location.

GiveMeLeads also automatically cleans your data:

• Fixes capital letters in names and job titles
• Removes emojis from job titles
• Removes legal suffixes in company names (like LLC, GmbH, etc.)

GiveMeLeads also checks if each lead matches your LinkedIn Sales Navigator filters. Leads that don't fit are tagged in the matches_filters column with the reason they're invalid (like "Invalid job title" or "Wrong company size"). That way, you keep full control of your data.

With GiveMeLeads, you also get the verified professional email of every lead — even if they're in your 2nd or 3rd-degree connections.

What Data Can You Export from LinkedIn Sales Navigator?

You can get 3 types of data you can get when your export leads from LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

1. Profile information
2. Company details
3. Verified emails

Let's dive in!

Profile Information

With GiveMeLeads, every export includes essential profile data:

This information identifies each lead clearly.

Company details

GiveMeLeads goes beyond basic LinkedIn profile scraping.

It also pulls detailed company data for every lead, giving you both personal and business-level insights in a single export.

Verified emails

On LinkedIn, you can sometimes find a lead's email by clicking on their Contact Info — but that only works if they're a 1st-degree connection. And even then, most people don't add their email to their profile.

So if you're doing outreach at scale, you'll need another solution.

With GiveMeLeads, you get the verified professional email of every lead — even if they're in your 2nd or 3rd-degree connections.

Conclusion

You now have everything you need to use LinkedIn Sales Navigator like a pro.

You know how to find qualified leads with the right filters. You know how to spot warm leads using intent data. You know how to build a pipeline that runs on autopilot.

But knowing is one thing. Executing is another.

Here's the simplest way to start today:

1. Open Sales Navigator
2. Set your 5 core filters (job title, company size, geography, industry, posted on LinkedIn)
3. Save your search
4. Export your leads with GiveMeLeads
5. Start your outreach

That's it. No complicated setup. No manual copy-pasting. No bounced emails.