Feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of LinkedIn profiles and struggling to connect with the right prospects? You’re not alone. Many B2B professionals find themselves sifting through endless profiles, only to end up with leads that don’t convert.
The good news? LinkedIn’s Advanced Search, especially when combined with Boolean search techniques, can transform your prospecting efforts. So, if you are wondering how to use LinkedIn advanced search? By leveraging specific filters and search operators, you can zero in on decision-makers who align perfectly with your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), boosting your conversion rates and saving time.
Why Use LinkedIn Advanced Search for Prospecting?
Advanced Search is a game-changer for prospecting because it enables:
- Precision targeting: Focus on prospects matching your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).
- Time efficiency: Eliminate hours of manual searching.
- Improved response rates: Craft personalized messages for relevant prospects.
- Integration with prospecting platforms: Export leads to platforms like LinkedFusion and LeadCRM.
What is the best prospecting tool for LinkedIn? We say it is LeadCRM.
Defining Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
Before diving into Advanced Search, clarify your ICP by considering the following:
- Industries of interest
- Targeted job titles and seniority levels
- Geographical locations
- Company sizes
- Decision-making authority
A well-defined ICP ensures more effective and efficient prospecting.
Utilizing LinkedIn Advanced Search (Free Version)
Even without a LinkedIn premium account, you can access valuable advanced search filters:
- Initiate a Search: Enter a keyword like “Marketing Director” in the search bar.
- Select ‘People’: Filter results to individual profiles.
- Apply Filters: Use options such as connections, locations, current/past companies, industries, profile language, and schools.
Example: Targeting 2nd-degree connections who are Product Managers in the SaaS industry located in New York.
Enhancing Prospecting with LinkedIn Sales Navigator
For more advanced targeting, LinkedIn Sales Navigator offers over 50 filters. Here is how to use them:
- Access Sales Navigator: Navigate to the Sales Navigator homepage.
- Apply Advanced Filters: Utilize filters like seniority level, company size, function, years of experience, personas, posted content keywords, group membership, and spotlight filters (e.g., recent job changes, active on LinkedIn).
- Save Leads and Lists: Organize prospects into lists for targeted campaigns.
Type of Filters
1. Core LinkedIn Advanced Search Filters (Free Version)
Even without a premium account, LinkedIn offers several filters to help refine your search. If you have questions, like how do I reach out to prospects on LinkedIn? Here are some filters to use:
- Connections: Filter by 1st, 2nd, or 3rd-degree connections to target individuals within your network or just beyond it.
- Locations: Specify geographic areas to focus your search on particular cities, regions, or countries.
- Current and Past Companies: Identify professionals currently or previously associated with specific organizations.
- Industries: Target individuals working within particular sectors relevant to your offerings.
- Profile Language: Find users based on the language of their LinkedIn profile, useful for language-specific outreach.
- Schools: Connect with alumni from specific educational institutions, leveraging shared backgrounds.
- Title: Search for professionals holding specific job titles to reach your desired audience.
- Keywords: Use specific terms to find profiles that mention particular skills, roles, or experiences.
To access these advanced search filters, enter a keyword in the search bar, click on “People,” and then select “All Filters” to refine your search further.
2. LinkedIn Sales Navigator Filters
How to use LinkedIn to find prospects? For more advanced targeting, LinkedIn Sales Navigator provides over 50 filters, offering deeper insights and precision related to prospects:
- Seniority Level: Focus on decision-makers by filtering for roles like CXO, VP, Director, or Manager.
- Function: Target professionals based on their department or role function, such as Marketing, Engineering, or Finance.
- Company Size: Identify prospects working in companies of specific sizes, from startups to large enterprises.
- Years of Experience: Filter candidates based on their professional tenure to match experience requirements.
- Posted Content Keywords: Find individuals who have shared or engaged with content containing specific keywords, indicating their interests.
- Group Membership: Discover users who are members of particular LinkedIn groups, reflecting their professional interests.
- Spotlight Filters: Utilize dynamic filters such as:
- Changed Jobs in the Last 90 Days: Identify professionals who have recently transitioned roles, potentially open to new opportunities.
- Mentioned in News: Find individuals or companies recently featured in news articles, indicating relevance or prominence.
- Posted on LinkedIn in the Past 30 Days: Target active professionals who are more likely to engage.
- Following Your Company: Reach out to users already interested in your organization.
- TeamLink Connections: Leverage your team’s network to find mutual connections for warm introductions.
These advanced search filters enable a more strategic approach to prospecting, allowing for personalized and timely LinkedIn outreach.
3. Boolean Search for Precision
Enhance your advanced search capabilities by using Boolean search operators:
- AND: Narrow results to include profiles containing all specified terms.
- OR: Broaden results to include profiles containing any of the specified terms.
- NOT: Exclude profiles containing specific terms.
- Quotation Marks (””): Search for exact phrases.
- Parentheses (): Group terms and control the search logic.
LinkedIn boolean search example: To find senior marketing professionals in SaaS, excluding interns:
(“Marketing Director” OR “Head of Marketing”) AND SaaS AND NOT Intern
This query will return LinkedIn profiles matching the specified senior titles in the SaaS industry, excluding those with “Intern” in their profiles.
Pro Tips to Enhance Your Prospecting Strategy
Here are some LinkedIn advanced search tips every professional needs to follow:
Personalize Your Outreach Messages
Avoid generic messages. Tailor your connection requests and InMail messages by referencing mutual connections, recent activities, or shared interests. Personalized messages demonstrate genuine interest and increase the likelihood of a positive response.
Engage with Prospects’ Content
Interact with your prospects by liking, commenting on, and sharing their posts using LeadCRM’s AI commenting feature. This engagement not only increases your visibility but also helps build rapport before initiating direct outreach.
Participate in Relevant LinkedIn Groups
Join LinkedIn groups that are in perfect sync with your target audience’s interests. Active participation in these groups lets you share expertise, engage in discussions, and identify potential leads within a community context. Make good use of advanced search filters to find these groups.
Save and Organize Lead Searches
Utilize LinkedIn’s “Save Search” feature to keep track of effective search queries. Organize your leads into segmented lists based on criteria like industry or location, facilitating structured follow-ups and personalized outreach.
Integrate LinkedIn with Your CRM
Sync your LinkedIn activities with your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to maintain a cohesive record of interactions. This integration ensures that valuable prospect information is captured and leveraged throughout your sales process.
Utilize Automation Tools Wisely
While automation can enhance efficiency, it’s crucial to maintain personalization. Use automation tools to manage repetitive tasks like sending connection requests or follow-ups, but ensure messages are tailored to each prospect to avoid appearing impersonal.
Monitor and Analyze Key Metrics
Track metrics to analyze the effectiveness of your prospecting efforts. Regular analysis allows you to refine your advanced search strategies and improve overall performance.
- Connection Acceptance Rate: Indicates the effectiveness of your profile and connection requests.
- Response Rate: Measures engagement with your outreach messages.
- Meetings Booked: Tracks conversions from conversations to calls or demos.
- Lead-to-Customer Conversion Rate: Assesses the overall effectiveness of your strategy.
- Time-to-First Response: Evaluates the promptness of lead engagement.
- Pipeline Velocity: Analyzes the speed at which leads move through your sales funnel.
- Cost per Lead: Calculates expenses associated with lead acquisition.
Conclusion
LinkedIn Advanced Search is a potent tool for B2B prospecting, enabling precise targeting and efficient outreach. By defining your ICP, leveraging advanced filters, and integrating with automation tools, you can enhance your prospecting efforts and drive business growth.
