Sales Navigator is the recommended LinkedIn premium account for sales professionals. There are really two Sales Navigator accounts, one for the Individual called Professional and the other for Sales Teams called Team. Although the features overlap, Team offers, a CRM plug-in and Teamlink. CLICK HERE to see the options.

One of the most frequently asked questions I hear is… “Is premium worth it?”.

And the answer is, it depends.  I look at my Sales Navigator monthly charge in the same way I would a gym membership. If you use it… it is awesome, if you don’t well, it is not money well spent. That being said, I have had great success using Sales Navigator for business development, and if you use it smartly, you can too.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator helps sales professionals be more successful at social selling by leveraging 400M+ professional profiles. Here are some of the major features and ways I leverage them:

• Customize News Feed – Sales Navigator offers a separate newsfeed that you create. As you save leads and accounts, all activity that comes from those individuals or company pages will show up in one feed with the ability to filter your view. It offers real-time updates and the ability to scroll through past updates as well. This allows you to quickly engage with only the people you are targeting. In a short period of time you can like, share and comment on your prospective buyers’ posts.
• Advanced Search with Lead Builder – just like with most of the premium accounts, powerful filters are available that can help hone in on your exact buyers. By choosing company size, job function, seniority level and more, you can narrow your search and make your prospecting time more effective.
• Lead Recommendations – based on your leads and accounts, LinkedIn will recommend others similar to make your sales hunting easier. This is a great way to fill the top of your pipeline with more opportunities on a consistent basis. Once you find a lead, you can save them to your newsfeed and engage with their activity, see if you have any shared connections and ask for introductions or connect directly with a personalized note.
• InMails – if you want to begin a conversation without connecting yet, InMail would be the way to do it. You can simply send a note to anyone on LinkedIn, even if you have nothing in common. Sales Navigator Basic accounts receive 8 InMails a month and 15 with Sales Navigator Professional.
• Who’s Viewed My Profile – on a free LinkedIn account you are able to see the last 5 people that have viewed your profile, with Sales Navigator (and other premium accounts) you are able to see the last 90 days. I treat this like caller ID – if the visitor called you on your phone, would you return the call, if the answer is yes, connect with them and set up a time to talk.
• View More Profiles – LinkedIn limits the number of profile views a free account holder can see from a search, with Sales Navigator you are able to visit more profiles.
• Saved Searches – with a free account you can save up to 3 active searches that can feed you new leads every week. With Sales Navigator you can have up to 7 separate searches that can feed you very specific buyers and influencers. I often recommend that you use the 2nd degree relationship filter, this way when the list refreshes, the 1st degrees fall off and new shared connections are added. Each week you can reach out to shared connections and ask for introductions into the new buyers on your list.

If you are truly using LinkedIn as a primary sales tool, consider Sales Navigator, it can make your prospecting more strategic and productive.

Questions about LinkedIn and Social Selling? I invite you to have a conversation. Whether or not we decide to do business together, I am confident our call will be full of insights. Here is a link to my calendar http://ScheduleaCallwithBrynne.com please pick a time that is most convenient for you. I am looking forward to our call.