Find the Right Companies with Sales Navigator’s Account Search
Sales Navigator is one of the best tools for finding your next big client. But only if you know how to use it properly.
Too many people open the Account search, add a few obvious filters, and stop there.
The potency of Sales Navigator’s Account search lies in using some of the more obscure filters to pre-qualify intelligently.
In this article, I’ll show you some of the overlooked filters and how to use them strategically.
Start with the Basics
Every good Account search starts with the fundamentals: company size, location, and industry.
Company size can be determined through either Annual Revenue or Headcount. Both matter depending on your what you’re selling.
If you’re selling enterprise software, you’ll want companies with 1,000+ employees. If you offer consulting to SMEs, keep it under 200.
Headquarters Location helps you stay within reach or focus on specific regions. And with 434 industries now available in Sales Navigator, you can narrow your focus like never before. Drill into the niches where your buyers come from.
Go Beyond the Obvious
The filters above are a very good start, but the filters most people skip are where some of the best opportunities hide.
Here are the top underused filters that can help you identify qualified companies faster.
1. Department headcount and growth
Sales Navigator lets you filter by Department Headcount Growth, seeing not just how big departments are, but whether they’re expanding or shrinking.
If a department is growing, it signals potential investment. Maybe they’ll need new software, systems, or support services soon. What are the challenges you can help them with if the department you sell into is growing?
If a department is shrinking, that’s not necessarily bad news. Companies often replace downsized teams with outsourced or fractional services. If you offer those, this can be an excellent opportunity for you to fill that gap.
💡 Identify the best department to target and play with the min and max to identify the number of companies you are looking to target.
2. Technologies used
The Technologies used filter is easy to miss as it’s buried near the bottom of the search, but it can be an incredibly powerful filter for some companies.
This filter helps you to find companies using specific technologies like Salesforce, HubSpot, and many others.
So, if you provide training or consulting that is complementary to these systems, knowing this information is a huge insight into their operations. It pretty much pre-qualifies them as an opportunity.
💡 Do your research on the technologies used to identify the best ones to target.
3. Job Opportunities – Hiring on LinkedIn
In a similar way to Department headcount and growth, companies that are hiring are companies that are expanding. This filter is not as specific as Department headcount and growth, but it is a simpler way to identify companies that are generally growing and may need help with that growth.
💡 For companies that don’t sell into specific departments, this is a good signal to use.
4. Recent activities – Senior Leadership Changes in the last 3 months
This filter identifies when a company might be ready for change. New leadership often means a new direction.
When a senior leader joins within the first few months, they’re looking to make an impact quickly. They tend to be more open to new ideas, partners, and approaches. In contrast, long-tenured executives often maintain the status quo.
Use this filter to find companies that may be more open to rethinking their strategy and are ready to discuss.
💡 Be sure to remember to congratulate them on their new role.
5. Recent activities – Funding Events in the Past 12 Months
Companies that just raised funding have a clear signal: they have money to spend.
After you identify them, research what the funding was for, maybe expanding sales, developing tech, or growing marketing.
Even if it’s not directly aligned with what you offer, funded companies are proud and vocal about their success, which provides a natural opportunity to offer congratulations and initiate a conversation to reveal complementary needs.
💡 Prioritise companies you already have targeted 1st connections with.
6. Buyer Intent (not available in Core)
‘Buyer intent’ is the estimated level of interest that leads from a company are showing in your company.
There are 4 levels: High, Moderate, Neutral, and Negative. High and Moderate indicate the account’s intent is above baseline (Neutral).
This is a signal that people at an account have been researching your company and are worth reaching out to. This is a huge time-saver and a prompt on where to best focus your attention.
💡 Buyer intent works best for medium to large-sized companies. For smaller businesses, use buyer intent on an individual basis.
In Summary
Sales Navigator’s Account search is only as powerful as how you use it.
Using the main filters will uncover companies that may be interested in buying from you, but using advanced filters can reveal the best companies.
You will no longer be targeting randomly; you’ll be targeting intelligently. You will have a list of companies that are likely to say yes.
Find the Right Companies with Sales Navigator’s Account Search
Find the Right Companies with Sales Navigator’s Account Search
Sales Navigator is one of the best tools for finding your next big client. But only if you know how to use it properly.
Too many people open the Account search, add a few obvious filters, and stop there.
The potency of Sales Navigator’s Account search lies in using some of the more obscure filters to pre-qualify intelligently.
In this article, I’ll show you some of the overlooked filters and how to use them strategically.
Start with the Basics
Every good Account search starts with the fundamentals: company size, location, and industry.
Company size can be determined through either Annual Revenue or Headcount. Both matter depending on your what you’re selling.
If you’re selling enterprise software, you’ll want companies with 1,000+ employees. If you offer consulting to SMEs, keep it under 200.
Headquarters Location helps you stay within reach or focus on specific regions. And with 434 industries now available in Sales Navigator, you can narrow your focus like never before. Drill into the niches where your buyers come from.
Go Beyond the Obvious
The filters above are a very good start, but the filters most people skip are where some of the best opportunities hide.
Here are the top underused filters that can help you identify qualified companies faster.
1. Department headcount and growth
Sales Navigator lets you filter by Department Headcount Growth, seeing not just how big departments are, but whether they’re expanding or shrinking.
If a department is growing, it signals potential investment. Maybe they’ll need new software, systems, or support services soon. What are the challenges you can help them with if the department you sell into is growing?
If a department is shrinking, that’s not necessarily bad news. Companies often replace downsized teams with outsourced or fractional services. If you offer those, this can be an excellent opportunity for you to fill that gap.
💡 Identify the best department to target and play with the min and max to identify the number of companies you are looking to target.
2. Technologies used
The Technologies used filter is easy to miss as it’s buried near the bottom of the search, but it can be an incredibly powerful filter for some companies.
This filter helps you to find companies using specific technologies like Salesforce, HubSpot, and many others.
So, if you provide training or consulting that is complementary to these systems, knowing this information is a huge insight into their operations. It pretty much pre-qualifies them as an opportunity.
💡 Do your research on the technologies used to identify the best ones to target.
3. Job Opportunities – Hiring on LinkedIn
In a similar way to Department headcount and growth, companies that are hiring are companies that are expanding. This filter is not as specific as Department headcount and growth, but it is a simpler way to identify companies that are generally growing and may need help with that growth.
💡 For companies that don’t sell into specific departments, this is a good signal to use.
4. Recent activities – Senior Leadership Changes in the last 3 months
This filter identifies when a company might be ready for change. New leadership often means a new direction.
When a senior leader joins within the first few months, they’re looking to make an impact quickly. They tend to be more open to new ideas, partners, and approaches. In contrast, long-tenured executives often maintain the status quo.
Use this filter to find companies that may be more open to rethinking their strategy and are ready to discuss.
💡 Be sure to remember to congratulate them on their new role.
5. Recent activities – Funding Events in the Past 12 Months
Companies that just raised funding have a clear signal: they have money to spend.
After you identify them, research what the funding was for, maybe expanding sales, developing tech, or growing marketing.
Even if it’s not directly aligned with what you offer, funded companies are proud and vocal about their success, which provides a natural opportunity to offer congratulations and initiate a conversation to reveal complementary needs.
💡 Prioritise companies you already have targeted 1st connections with.
6. Buyer Intent (not available in Core)
‘Buyer intent’ is the estimated level of interest that leads from a company are showing in your company.
There are 4 levels: High, Moderate, Neutral, and Negative. High and Moderate indicate the account’s intent is above baseline (Neutral).
This is a signal that people at an account have been researching your company and are worth reaching out to. This is a huge time-saver and a prompt on where to best focus your attention.
💡 Buyer intent works best for medium to large-sized companies. For smaller businesses, use buyer intent on an individual basis.
In Summary
Sales Navigator’s Account search is only as powerful as how you use it.
Using the main filters will uncover companies that may be interested in buying from you, but using advanced filters can reveal the best companies.
You will no longer be targeting randomly; you’ll be targeting intelligently. You will have a list of companies that are likely to say yes.
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