Real World Tips & Tricks to Maximize Lead Gen Efficiency with LinkedIn Sales Navigator

How much is a minute worth?

The question is largely rhetorical, but drives at an undeniable reality: every bit of wasted time has a cost. An inefficient sales process wreaks havoc on the bottom line.

You probably could calculate how much money is lost on every moment spent chasing unqualified leads by factoring in the rep’s salary and a handful of other expenses. But such an exercise isn’t needed to understand the financial implications of futile pursuit.

The key to B2B selling efficiency lies in three outcomes: shorter sales cycles, better qualified leads, and a higher percentage of business closed. And as our customers have reported, refining LinkedIn lead gen with the help of Sales Navigator can contribute to all three.

A Cost-Effective Sales Process Requires Groundwork

For our guide, How to Maximize LinkedIn’s Value with Sales Navigator, we studied a number of the product’s users to see what kinds of results the software was generating.

In one example, Hyland Software attributed the following major improvements to strategic contributions from Sales Navigator: sales cycle reduced by 30% to 60%, 40% to 60% more qualified pipeline leads generated, and more business closed.

Mike Cachat, an account manager for Hyland, said Sales Navigator has helped the sales team adapt to a more complex B2B environment.

“Buyer behavior has changed,” he said. “Instead of an executive making a decision and that whole decision riding on his or her shoulders, they’ve started allocating a lot of the buying process to a project team of six to eight folks.”

Without knowing each person and what their specific buying behaviors may be, it’s nearly impossible to effectively present your solution to the group. Navigator has enabled our team to perform the necessary research and proper due diligence.

This, in turn, helps Hyland cut out needless outreach to the wrong players, while better qualifying specific prospects and engaging them more intelligently. Specifically, Cachat called out Advanced Search with Lead Builder as one of his go-to features, pointing out that it drastically cuts down time spent searching manually through the web or reports or other sources.

He added that making intros in a more sophisticated way, through Sales Navigator tools like InMail, has greatly improved response rate and receptiveness from prospects.

“We see Sales Navigator as a more professional way to reach out to our prospects,” said Cachat. “Instead of sending the same type of emails that are inundating everyone, Sales Navigator provides a more direct-connection channel—and the messaging is resonating at a higher rate.”

With this remark about inbox inundation, Cachat hints at another aspect of improved targeting and lead gen efficiency: It’s not just your own time and money that’s saved.

Prospects Care About Efficiency Too

The saying “time is money” applies for every company, of course. When sales reps reach out to buyers and execs who are not viable leads, it wastes the other person’s time and costs their business money.

A smarter sales prospecting approach, driven by data and insights, yields considerably better experiences for those you engage. People you reach out to are more likely to find value in discussing your solution, and because reps tend to enter sales conversations with built-in knowledge of the account and its circumstances, they can get to the point more quickly.

It goes without saying that your customers, and potential customers, dislike waste the same as you. When you streamline your processes and use Sales Navigator to target the right buyers based on the right info, the savings extend beyond your own organization.

How to Maximize Efficiency with Sales Navigator

How have Sales Navigator power users been able to achieve the aforementioned results when it comes to cutting down the sales cycle and better qualifying leads? Here are some tips derived from Customer Success Stories:

1. Consult LinkedIn profiles and Company Pages to gather clues about an organization’s objectives
2. Download the Sales Navigator mobile app to stay updated and discover leads on-the-go
3. Use TeamLink to search extended networks and find attainable opportunities
4. Save promising leads and keep an eye on real-time updates for timing cues
5. Integrate Sales Navigator with your CRM to get the most out of all your data
6. Reach out to prospects through InMail instead of email to improve response rates
7. Identify commonalities and mutual connections to foster warm introductions
8. Use PointDrive to quickly and easily deliver sales content
9. Interact with contacts frequently to maintain relationships

When you tap into the full extent of its capabilities, Sales Navigator can save your sales team (and the companies you engage) a whole lot of minutes. How much is that worth?

To learn more about Sales Navigator and its various efficiency-boosting features, download our in-depth guide: How to Maximize LinkedIn’s Value with Sales Navigator.