LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a sales tool that helps sales professionals find and connect with their ideal prospects on LinkedIn. One of its key features is the ability to search LinkedIn profiles using advanced search operators and filters. This allows you to narrow down your search results to only the most relevant prospects that match your ideal customer profile.
One of the search techniques you can use in Sales Navigator is Boolean searching. Boolean searches allow you to combine keywords with operators like AND, OR, NOT to further refine and focus your search results. For example, you could search for prospects with the job title “Vice President” who work at a “SaaS Company.”
In this article, we’ll examine if you can perform Boolean searches in LinkedIn Sales Navigator and how to best utilize Boolean search techniques to find your ideal customers.
What is a Boolean Search?
A Boolean search is a type of advanced search that allows you to combine keywords with Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to find more precise and focused search results.
Here’s a quick overview of the main Boolean operators:
– AND: Results must contain both words or phrases on either side of the AND operator. For example, sales AND manager returns profiles with both “sales” and “manager” in their profile.
– OR: Results can contain either word or phrase separated by OR. For example, sales OR marketing returns profiles with “sales” or “marketing.”
– NOT: Results must not contain the word or phrase after the NOT operator. For example, manager NOT assistant returns managers but excludes assistants.
By connecting words and phrases with these Boolean operators, you can define very specific search parameters to filter your results. This helps you find profiles that are most relevant to your search criteria.
Why Use Boolean Search in Sales Navigator
Here are some of the key benefits of using Boolean search techniques in LinkedIn Sales Navigator:
- Find hyper-targeted prospects that match your ICP – By using AND to combine keywords that define your ideal customer profile, you can narrow down prospects that match very specific attributes.
- Exclude irrelevant profiles – Using NOT lets you eliminate profiles that have certain job titles, keywords, companies, etc. that don’t fit your search criteria.
- Search for prospects by function AND industry – You can combine keywords like “Vice President” AND “SaaS” to find decision-makers in your target industry.
- Uncover hidden prospects – Boolean searches may help surface contacts that didn’t come up with a general keyword search.
- Improve search efficiency – Boolean searching makes prospecting faster by helping filter out irrelevant prospects.
- Combine keywords and filters – Use Boolean operators together with Sales Navigator’s search filters to drill down results even further.
In summary, Boolean searching supercharges your ability to segment and find the most relevant prospects on LinkedIn. Instead of just searching by keywords, you can define very specific parameters to uncover your ideal customers.
How to Do a Boolean Search in Sales Navigator
Here are step-by-step instructions on how to execute Boolean searches in LinkedIn Sales Navigator:
- Access the search bar – This is at the top of Sales Navigator. You can search people, companies, groups, etc.
- Enter your keywords – Type in the keywords you want to search for prospects (job titles, skills, company names etc.)
- Add Boolean operators – Connect your keywords with AND, OR, NOT operators.
- Apply additional filters – Use the filters on the left side of the page to further refine results by location, company size, industry, etc.
- View search results – Run the search to see filtered prospects that match your Boolean search query.
- Connect with prospects – Review the profiles of prospects to identify ones you want to connect with.
- Save your search – To reuse your search query in the future, click “Save this search” at the top.
For example:
“Vice President” AND “Information Technology”
Here are some examples of Boolean searches you could run in LinkedIn Sales Navigator to find targeted prospects:
- Vice President AND Healthcare
- CTO OR CIO AND Software NOT Assistant
- “Information Technology” AND Manager AND Boston
- “Data Science” AND Python NOT Intern
As you can see, by leveraging Boolean operators you can define very specific parameters to filter prospects on LinkedIn.
Tips for Effective Boolean Searching
Here are some tips to help you get the most value out of Boolean searching in LinkedIn Sales Navigator:
- Use double quotes around long keyword phrases – This ensures the entire phrase is searched.
- Try different combinations of keywords – Switch up your keywords with AND, OR etc. to uncover different prospects.
- Adjust keywords based on search volume – If your search returns 0 results or too many, tweak the terms until you get a focused result.
- Leverage all search filters – Apply company, school, industry filters etc. in tandem to drill down.
- Analyze your best prospects – Review the profiles of your prospects to identify the common attributes of your best leads.
- Save and organize searches – Save frequently used searches for quick access later.
- Check back regularly for new prospects – Schedule time to rerun searches for new prospects.
Combining the right mix of Boolean operators, keywords and filters takes some trial and error. But once you get the hang of it, you can uncover tons of qualified prospects efficiently.
Conclusion
In summary:
- Boolean search allows you to combine keywords with AND, OR, NOT operators.
- This lets you refine searches in LinkedIn Sales Navigator to find hyper-targeted prospects.
- To do a Boolean search, add operators between your keywords and apply filters.
- Boolean searching enables you to segment and find ideal prospects that precisely match your criteria.
- It’s an essential prospecting technique to add to your LinkedIn Sales Navigator toolkit.
By mastering Boolean search strategies, you can significantly boost your prospecting productivity and identify quality leads in less time. Take the time to experiment with different keyword combinations and filters to see the powerful results.
FAQs
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about Boolean searching in LinkedIn Sales Navigator:
What are the main Boolean operators?
The main Boolean operators are AND, OR and NOT. AND narrows your search to profiles matching both keywords. OR broadens your search to profiles matching either keyword. NOT excludes profiles with certain keywords.
Where do I enter Boolean searches in Sales Navigator?
You can enter Boolean searches in the main search bar at the top of Sales Navigator. This lets you search for people, companies, groups, jobs etc.
What are some examples of Boolean searches?
Here are some examples:
– Marketing Manager AND New York
– Physician OR Doctor
– Nurse NOT Practitioner
– “Business Development” AND UK
Can I save Boolean searches in Sales Navigator?
Yes, you can save any search in Sales Navigator – including Boolean searches – to reuse in the future. Just click “Save this search” at the top once you run your search.
What filters work well with Boolean searching?
Filters for location, company, industry, school, job function etc. complement Boolean searches by further refining your prospect results. Apply them in tandem with keywords and Boolean operators.
How do I find the right keywords for searches?
Analyze the profiles of your existing prospects and ideal customers. Identify common job titles, skills, expertise areas and keywords they use. Also review your ICP. Compile these into a list of keywords to try in different Boolean combinations.
Why is Boolean better than a regular keyword search?
Boolean searching allows you to combine very specific criteria using AND/OR/NOT operators. This lets you filter prospects much more finely than just inputting a single keyword. The focused results enable you to zero in on your target prospects.
How can I get better at Boolean searching?
Practice using AND, OR, NOT operators in different combinations to see their effect. Analyze your search results to optimize keywords and filters. Save searches to come back to. Over time, you’ll get comfortable building targeted Boolean searches.
Key Takeaways on Boolean Searching in Sales Navigator
– Boolean searches allow combining keywords with AND/OR/NOT operators
– This enables you to refine searches and precisely filter prospects
– To do a Boolean search, add operators between your keywords
– Combine with other LinkedIn filters to further fine-tune prospects
– Save Boolean searches to easily find new prospects later
– Take time to master Boolean techniques for improved search efficiency
Table Summarizing Boolean Search Tips
| Tip | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Use double quotes for phrases | Ensures the full phrase is searched as one keyword |
| Try different keyword combinations | Switch up operators and keywords to uncover new prospects |
| Adjust keywords based on volume | Tweak terms until you get a focused number of search results |
| Apply all relevant filters | Leverage filters to further refine prospects |
| Analyze best prospects | Identify common attributes of your best leads |
| Save and organize searches | Save searches for quick access later |
| Rerun searches regularly | Run searches again periodically to find new prospects |
Conclusion
In closing, Boolean search is a powerful feature in LinkedIn Sales Navigator that enables you to zone in on your ideal prospects with precision matching. Combining keywords with AND/OR/NOT operators and filters allows you to segment and uncover contacts much more effectively. Integrate Boolean techniques into your prospecting processes to boost your LinkedIn search productivity.