Setting sales preferences in Sales Navigator allows you to customize your sales workflow and prioritize leads effectively. Sales Navigator is a sales acceleration platform by LinkedIn that helps sales professionals find new prospects, build relationships, and close more deals. With robust sales preferences, you can streamline prospecting, focus on high-value accounts, and get notified when there are changes to your saved leads and accounts.
Some key reasons to configure sales preferences in Sales Navigator include:
- Prioritize leads and accounts – Set criteria to focus on high-value prospects first.
- Get customized recommendations – Sales Navigator will suggest leads tailored to your preferences.
- Stay on top of changes – Get notifications when there are updates to your saved leads and accounts.
- Filter searches – Search for prospects using parameters like company size, industry, job title, and more.
- Automate reminders – Get reminded to follow up with leads so opportunities don’t slip through the cracks.
Properly setting up sales preferences enables you to home in on your ideal customers, act quickly on priority leads, and streamline sales prospecting.
Accessing Sales Preferences
Sales preferences can be accessed in Sales Navigator by following these steps:
1. Log into your Sales Navigator account.
2. Click on the ‘Preferences’ icon on the top navigation bar (shaped like a gear).
3. Select ‘Sales’ on the left sidebar to view your sales preferences.
Alternatively, you can access sales preferences by going to the Preferences tab from your My Network page. The Sales section here allows you to configure preferences.
Configuring Lead Recommendations
One of the key sales preferences to set is lead recommendations. This allows Sales Navigator to automatically recommend relevant prospects for you to connect with.
To configure lead recommendations:
- Go to Sales Preferences > Lead Recommendations
- Select ‘Role’ and input job titles or functions of your ideal prospects.
- Select ‘Company’ and input target companies, industries, or company size.
- Select ‘Location’ and input countries or regions you want to target.
- Select ‘Interests’ and input business topics your prospects would likely follow.
- Select ‘Groups’ and input LinkedIn Groups your prospects might be part of.
- Select ‘Skills’ and input key skills your prospects would have on their profile.
The more parameters you define, the more customized your recommended leads will be. Prioritize the 3-5 criteria most important for your ideal customer profile.
Setting Lead and Account Alerts
Another important sales preference is getting alerts when there are updates to your saved leads and accounts. This ensures you stay up-to-date on job changes, new content shares, and other profile updates from your prospects.
To configure lead and account alerts:
1. Go to Sales Preferences > Get Alerts When
2. Check ‘Leads’ and select if you want alerts for all leads or only high-priority leads.
3. Check ‘Accounts’ and select if you want alerts for all accounts or only high-priority accounts.
4. Select alert frequency – in real time, daily, or weekly summary.
With alerts enabled, Sales Navigator will proactively notify you of changes so you can promptly follow up and advance opportunities.
Prioritizing Leads and Accounts
Within sales preferences, you can also prioritize leads and accounts so you focus on hot prospects first.
To prioritize leads:
1. Go to Sales Preferences > Sales Processes
2. Under Lead Tracking, select ‘Enable lead prioritization’
3. Click ‘Prioritize’ next to leads and use the arrows to sort them into High, Medium, and Low priority buckets.
To prioritize accounts:
1. Go to Sales Preferences > Sales Processes
2. Under Account Tracking, select ‘Enable account prioritization’
3. Click ‘Prioritize’ next to accounts and use the arrows to prioritize them from High to Low.
Check this section regularly to ensure your highest value prospects are marked appropriately.
Configuring Saved Searches
Saved searches help you quickly find prospects that meet specific criteria. You can create and configure saved searches within sales preferences.
To create a saved search:
1. Go to Sales Preferences > Saved Searches
2. Click ‘Create New Search’
3. Select search type – People, Companies, Schools, Groups, or Posts
4. Input your search criteria such as keywords, location, industry, etc.
5. Click ‘Save’ to save the search
You can then name the search, get email notifications when new prospects match, and quickly access the search from your account. Configure multiple targeted searches to build a strong prospect list.
Customizing Your Sales Workflows
Sales Navigator allows you to customize different parts of your workflow through sales preferences.
Key preferences to configure include:
- Lead tracking – Select fields to capture and display for your leads.
- Account tracking – Select fields to capture and display for your accounts.
- Opportunity tracking – Select custom opportunity stages and fields.
- Activity capture – Track meetings, emails, calls, and other interactions.
- Sales processes – Choose global or team sales settings.
Adjust these preferences so your CRM data, pipeline stages, and activity capture are tailored for your sales process.
Integrating Other Tools
If you use other sales tools like Salesforce or HubSpot, you can integrate them with Sales Navigator preferences.
Key integrations to set up include:
- Contact sync – Sync LinkedIn contacts to your CRM or email.
- Lead sync – Sync LinkedIn leads to your CRM as new records.
- Account sync – Sync LinkedIn accounts to related records in your CRM.
- Calendar sync – Sync meetings scheduled in Sales Navigator to your calendar.
These integrations give you powerful connectivity across tools for a streamlined workflow.
Best Practices
To get the most value from sales preferences, keep these best practices in mind:
- Define an ideal customer profile – Detailed preferences lead to more tailored recommendations.
- Prioritize 3-5 key criteria – Avoid selecting too many filters which can limit prospects.
- Review preferences weekly – Adjust as your goals evolve. New projects may require new search criteria.
- Take action on notifications – Alerts only provide value if you follow up on them.
- Fine-tune over time – It takes iteration to configure your optimal preferences.
Properly personalized sales preferences will supercharge your prospecting and pipeline development.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Here are some common issues that may arise with sales preferences and how to address them:
Too many or irrelevant recommended prospects
The preferences are likely too broad. Narrow down the criteria like title, company, industry to be more specific.
Too few recommended prospects
The preferences may be too narrow. Try loosening criteria like company size or location to expand the pool.
No alerts being received
Ensure notifications are enabled for the appropriate leads and accounts. Check your email spam folder. Consider increasing alert frequency.
Alerts lack relevant information
Customize the alerts to include key lead and account fields you want to track like title changes or new board roles.
Integrations not syncing data
Confirm the correct credentials are entered for each integration. Check for errors or connection issues. Refresh or reauthorize if needed.
Opportunity stages don’t match process
Edit the sales processes section to include appropriate opportunity stages, probability percentages, and definitions tailored to your sales process.
Conclusion
Configuring your sales preferences is essential to maximizing the value of Sales Navigator. Defining your ideal prospects, staying on top of alerts, integrating other tools, and fine-tuning over time will help you boost sales productivity. Properly personalized preferences keep you focused on the highest priority prospects and streamline your daily workflow. Use these best practices to get the most from your Sales Navigator experience through optimized sales preferences.