How To Take A Cue From Sales Navigator "Spotlights"

How much time would you save if you only reached out to people you knew would say “yes” to the job, product, or service you’re selling? Unfortunately, that’s not exactly how the prospecting process works. As we both know, you’re bound to have lots of prospects at the top of the funnel who never become sales—and that’s okay. 

But what if I told you there was a way you could target people or companies that have a good chance of actually engaging with you? Just imagine if you could stop wasting your time on outreach that ultimately gets ignored and focus on prospects who are ready to hear from you. The Sales Navigator “Spotlights” feature helps you do just that.  

Sales Navigator Spotlights allow you to identify leads (people) and accounts (companies) among your search results that are most likely to respond to your outreach. Sales Navigator offers several different types of Spotlights including: 

• Job Changes 

• Mentioned in the News 

• LinkedIn Activity 

• Leads that Follow Your Company 

• Shared Experiences 

• TeamLink 

Leads or accounts that correspond with these Spotlight categories will be featured toward the top of your Sales Navigator search results. You can also filter your search using one or more Spotlight. Let’s walk through each category one by one.

Job Changes:

Selecting this filter will narrow your search results to people who have changed jobs within the last three months. You might consider using this Spotlight if a new role meaningfully affects your sales process. For example, for financial advisors, a new job indicates potential for 401k rollovers, higher income, and therefore increased assets—all of which could contribute to a greater need for advising help. Alternatively, a job change could mean that you need a new point of contact at a target company. Generally speaking, congratulating someone on their new gig makes people feel awesome and seen, so it’s a great opportunity to engage.

Mentioned in the News:

By selecting this filter, your results will include leads or accounts that have been mentioned in the news within the last 30 days. When leveraged correctly, this information could help you to offer a timely congratulations or reaction that ultimately leads to a fruitful conversation.

LinkedIn Activity:

Intuitively, it makes sense that people and companies that are active on LinkedIn are more likely to respond to your outreach than those who rarely participate on the platform. Choosing the LinkedIn Activity Spotlight filter will narrow your results to only those who have posted on LinkedIn within the past 30 days. See what they are posting and commenting on and jump into the conversation!

Leads That Follow Your Company:

Companies and people who are already familiar with your company are often more receptive to your outreach than if they’ve never heard of your brand. So, consider a person or company that went out of its way to click the “Follow” button on your company page to be a friendly face. The Leads That Follow Your Company filter is especially handy for recruiters who want to find qualified and interested job candidates.

Shared Experiences:

Finding a point of connection with someone else is prospecting 101. Use this Spotlight to quickly identify prospects with whom you already have something in common—whether they worked at the same companies, attended the same schools, or are part of the same LinkedIn Groups.

TeamLink:

The TeamLink filter, as the name suggests, identifies prospects who are already connected with colleagues on your team. Like the other Spotlight filters, this filter equips you with a shared connection that you can leverage to begin a conversation. This filter will only work if you and your teammates are subscribed to the Sales Navigator Advanced plan.

Spotlights help you find prospects that go beyond your basic search criteria. They also give you a more relevant point of outreach which can ultimately increase your response rates to prospective clients. Think of a Spotlight as a helpful proxy for a prospect’s “warmth.” When used correctly, you’re likely to experience higher engagement and better traction, so why not give it a try? 

By the way, if you’re looking for another great way to increase engagement with prospects, you need to become an active participant on LinkedIn. Beware of the temptation to spend so much time on the Sales Navigator side of things that you neglect the still-important task of LinkedIn engagement. 

For a boost, check out my Put a Ring on It Challenge. In just 15 minutes a day for five days, you’ll learn how and when to post on LinkedIn, engagement best practices to enhance your visibility, and the art of the follow-up and lead generation. You can get access to this video-led training here.