How to Target LinkedIn Decision Makers by Uploading Company Lists to Sales Navigator

Collecting decision-maker information from specific companies can be challenging, but LinkedIn Sales Navigator offers powerful tools to streamline this process. This guide demonstrates how to upload targeted company lists to Sales Navigator and extract valuable contact information from those specific companies.

The Challenge of Targeted Data Collection

Generic LinkedIn searches can yield millions of results, making it difficult to find the exact decision-makers you need. For example, a broad search might return 7 million profiles, but what if you need decision-makers from specific e-commerce jewelry stores?

Prerequisites for Targeted Company Uploads

To use this feature effectively, you’ll need:

• LinkedIn Sales Navigator Core plan (this feature is not available on basic plans)
• A CSV file containing your target companies
• Company names and website URLs in your CSV file

Step-by-Step Process

1. Uploading Your Company List

Start by navigating to the Accounts section in Sales Navigator. Look for the “Upload Contact Accounts” option. Remember, this feature is only available with the Core plan.

When uploading your file:

• Ensure it’s saved as CSV format (maximum file size: 20MB)
• Click “Browse” to locate your file or drag and drop it
• Map the column headers in your CSV to LinkedIn account fields (typically company name and website)
• Name your uploaded list appropriately (e.g., “Jewelry Store Sheet One”)
• Click “Finish” to start the processing

The system will begin matching your companies with LinkedIn’s database. The matching process may take several minutes to complete.

2. Applying Filters to Your Results

Once your company list is processed, you’ll need to apply filters to narrow down the results:

1. Navigate to the Leads filters section in Sales Navigator
2. Under “Account List,” select your uploaded sheet
3. Apply additional filters as needed:
• Company headcount (employee size)
• Job titles (focus on decision-makers)
• Seniority level (exclude entry-level positions)
• Geography/location

The goal is to keep your filtered results below 2,500 profiles (ideally around 2,000) as most data extraction tools have limitations on how many profiles they can process in a single batch.

3. Extracting the Data

After applying your filters, you can use third-party tools to extract the profile information. These tools typically collect:

• First and last names
• Job titles
• LinkedIn URLs
• Company names and domains
• Company employee size and industry
• Company descriptions and locations
• Person’s location
• Length of time in current position
• Number of connections

Data Enrichment and Verification

The initial data extraction might yield email addresses for approximately 40-50% of the profiles. To improve this rate, the data can be further enriched using email finding tools. The final step involves verifying the collected email addresses to ensure deliverability.

Best Practices for Efficient Data Collection

• Keep filtered results under 2,000 profiles per batch
• Focus on senior-level positions for better decision-maker targeting
• Use multiple accounts to increase daily data collection capacity
• Combine data from multiple sources for maximum email coverage
• Always verify email addresses before using them

By following this process, you can transform a list of target companies into a comprehensive database of decision-makers, complete with contact information and professional details. This approach is particularly valuable for B2B sales and marketing teams looking to connect with specific organizations.