Sales Navigator Unlocked: How to Find and Close B2B Leads on LinkedIn

In part two of the Push Reset to 2020 series, Mary Burhani of Mary Consulting Services delivered a tactical and detailed session on using Sales Navigator to transform LinkedIn into a high-converting lead generation machine.

With more than $1 million in LinkedIn sales under her belt, Mary walked attendees through her full system—from selecting the right Sales Navigator plan to filtering leads, setting alerts, and sending strategic messages that lead to real business relationships.

Here’s a breakdown of how to use Sales Navigator like a pro and generate consistent B2B opportunities.

What Is Sales Navigator and Why Use It?

Sales Navigator is LinkedIn’s premium tool for B2B prospecting. It allows users to bypass gatekeepers, directly connect with decision-makers, and track real-time updates from companies and individuals of interest.

With over 690 million LinkedIn users and four out of five decision-makers active on the platform, Sales Navigator becomes your backstage pass to the most valuable conversations in your target market.

Unlike the standard LinkedIn search bar, Sales Navigator includes robust filters for company size, job titles, industry, seniority level, geography, and more. It’s a searchable database designed to uncover prospects that match your exact target profile.

Step 1: Choose the Right Sales Navigator Plan

Sales Navigator has multiple tiers:

  • Professional (individual use)

  • Team (for small organizations)

  • Enterprise (for large teams and CRM integration)

Mary recommended starting with the Professional plan, which runs around $80/month, or less if billed annually. She also advised negotiating with your employer to cover the cost if you’re in a sales role.

Team and Enterprise plans offer integration with Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, and other CRM platforms—allowing users to view LinkedIn profiles directly from their CRM and save hours on manual lead research.

Step 2: Define Your Target Audience

Before using Sales Navigator’s filters, define what you’re trying to achieve. Are you looking to grow a client base? Land new job opportunities? Recruit partners?

For B2B sales, Mary emphasized the importance of creating filters that reflect your actual sales goals. For example, if you’re targeting higher education institutions in Southern California with more than 200 employees, Sales Navigator makes it easy to find all of them—and the key decision-makers inside.

Filters Mary frequently uses include:

  • Geography: e.g., LA, San Diego, Orange County

  • Industry: Higher Education, IT, Healthcare

  • Company Size: From 51 employees to 10,000+

  • Seniority Level: C-level, Director, VP

  • Relationship: 2nd-degree connections preferred

With each filter added, Sales Navigator dynamically adjusts your lead count—helping you avoid overly narrow searches.

Step 3: Save Leads and Accounts

Once you have a filtered list of leads, you can begin saving individual people or entire companies (accounts).

Mary prefers saving leads because they offer richer data and allow for more personalized messaging. Saved leads populate your Sales Navigator homepage, triggering alerts when a person changes jobs, celebrates an anniversary, or the company appears in the news.

She also recommends naming your saved lead lists in a way that reflects your targeting strategy—such as “San Diego Healthcare,” “Dallas Tech Prospects,” or “Construction CEOs OC.”

This helps you organize your outreach and return to lists later without restarting your filter process.

Step 4: Set Alerts to Stay Ahead

Saving leads and accounts unlocks the ability to receive real-time alerts.

This means you’ll get notified when:

  • A saved lead changes jobs

  • A company is mentioned in the media

  • A prospect’s role or seniority changes

  • Someone joins or leaves an organization

Why does this matter? Mary calls these alerts “fresh openings.” If a target account was previously cold, a job change might create a new opportunity to connect with someone who’s ready to listen.

These alerts keep your outreach timely, relevant, and personal.

Step 5: Message and Connect with Precision

Once your lists are built and alerts are flowing in, it’s time to message.

Mary uses two types of outreach:

  • InMail (via Sales Navigator for unconnected leads)

  • Direct Messages (on regular LinkedIn for existing connections)

Pro tip: Even though Sales Navigator includes InMail credits, Mary prefers to connect first and message through LinkedIn. This keeps the full message history visible and ensures continuity even if you let the paid plan lapse.

Each message should be:

  • Personalized with the recipient’s name and title

  • Relevant to their company, role, or recent news

  • Clear about why you’re reaching out

  • Free of hard-selling

She tracks messaging performance using OneNote and swaps out message templates frequently if response rates drop.

 

Bonus: Use Automated Messaging and CRM Integration

To save time, Mary uses tools like:

  • Connected: For automated follow-up messaging

  • Seamless.AI and ZoomInfo: For building and enriching lead lists

  • CRM Integration: To track lead status and prevent redundant outreach

She emphasizes that automation should never replace human authenticity. Use it to streamline, not to spam.

Final Thoughts: Build Relationships First

What sets Mary apart is her commitment to relationship-building. She uses Sales Navigator not just to sell, but to understand her prospects, stay relevant, and show up consistently.

She closes by reminding attendees that LinkedIn is a relationship platform, not just a sales funnel. The trust, transparency, and credibility it offers is unmatched—and when used correctly, it can become the single most powerful sales tool in your digital toolbox.

For more on her methods or to join her Empowerment Coalition events, visit maryconsultingservices.com/empowerment.

And stay tuned for part three of the Push Reset to 2020 series, where Mary reveals her full case study breakdown on how she closed over $1M in deals using these exact strategies.

Want to Join the Movement?

If you’re a small business or nonprofit looking to grow, modernize, and get connected to real opportunity—Black Tech Link is here for you.

➡️ Visit blacktechlink.org
📌 Click on the Small Business Mastery Program
🗓️ Book a free session by hitting Talk With an Expert

Your mission deserves to thrive. Let’s make that happen—together.