LinkedIn Sales Navigator Alternative

Find and qualify prospects on LinkedIn without expensive subscriptions, using only publicly available information.

Contents

• references/output-template.md — full prospect-list Markdown structure and section layout
• references/campaigns.md — segmented campaign playbooks (new-in-role, account-based, event follow-up)
• references/tools-and-export.md — contact-finding methods, tool stack, CSV/CRM export formats
• references/examples.md — trigger phrases, example request, best practices

Compliance

Work only with publicly available information and respect LinkedIn's Terms of Service. Encourage official LinkedIn tools where appropriate. Aggregate public data for legitimate business development only.

Workflow

1. Define the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Capture industry/sector, company size (employees, revenue), geography, tech stack, and funding stage.

2. Identify decision-maker personas. Map the primary buyer, influencers, the economic buyer (budget holder), and the technical buyer (evaluation team).

3. Build the search strategy. Set job-title patterns, company criteria, location filters, seniority level, and description keywords. Choose a list-building approach: account-based, role-based, industry-based, event-based (job changes, funding rounds), or geography-based.

4. Collect and enrich data (public info only). Compile name, title, company, size, location, industry, public activity, and shared connections. Verify company details, find contact information, add personalization context, and score lead quality. See references/tools-and-export.md for discovery and verification methods.

5. Prioritize and segment. Tag hot leads (recent job changes), warm leads (shared connections), and cold leads (no prior contact). Group by account for campaigns.

6. Deliver the prospect list. Format the output per references/output-template.md, attach relevant campaign playbooks from references/campaigns.md, and provide export-ready data per references/tools-and-export.md.

Deliver a targeted, researched set of qualified prospects with personalization context — not just a list of names. See references/examples.md for trigger phrases and best practices.

---

Supporting file: references/campaigns.md

Segmented Campaign Playbooks

Reusable campaign templates to attach to a delivered prospect list. Match each prospect segment to the appropriate campaign.

Campaign 1: "New in Role" Sequence

• Target: Recent job changers (e.g., 30 prospects)
• Messaging: Congratulations + value prop for first 90 days
• Timeline: Reach out within 7 days of job change
• Channel Mix: LinkedIn message first, email follow-up
• Expected Response Rate: 15-20%

Sample Message:

"Hi [Name], congrats on joining [Company] as [Title]! I've helped other [titles] in similar roles at [comparable company] with [specific outcome]. Would love to share what's working in your first 90 days..."

Campaign 2: "Account-Based" for Top 20 Accounts

• Target: Multiple contacts at high-value companies
• Messaging: Company-specific research and insights
• Timeline: Coordinate touches across contacts
• Channel Mix: Multi-threaded approach
• Expected Response Rate: 10-15%

Campaign 3: "Industry Event Follow-Up"

• Target: Prospects who attended/spoke at recent conferences
• Messaging: Reference their talk/participation
• Timeline: Within 7 days of event
• Channel Mix: LinkedIn + email
• Expected Response Rate: 20-25%

---

Supporting file: references/examples.md

Use Cases and Examples

Trigger Phrases

• "Find VPs of Engineering at Series B startups in San Francisco"
• "Build a list of CTOs at mid-market SaaS companies"
• "Who are the decision makers at [Company X]?"
• "Find people who recently changed jobs to Head of Sales roles"
• "Identify marketing directors in the healthcare industry"

Example Request

"Find all VPs of Engineering at Series B startups in San Francisco with 50-200 employees. Focus on companies that recently raised funding or are actively hiring. I need names, companies, LinkedIn profiles, and likely email addresses."

Response Approach

1. Clarify ICP criteria
2. Use search operators and business intelligence sources
3. Build comprehensive prospect list
4. Enrich with context and personalization data
5. Prioritize by outreach temperature
6. Provide campaign strategies

Best Practices

1. Quality Over Quantity: 50 highly qualified prospects beat 500 random contacts
2. Regular Updates: Refresh lists monthly, add new job changers weekly
3. Multi-Threading: Identify 2-3 contacts per target account
4. Respect Privacy: Only use publicly available information
5. Verify Before Sending: Always verify emails to protect sender reputation
6. Personalize: Generic blasts do not work; research each prospect
7. Track Everything: Monitor what works and iterate

---

Supporting file: references/output-template.md

Prospect List Output Template

Use this Markdown structure when delivering a prospect list. Replace bracketed placeholders with researched values. Omit sections that do not apply to the engagement.

# Prospect List: [Target Persona/Campaign Name]

**Generated**: [Date]
**Total Prospects**: [Number]
**Target Profile**: [Brief ICP description]

---

## Search Criteria

**Company Filters**:
- Industries: [List]
- Company Size: [Range] employees
- Location: [Geographic focus]
- Funding Stage: [Series A/B/C, etc.]
- Technologies Used: [If applicable]

**Job Title Patterns**:
- Primary: [e.g., "VP of Engineering", "Head of DevOps"]
- Alternative titles: [e.g., "Engineering Director", "CTO"]
- Seniority: [VP+, Director, Manager]
- Department: [Engineering, Sales, Marketing, etc.]

**Qualification Criteria**:
- Must have: [Required attributes]
- Nice to have: [Bonus attributes]
- Exclude: [Disqualifying criteria]

---

## Prospect List Summary

### Distribution by Seniority

| Level | Count | % of Total |
|-------|-------|-----------|
| C-Level (CEO, CTO, etc.) | XX | XX% |
| VP Level | XX | XX% |
| Director Level | XX | XX% |
| Manager Level | XX | XX% |

### Distribution by Industry

| Industry | Count | % of Total |
|----------|-------|-----------|
| [Industry 1] | XX | XX% |
| [Industry 2] | XX | XX% |
| [Industry 3] | XX | XX% |

### Distribution by Company Size

| Size | Count | % of Total |
|------|-------|-----------|
| 1-50 employees | XX | XX% |
| 51-200 employees | XX | XX% |
| 201-1000 employees | XX | XX% |
| 1000+ employees | XX | XX% |

### Distribution by Location

| Region | Count | % of Total |
|--------|-------|-----------|
| [Region 1] | XX | XX% |
| [Region 2] | XX | XX% |
| [Region 3] | XX | XX% |

---

## Hot Prospects (Priority Outreach)

### Recent Job Changes (Last 30 Days)

**#1. [Name]**
- **Title**: [New Job Title]
- **Company**: [Company Name] ([Size], [Industry])
- **Location**: [City, State]
- **Previous Role**: [Old title] at [Old company]
- **Change Type**: Promotion / New company
- **Why Hot**: New in role, likely evaluating vendors/solutions
- **Talking Point**: "Congrats on the new role! I've helped other [job titles] in their first 90 days..."
- **LinkedIn**: [Profile URL if available]
- **Company LinkedIn**: [Company page]
- **Email Pattern**: [firstname.lastname@company.com] (unverified)

**#2. [Name]**
- **Title**: [Job Title]
- **Company**: [Company Name]
- **Location**: [City, State]
- **Job Change**: [Details]
- **Why Hot**: [Reason this is good timing]
- **Talking Point**: [Personalization idea]

*(Repeat for top 10-20 hot prospects)*

---

## Qualified Prospects by Company

### Company: [Company Name 1]

**Company Details**:
- **Industry**: [Industry]
- **Size**: [X-Y] employees
- **Location**: [HQ Location]
- **Website**: [URL]
- **Recent News**: [Funding round, product launch, expansion, etc.]
- **Tech Stack**: [If known]
- **Hiring?**: [Yes/No - indicator of growth]

**Decision Makers Identified**: [Number]

#### Primary Contact: [Name]
- **Title**: [Job Title]
- **LinkedIn**: [URL if available]
- **Background**: [Brief relevant experience]
- **Tenure**: [How long at company]
- **Location**: [City, State]
- **Reports To**: [If known]
- **Team Size**: [If known]
- **Recent Activity**: [Posts, articles, job changes]
- **Email Pattern**: [Guess based on company domain]
- **Phone**: [If publicly available]
- **Shared Connections**: [Number - if you can see]
- **Personalization Notes**:
  - [Interest/hobby from profile]
  - [Recent company achievement]
  - [Common connection to mention]
  - [Content they've engaged with]

#### Secondary Contact: [Name]
- **Title**: [Job Title]
- **Why Include**: [Influencer, champion, etc.]
- **Relationship to Primary**: [Reports to, peers with, etc.]

#### Economic Buyer: [Name]
- **Title**: [Job Title]
- **Why Include**: [Budget authority]

*(Repeat for all target companies)*

---

## Prospects by Job Title

### VP of Engineering (25 prospects)

**#1. [Name]**
- **Company**: [Company] ([Size], [Industry])
- **Location**: [City, State]
- **Tenure**: [X] years at company
- **Company News**: [Recent funding, growth, challenges]
- **Likely Pain Points**:
  - [Pain point 1 based on company stage]
  - [Pain point 2 based on industry]
- **Outreach Angle**: [How your solution helps]
- **Email**: [Pattern guess]
- **LinkedIn**: [URL]

**#2. [Name]**
[Same structure]

### Head of DevOps (18 prospects)

[Same structure as above]

### CTO / Technical Co-Founder (12 prospects)

[Same structure as above]

---

## Enrichment Data

### Company Signals

**Growth Indicators**:
- **Funding Rounds**: [Companies that recently raised]
- **Hiring Sprees**: [Companies with many open roles]
- **Expansion**: [Companies opening new offices]
- **Product Launches**: [Recent announcements]

**Pain Indicators**:
- **Layoffs**: [Recent workforce reductions]
- **Leadership Changes**: [C-suite churn]
- **Negative Press**: [Issues that create buying opportunity]

---

## List Quality Metrics

**List Health**:
- Total Prospects: [Number]
- Companies Represented: [Number]
- Average Company Size: [Employees]
- Geographic Concentration: [% in top 3 regions]

**Confidence Levels**:
- High Confidence (verified contact info): [X%]
- Medium Confidence (likely email pattern): [X%]
- Low Confidence (need enrichment): [X%]

**Segmentation Tags**:
- Hot (recent job change): [Number]
- Warm (shared connection): [Number]
- Cold (no prior contact): [Number]
- High-Value (company size/industry match): [Number]

---

## Research Notes

### Industry Trends (Relevant to Prospects)
- [Trend 1: How it affects target audience]
- [Trend 2: Creates urgency or pain point]
- [Trend 3: Opportunity to add value]

### Competitive Intelligence
- [What competitors prospects might be using]
- [Common pain points with current solutions]
- [Switching triggers to watch for]

### Seasonal Factors
- [Budget cycles for target companies]
- [Industry-specific timing considerations]
- [Best months for outreach]

---

## Next Steps

1. **Enrich Contact Data** (1-2 days)
   - Verify email addresses using Hunter.io or similar
   - Find phone numbers via ZoomInfo/Apollo (if available)
   - Add to CRM with proper tagging

2. **Prioritize Outreach** (Same day)
   - Start with Hot prospects (recent job changes)
   - Then Warm prospects (shared connections)
   - Finally Cold prospects (volume play)

3. **Personalize Messaging** (2-3 days)
   - Research each company's recent news
   - Identify specific pain points
   - Craft unique opening lines
   - Prepare relevant case studies

4. **Set Up Sequences** (1 day)
   - Configure outreach cadence in sales tool
   - Set up tracking and follow-ups
   - Prepare reply templates
   - Schedule send times

5. **Monitor & Optimize** (Ongoing)
   - Track open, reply, and meeting rates
   - A/B test subject lines and messaging
   - Refine ICP based on responses
   - Update list with new prospects weekly

---

Supporting file: references/tools-and-export.md

Tools, Resources, and Export Formats

Contact Finding Strategies

Email Discovery Methods:

1. Pattern Matching: Most companies use firstname.lastname@domain.com (mailto:firstname.lastname@domain.com)
2. Hunter.io / RocketReach: Use for verification
3. Company Website: Check "Team" or "About" pages
4. Domain Search: Try common patterns and verify with tools

Phone Number Sources:

• Company website (direct lines rare)
• ZoomInfo / Apollo (paid tools)
• Press releases (sometimes include media contacts)
• LinkedIn (occasionally listed)

Verification:

• Use email verification tools before sending
• Check bounce rates on small test batches
• Verify phone numbers exist before calling

Recommended Stack

• LinkedIn: Manual prospecting (free)
• LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Advanced search (paid) - if budget allows
• Hunter.io: Email finding and verification
• RocketReach / ZoomInfo: Contact enrichment
• Apollo.io: All-in-one prospecting platform
• Lusha: Chrome extension for LinkedIn
• Clearbit: Company data enrichment

Alternative / Free Options

• LinkedIn Boolean Search: Advanced search operators
• Google X-Ray Search: Find profiles via search
• Company Websites: Team pages for direct info
• Crunchbase: Funding and company data
• Built In: Startups and tech companies

Export Formats

CSV Export Columns:

First Name, Last Name, Job Title, Company, Company Size, Industry, Location, Email (unverified), LinkedIn URL, Company Website, Notes, Tags, Priority, Added Date

CRM Import Ready:

• Formatted for Salesforce/HubSpot/Pipedrive
• Includes all custom fields
• Tagged for segmentation
• Assigned to sales reps

Google Sheets Template:

• Filterable columns
• Conditional formatting for priority
• Drop-down menus for status tracking
• Links to LinkedIn profiles