4 Things I Hate & 4 Things I Love About Sales Navigator

My honest take after thousands of hours prospecting

Author

Christian Oland
April 14, 2025

Welcome to Issue #2 of RevGen Labs Report.

Last month, Apollo and Seamless got banned by LinkedIn. 

And everyone was talking about it. 

To me it's pretty clear that LinkedIn wants us all using Sales Navigator for prospecting. If that’s the case let’s talk about LinkedIn Sales Navigator. 

What we're covering today:

  • 4 frustrating limitations that make me want to scream

  • 4 features I genuinely couldn't live without

  • Tricks I've figured out that most people miss

Before we dive in, quick reminder that I go live every Tuesday with agency founders to talk sales strategy. 

And this week we've got Brandon Charleson joining us for Tuesday Triggers session. 

He will share insights on how to use AI for lead generation.

Want in? 

And I'll send you the calendar invite. 

4 Sales Navigator Filters That Drive Me Crazy

LinkedIn’s database is the best, freshest one out there. 

But man this tool has some serious issues:

1. Seniority Level and Function filter

The "Seniority Level" and "Function" filters are complete garbage.

I've seen CEOs classified as interns! 

2. Current Job Title

People forget to close their old jobs when adding new ones all the time.

I can't tell you how many "CTOs" I've messaged only to hear "Oh, I left that job two years ago."

How to overcome this?

Use Clayagent to do a search and reach out to people in their latest role.

3. Technology Filter

Great concept, terrible execution. LinkedIn has no documentation supporting how they find technologies used by companies.

I suggest you use Builtwith for this.

4. Location Filter

Is this where they live? Work? Want to pretend they work? Who knows!

Especially with remote work being everywhere now, this filter creates more problems than it solves.

4 Sales Navigator Features I Actually Love

After countless hours staring at this platform, here's what makes it worth the money:

Combining AND/OR/NOT operators we found 35% more qualified leads. 

You just need to learn how to string these together properly. 

2. Changed Jobs Filter 

People who've been in a new role less than 90 days are HUNGRY to make changes.

They're literally 3x more likely to respond than folks who've been comfortable in their position forever.


3. Recent Activity Tracking 

Nothing beats seeing someone just posted content or got mentioned in news. 

Instead of "Hey stranger, buy my stuff," you can actually have a real conversation. Just by switching your approach.

4. Saved Search Alerts 

I set these up and forget about them, then get notifications when fresh prospects appear.

Tricks I've Learned That Most People Miss

After many late nights and coffee-fueled experiments, here's what's actually working for me:

1. Create a Blacklist 

I know it sounds negative, but it works.

Make lists of your competitors and current clients, then exclude them from searches.

Saves me from those awkward "Oops, you already work with us" moments.


2. Upload Company Lists from Elsewhere 

I pull interesting companies from Crunchbase and Google, then upload them via CSV.

Pro tip: include the LinkedIn URL in your CSV and you'll get perfect match rates.

Most people use Sales Navigator like it's regular LinkedIn with a few extra buttons. 

But there's a whole world of difference between casual users and those of us who've figured out the real power moves.

What's your choice? 

Keep doing the same basic searches as everyone else, or level up your game.

Oh, and I'd love to hear what topics you're interested in or if you know someone awesome who'd make a great guest speaker! Just reply and let me know your thoughts.

Christian Oland 

Co-founder RevGen Labs & RevReply