An account is a company. A lead is a person. That distinction matters: a perfect job title at the wrong type of company is still a poor prospect.
Here is the process using an invented example. Suppose you run a website agency for UK accounting firms. You want to find firms with a team of roughly 11–50 people, then speak to the partner or manager responsible for the website. Those are starting choices for this example, not the right settings for every agency.
1. Build a company search you can explain
Open Account Search using Account filters+. LinkedIn documents industry, headquarters location and company headcount among its account filters. Use these to create the first version of your company list. LinkedIn's search-filter guide.
For the accounting example:
| Filter or check | Starting choice | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Industry | Accounting | Find firms offering accounting services |
| Headquarters location | United Kingdom | Match the market the agency serves |
| Company headcount | 11–50 | Start with firms likely to have a team and an accessible decision-maker |
| Website review | Confirm it is an accounting practice | Remove software vendors, directories and other mismatches |
| Service fit | Look at the services the firm offers | Check whether your website work would be relevant |
Headquarters location describes the company, not necessarily the location of every employee or office. If you sell to regional branches, check the branch itself before removing a company headquartered elsewhere.
Review around ten results before you save hundreds. Open their websites and ask: “Would our normal website project make sense for this business?” If you would have to change your service completely, it belongs in another search.
2. Save suitable companies into one clear list
Click Save beside an account and choose a list or create one. LinkedIn also supports searching for people within an account list. LinkedIn's getting-started guide.
Name this example list “UK accounting firms — website projects.” The name tells a teammate why these companies belong together.
Saving a company means you want to research it further. It does not mean the company needs a new website. A firm with a clear, recently rebuilt site may be a good industry match but a poor prospect for this particular offer.
3. Find people within those companies
Move to Lead Search and use your saved account list to keep the search inside the companies you chose. Start with likely roles, then read the profiles. LinkedIn provides filters for title, function and seniority. Available lead filters.
For smaller accounting firms, check titles such as owner, partner or managing partner. For firms with a marketing team, look for the marketing manager or director. These are examples to investigate, not proof of who controls the budget.
Do separate searches if the roles are too different. Stacking title, seniority and function filters can remove people whose profiles describe the same job in a different way.
If no suitable person appears, check the firm's team page. The person responsible for the website may have a broad title such as practice manager. A short question can confirm their role:
Hi Priya, we build websites for accounting firms. Do you look after the firm's website, or does someone else handle it?
This is more useful than guessing that the most senior person must own the project.
4. Find one specific reason to contact the person
Now review the company website and the person's relevant public activity. Look for a connection between what you sell and what is happening at the firm.
For the website agency, that might be a new payroll service that has been announced but is difficult to find on the website. Check the navigation and site search before concluding there is no page.
Your note could look like this:
| What to record | Example |
|---|---|
| Person and company | Priya, partner at Example Accountants |
| Observed fact | The firm announced a payroll service on its company page |
| Website check | No dedicated payroll page found in the menu or site search |
| Source | Announcement link, website link and date checked |
| Question to ask | Is a payroll page already planned? |
The note has a practical purpose: it gives you a factual opening and stops a teammate having to repeat the research. It does not need to become a long profile of the person.
If you cannot find a timely change, use a straightforward question about the relevant task. You do not need to invent an urgent problem. You can also save the person for later instead of contacting them now.
5. Write a message that fits what you found
Here is an invented first message for the accounting example:
Hi Priya, I saw the announcement about your new payroll service. I couldn't find a page explaining it on the website. Is that already being worked on? We build websites for accounting firms, so I thought it was worth asking.
Priya can reply that the page is already planned, ask what you offer or tell you who handles it. Each answer helps you decide what to do next.
Compare that with “I noticed you are a partner at an accounting firm. We offer innovative web solutions.” The second message repeats information from a profile without explaining why the offer is relevant.
Before sending, check that the observation is still true. If the payroll page appeared yesterday, change the message. Our cold LinkedIn message templates include examples for other situations and the replies that follow.
6. Use saved leads and saved searches for different jobs
Save a lead when you want to follow a particular person. Save a search when you want to find new matches to the same criteria. Sales Navigator can surface lead updates and alert you to new search results. LinkedIn's guide to saved leads and searches.
For this agency, a weekly review might look like this:
- Check whether a saved person has changed company. If so, recheck the new firm before using the old message.
- Review new companies matching the accounting search and keep only those that fit the service.
- Revisit firms that announced a relevant change and check whether the website now reflects it.
- Look at existing conversations before contacting anyone, so you do not repeat a message a teammate already sent.
An alert is a prompt to look again. A job change alone does not tell you that someone needs a website or wants a sales call.
When the search results look wrong
Change the filter that explains the bad results. Do not broaden everything at once.
| What you see | What to check first |
|---|---|
| Too many unrelated businesses | Check the industry and actual company service; remove mismatches before finding people |
| Plenty of firms, but the wrong people | Adjust the role search while keeping the company list |
| Almost no people | Remove one optional role filter and try another title used for the same responsibility |
| People in the wrong country | Check person location separately from company headquarters |
| Correct profiles, but no reason to contact them | Review whether the offer solves a current problem; a filter match cannot supply that answer |
| The same person keeps returning | Check your saved lists and conversation notes before adding them again |
Keep a short note of what you changed. For example: “Removing the seniority filter found practice managers who handle the website.” That helps you repeat a useful search later.
Keep the conversation attached to the person
Once someone answers, save the outcome and the next action. “Payroll page already being built by existing agency; no help needed” is more useful than “Replied.” It stops the same pitch being sent again.
Use your CRM for the sales conversation if that is where your team already works. For automatic CRM connections, check both the supported partner and your plan. LinkedIn lists Embedded Experiences as an Advanced Plus feature available with selected partners. Sales Navigator integrations.
If you want to use Linkedify for campaign sequences and replies, confirm how your lead information would move between the tools before setting up the workflow. This guide does not assume a native Sales Navigator–Linkedify integration. Explore Linkedify.
Check whether the list is getting better
After reviewing a group, record how many people fit your offer and why you rejected the others. Then record how many relevant conversations began.
For example, if eight of ten companies are wrong, fix the company search. If the companies fit but the contacts keep saying “Speak to our practice manager,” change the role search. If suitable people understand the offer but do not need it, revisit the problem or timing before collecting more names.
Those are different issues. A larger saved list will not tell you which one needs attention.
Common questions
Should I start with account search or lead search?
Start with accounts when the company type determines whether your service fits, as in the accounting example. Lead search can be a useful starting point when you already know the company or need to find a particular role. Check both the person and their company before contacting them.
Does Sales Navigator send messages to everyone in a search?
Finding and saving leads is separate from contacting them. Review each person and use an available messaging route for a relevant conversation. A search result is not permission to send everyone the same pitch.
How narrow should the search be?
Narrow enough that the companies could use the same core offer. If most results require a different service or a different buyer, split them into separate searches. If there are almost no results, relax one optional filter and check what changes.
Is a job-change alert proof someone wants to buy?
No. It tells you their situation changed. Review their current company and responsibilities before deciding whether your service is relevant.
What should I measure?
Measure how many reviewed leads fit, how many useful conversations started and what next steps were agreed. A saved lead count measures the size of your list, not sales.