Sales Nav Search Cookbook

50 working Sales Navigator searches by use case. Copy the filter recipe; adapt to your ICP.

Convention: filters listed in priority order. Sales Nav syntax for filters is described in plain language; build them in the Sales Navigator UI as you read.

SECTION 01Founder-led prospecting

1. SaaS founders post-Series A

• Title: Founder OR Co-founder OR CEO
• Industries: Computer Software, IT Services
• Headcount: 11-200
• Recent activity (90d): Yes
• Geography: US, UK, Canada
• Total target: ~25K

2. SaaS founders raising soon

• Title: Founder OR CEO
• Headcount: 51-200
• Years at company: 3-7
• Posted in last 30 days about: funding, hiring, growth
• Total target: ~12K

3. Bootstrapped SaaS founders

• Title: Founder
• Industries: SaaS-adjacent
• Headcount: 11-50
• Function: Engineering OR Product OR Founder
• Posted recently: Yes
• Total target: ~30K (filter further by recent post topics)

SECTION 02Sales leadership

4. CROs at fast-growing SaaS

• Title: Chief Revenue Officer OR CRO
• Headcount: 51-1000
• Industries: Software
• Years in current position: 0-2
• Total target: ~8K

5. New VP Sales hires

• Title: VP Sales OR Vice President Sales
• Years in current position: 0-1 (recently hired)
• Headcount: 51-500
• Total target: ~15K

6. Heads of Revenue at startups

• Title: Head of Revenue OR VP Revenue
• Headcount: 11-200
• Industries: SaaS, Tech Services
• Total target: ~6K

SECTION 03Marketing leadership

7. CMOs at scaling B2B

• Title: Chief Marketing Officer OR CMO
• Headcount: 51-1000
• Industries: B2B-relevant
• Years in role: 1-5
• Total target: ~20K

8. Fractional CMOs (signal: solo or boutique)

• Title: Fractional CMO OR Interim CMO OR CMO Advisor
• Headcount: 1-10 (their consulting practice)
• Total target: ~3K

9. Marketing leaders just promoted

• Title: VP Marketing OR Head of Marketing
• Years in current position: 0-1
• Headcount: 51-500
• Total target: ~12K

SECTION 04Recruiters and HR

10. Boutique recruiting principals

• Title: Founder OR President OR Managing Partner
• Industries: Staffing & Recruiting
• Headcount: 1-50
• Total target: ~14K

11. In-house talent leaders at scaling

• Title: Head of Talent OR VP People OR CHRO
• Headcount: 100-1000
• Industries: Tech, Software
• Years in role: 0-3
• Total target: ~10K

12. Heads of HR post-restructuring

• Title: CHRO OR VP People OR Head of People
• Recently posted about: restructuring, layoffs, organizational change
• Total target: Manual filter; ~3K

SECTION 05Financial services

13. Boutique RIAs (under $500M AUM)

• Title: Founder OR Principal OR Wealth Advisor
• Industries: Investment Management, Financial Services
• Headcount: 1-50
• Total target: ~22K

14. Family office principals

• Title: CEO OR Chief Investment Officer OR Managing Partner
• Industries: Investment Management
• Headcount: 1-20
• Total target: ~5K

15. Wealth advisors moving firms

• Title: Financial Advisor OR Wealth Advisor
• Years at current company: 0-1
• Total target: ~12K (recent movers)

SECTION 06Real estate (CRE focus)

16. Tenant-rep brokers, mid-market US

• Title: Senior Vice President OR Director OR Principal
• Industries: Real Estate, Commercial Real Estate
• Specialties (search keywords): "tenant representation"
• Geography: US top 30 markets
• Total target: ~6K

17. Investment sales brokers

• Title: Investment Sales OR Capital Markets
• Industries: Commercial Real Estate
• Years experience: 5+
• Total target: ~8K

18. Landlord-side brokers

• Title: Director OR Principal
• Industries: Real Estate
• Specialties: "landlord representation" OR "agency leasing"
• Total target: ~4K

SECTION 07Investors

19. Series A investors at active funds

• Title: Partner OR General Partner OR Principal
• Industries: Venture Capital, Private Equity
• Headcount: 11-50 (mid-sized funds)
• Total target: ~6K

20. Family-office investors

• Title: Partner OR Investment Director
• Industries: Capital Markets, Investment Management
• Headcount: 1-50
• Total target: ~4K

21. Angel investors

• Title: Angel Investor OR Investor
• Headcount: Self-employed OR 1-10
• Total target: ~25K (filter further by check size in profile)

SECTION 08Marketing and creative agencies

22. Agency principals (US-based)

• Title: Founder OR President OR CEO
• Industries: Marketing & Advertising, Public Relations & Communications
• Headcount: 11-100
• Geography: US
• Total target: ~30K

23. Specialist creative agencies

• Title: Founder OR Creative Director
• Industries: Design Services, Graphic Design
• Headcount: 11-50
• Total target: ~12K

SECTION 09Coaches, consultants, services

24. Operators-turned-consultants

• Title: Strategic Advisor OR Consultant
• Headcount: 1-10 (their practice)
• Years experience: 15+
• Total target: ~18K

25. Executive coaches

• Title: Executive Coach OR Leadership Coach
• Headcount: 1-10
• Specialties keywords: ICF, certified, fractional
• Total target: ~14K

SECTION 10Legal services

26. Boutique law firm partners

• Title: Partner OR Managing Partner
• Industries: Legal Services, Law Practice
• Headcount: 11-50
• Total target: ~22K

27. Specialty practice partners (M&A, IP, employment)

• Title: Partner
• Industries: Legal Services
• Specialties keyword: "M&A" OR "intellectual property" OR "employment"
• Total target: ~15K

SECTION 11Healthcare practices

28. Specialty practice owners

• Title: Founder OR Owner OR Principal
• Industries: Health, Wellness & Fitness OR Medical Practice
• Headcount: 1-50
• Total target: ~10K

29. Physician practice managers (B2B angle)

• Title: Practice Manager OR Director of Operations
• Industries: Medical Practice
• Headcount: 11-100
• Total target: ~6K

SECTION 12Manufacturing reps

30. Manufacturer's reps in Southeast US

• Title: Principal OR Owner OR President
• Industries: Manufacturing
• Geography: US Southeast
• Total target: ~8K

SECTION 13Hiring signals

31. Companies that just announced funding

• Recent activity: "raised", "Series A", "Series B" in last 30 days
• Headcount: 51-500
• Total target: Manual filter; ~5K

32. Recently profitable indicators

• Recent activity: "profitable", "operating profit", "EBITDA positive"
• Headcount: 100-1000
• Total target: Manual filter; ~3K

33. Just-hired CEOs

• Title: CEO OR Chief Executive Officer
• Years in current role: 0-1
• Total target: ~12K

SECTION 14Geographic plays

34. NYC tech founders

• Title: Founder OR CEO
• Industries: SaaS, Tech
• Geography: Greater NYC
• Headcount: 11-200
• Total target: ~6K

35. SF Bay Area enterprise CXOs

• Title: CEO OR CFO OR COO
• Industries: Software
• Geography: SF Bay Area
• Headcount: 100-2000
• Total target: ~8K

36. Texas tech founders

• Title: Founder OR CEO
• Industries: Tech
• Geography: Texas
• Total target: ~4K

SECTION 15Industry-specific niches

37. AI startup founders

• Title: Founder OR CEO
• Industries: AI, Machine Learning
• Headcount: 1-100
• Posted in last 30 days: Yes
• Total target: ~15K

38. Climate tech founders

• Title: Founder OR CEO
• Industries: Renewables, Cleantech
• Headcount: 11-200
• Total target: ~5K

39. Healthtech founders

• Title: Founder
• Industries: Health, Pharmaceuticals, Biotech
• Headcount: 11-200
• Total target: ~10K

SECTION 16Mid-market accounting firm partners

40. Tax-focused accounting partners

• Title: Partner OR Tax Partner
• Industries: Accounting
• Headcount: 11-200
• Total target: ~12K

41. Audit-focused accounting partners

• Title: Partner OR Audit Partner
• Industries: Accounting
• Headcount: 11-200
• Total target: ~10K

SECTION 17Insurance industry

42. Boutique commercial insurance brokers

• Title: Producer OR Principal OR Commercial Lines
• Industries: Insurance
• Headcount: 11-100
• Total target: ~14K

43. Niche specialty brokers

• Title: Specialty Broker OR Specialist Producer
• Industries: Insurance
• Specialties: Cyber OR Professional Liability OR Workers Comp
• Total target: ~8K

SECTION 18Manufacturing buyers

44. Plant managers at distributors

• Title: Plant Manager OR Operations Manager
• Industries: Manufacturing, Distribution
• Years in role: 0-2
• Total target: ~10K

45. New ops VPs at manufacturers

• Title: VP Operations OR Director of Operations
• Industries: Manufacturing
• Years in current role: 0-1
• Total target: ~8K

SECTION 19Higher-ed and nonprofit

46. University development directors

• Title: Director of Development OR VP Development
• Industries: Higher Education
• Total target: ~6K

47. Foundation program officers

• Title: Program Officer OR Senior Program Officer
• Industries: Nonprofit
• Total target: ~8K

SECTION 20Special-event triggers

48. Conference programming directors

• Title: Programming Director OR VP Programming OR Director of Events
• Industries: Events Services, Conferences
• Total target: ~4K

49. Corporate L&D leaders

• Title: Head of L&D OR VP Learning OR Director of Learning
• Headcount: 500+
• Total target: ~8K

50. Internal events leads

• Title: Head of Events OR Events Director
• Industries: B2B verticals
• Headcount: 200+
• Total target: ~6K

SECTION 21Tips on using this cookbook

• Always cap at under 2,500 results. LinkedIn only exposes the first 2,500 from a Sales Nav search.
• Run 3 candidate searches; keep 1. Compare result counts and quality manually before locking in.
• Refresh dynamic searches weekly. Searches tied to "posted in last 30 days" or "years in role" go stale fast.
• Test ICP fit on 10 random results. Pull 10 names by hand and verify they match your real ICP. If 3+ are off, the filters need tightening.
• Save successful searches with date. "RIA-boutique-2026-05-08" is a useful naming convention.