Key Takeaways
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator allows you to identify followers of competitor company pages through advanced lead search filters
- The "Following" filter in Sales Navigator's lead search lets you target people who follow specific companies
- You can only directly view followers of company pages you admin; accessing competitor followers requires using lead search with company filters
- Combining the follower filter with other criteria (job title, location, industry) helps you build highly targeted prospect lists
- This technique is most effective when used ethically for competitive intelligence and targeted outreach, not mass scraping
Understanding LinkedIn Sales Navigator's Follower Access
LinkedIn Sales Navigator offers powerful search capabilities that go far beyond what's available with a free LinkedIn account. One of its most valuable but underutilized features is the ability to identify people who follow specific company pages—including your competitors'.
However, there's an important distinction to understand: Sales Navigator allows you to directly view followers only for company pages you personally admin. For competitor pages, you'll use the lead search function with follower filters to identify potential prospects who have shown interest in competing brands.
This capability is valuable because someone who follows a competitor's page has already demonstrated interest in your industry, making them a warmer prospect than cold outreach targets.
Prerequisites: What You'll Need
Before you can access competitor follower data, you'll need:
LinkedIn Sales Navigator Subscription You must have an active Sales Navigator subscription (Core, Advanced, or Advanced Plus). The free LinkedIn account or even Premium Career/Business subscriptions don't provide access to these advanced search filters.
Clear Competitor List Identify which competitor company pages you want to target. Have their exact company names ready, as you'll need to search for them precisely within Sales Navigator.
Defined Ideal Customer Profile Know what additional filters you'll apply beyond just "follows competitor X." This might include job titles, seniority levels, geographic locations, or company sizes that match your ideal customer profile.
Step-by-Step: Finding Competitor Company Page Followers
Step 1: Navigate to Sales Navigator Lead Search
From your LinkedIn homepage, click the Sales Nav icon in the upper right corner to access Sales Navigator. Once there, click on Leads in the left sidebar to access the lead search interface.
This is your primary workspace for building targeted prospect lists based on various criteria.
Step 2: Use the Account Search First (Optional)
Before searching for followers, you may want to verify the exact company name as it appears in Sales Navigator:
- Click on Accounts instead of Leads
- Search for your competitor's company name
- Click on their company profile to confirm it's the right organization
- Note the exact name as it appears
This step helps ensure you're targeting the correct company, especially if there are similar company names or multiple entities under the same brand.
Step 3: Apply the "Following" Filter in Lead Search
Return to the Leads search section. Look for the Following filter in the left sidebar (you may need to click "All Filters" to see it).
When you click on the Following filter, you'll see options to search for people who follow specific companies. Type in your competitor's company name and select it from the dropdown.
Important limitation: Sales Navigator will only show you people within your network degree (typically 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-degree connections) or those who have public profiles. You won't see every single follower of that page—only those LinkedIn's algorithm determines you can view based on privacy settings and network connections.
Step 4: Add Additional Targeting Filters
Don't stop at just the follower filter. Refine your search by adding:
Job Title or Function Target specific roles like "Marketing Director," "VP of Sales," or "Chief Technology Officer" depending on who your ideal buyer is.
Seniority Level Filter by seniority (Entry, Manager, Director, VP, C-Level) to focus on decision-makers.
Geography Add location filters if you only serve specific regions or want to prioritize local prospects.
Company Size Filter by employee count if your solution is designed for enterprises, mid-market, or small businesses.
Industry Narrow down to specific industries that are the best fit for your offering.
The more specific your filters, the more qualified your prospect list will be.
Step 5: Save Your Search
Once you've built a search that returns relevant prospects, click Save Search at the top of the results. Give it a descriptive name like "Competitor X Followers - Marketing Directors - US."
Sales Navigator will now alert you when new people match your search criteria, allowing you to continuously identify new prospects who follow your competitor's page.
Step 6: Review and Export Your Results
Scroll through the results to review the profiles. Sales Navigator will show you:
- How you're connected to each person
- Their current role and company
- Recent activity and posts
- Shared connections
- Whether they've engaged with your content
You can export this list (up to 2,500 leads with Advanced or Advanced Plus) or add individuals to a lead list within Sales Navigator for organized outreach.
Viewing Your Own Company Page Followers
If you're an admin of your own company page, Sales Navigator offers a more direct way to view your followers:
- Go to Leads in Sales Navigator
- Click on any existing lead list or create a new one
- Look for the filter option "Leads that follow your company on LinkedIn"
- This will show you individuals who have followed your page and are within your searchable network
This feature is particularly useful for identifying warm leads who have already expressed interest in your brand but may not have been contacted yet.
Advanced Techniques for Competitive Intelligence
Comparing Multiple Competitors
Create separate saved searches for each major competitor. By comparing the results, you can identify:
- Prospects who follow multiple competitors (highly engaged in your space)
- Unique followers of each competitor (potential market segments)
- Common job titles and industries across all competitor followers
This comparative analysis helps you understand the competitive landscape and identify untapped opportunities.
Combining with Engagement Signals
Within Sales Navigator, you can add filters for recent activity:
- Posted on LinkedIn in the last 30 days: Identifies active users more likely to respond
- Changed jobs in the last 90 days: People in new roles may be evaluating new vendors
- Mentioned in the news: High-profile prospects worth prioritizing
Combining follower data with engagement signals creates hyper-targeted prospect lists.
Tracking Competitor Content Performance
If you have a Premium Company Page subscription, you can access enhanced competitor analytics that show:
- Trending posts from competitors
- Engagement rates on competitor content
- Follower growth trends
This information helps you understand what content resonates with the audience you're both targeting, informing your own content strategy.
Ethical Considerations and Best Practices
Respect Privacy and LinkedIn's Terms of Service
While Sales Navigator provides access to this data, it's important to use it ethically:
- Don't use automated scraping tools that violate LinkedIn's Terms of Service
- Respect people's privacy and don't spam them with unsolicited messages
- Focus on building genuine relationships, not just extracting data
Personalize Your Outreach
When reaching out to competitor followers, don't immediately mention that you know they follow a competitor. Instead:
- Reference their specific role or recent posts
- Offer genuine value or insights relevant to their challenges
- Build rapport before pitching your solution
Generic messages that clearly come from a mass list will damage your reputation and get poor response rates.
Avoid Creating Burner Accounts
Some guides suggest creating "burner" LinkedIn accounts to access competitor data. This violates LinkedIn's Terms of Service and can result in:
- Account suspension or permanent ban
- Damage to your professional reputation
- Legal issues if you're scraping data at scale
Use your legitimate account and Sales Navigator subscription to access data through proper channels.
Limitations and Workarounds
You Can't See All Followers
LinkedIn's privacy settings mean you'll only see a subset of competitor followers—typically those within your extended network or with public profiles. You won't get a complete list of every single follower.
Workaround: Focus on quality over quantity. The followers you can see are often more relevant anyway since they're within your network sphere.
Follower Data Isn't Real-Time
There may be a delay between when someone follows a page and when they appear in your Sales Navigator search results.
Workaround: Set up saved searches with alerts so you're notified as new matches appear over time.
Some Companies Have Private Pages
Certain companies restrict their page visibility, making it harder to identify their followers.
Workaround: Focus on competitors with active, public company pages and supplement with other prospecting methods.
Integrating Follower Data into Your Sales Process
Building Targeted Campaigns
Use competitor follower lists to create targeted outreach campaigns:
- Segment by persona: Group followers by job function or seniority
- Craft tailored messaging: Address specific pain points relevant to each segment
- Test and iterate: Track response rates and refine your approach
Enriching Your CRM
Export follower lists from Sales Navigator and import them into your CRM. Enrich these records with:
- Company information
- Recent funding or news
- Technology stack data
- Intent signals from other sources
This creates a comprehensive view of each prospect before you reach out.
Monitoring Competitive Wins and Losses
Track when prospects who follow competitors also start following your page. This can indicate:
- Successful content marketing efforts
- Growing brand awareness in competitive accounts
- Potential buying signals (they're researching alternatives)
Similarly, if your followers start following competitors, it may signal dissatisfaction or active evaluation of alternatives.
Measuring Success
Track these metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of targeting competitor followers:
- Connection acceptance rate: Are competitor followers more likely to connect than cold prospects?
- Response rate: Do they engage with your outreach messages?
- Conversion rate: How many become qualified opportunities or customers?
- Time to close: Do they move through your pipeline faster than other sources?
If competitor follower lists outperform other prospecting sources, allocate more resources to this strategy.
Alternative Approaches
If you don't have Sales Navigator or want to supplement this approach:
Engage with Competitor Content
Comment on and engage with your competitors' LinkedIn posts. You'll see who else is engaging, and these people are often followers or interested prospects.
Join Industry Groups
LinkedIn Groups where your competitors are active often contain the same audience. Participate authentically to build relationships.
Monitor Competitor Employee Networks
Look at who's connected to your competitors' sales and marketing teams. These are often customers, prospects, or industry peers worth connecting with.
Use Content to Attract Competitor Followers
Create valuable content that addresses the same pain points your competitors target. Over time, their followers will discover and follow you as well.
Conclusion
LinkedIn Sales Navigator's ability to identify competitor company page followers is a powerful tool for competitive intelligence and targeted prospecting. By combining the follower filter with other targeting criteria, you can build highly qualified prospect lists of people who have already demonstrated interest in your industry.
The key to success is using this data ethically and strategically—not for mass outreach, but for personalized, value-driven engagement. When done right, targeting competitor followers can significantly improve your prospecting efficiency and help you win deals in competitive situations.
Remember that this is just one component of a comprehensive prospecting strategy. Combine it with inbound marketing, referrals, content creation, and other outreach methods for the best results. The goal isn't just to access competitor follower data—it's to build genuine relationships with prospects who are actively seeking solutions in your space.