How to Generate B2B Leads on LinkedIn: Five Ways to Build a List
LinkedIn lead generation is turning LinkedIn's member data into a list of people worth contacting. There are five ways to build that list in Reachium: the built-in database, a Sales Navigator search, a standard LinkedIn search, a scrape of everyone who engaged with a post, or a CSV import. This is how to pick the right one before anyone burns two hours scraping the wrong thing.
Run it when: at the start of every campaign, right after the ICP is written.
Time: 10 minutes of decision, then whatever the chosen method takes.
Depends on: SOP 02, How to Define Your LinkedIn ICP and Offer. Without the ICP this decision cannot be made.
Last reviewed September 2026.
Before you build a lead list
The ICP one-liner and its trigger from SOP 02
A target list size in mind
A look at existing lists, so you do not rebuild one you already have
How to build a B2B lead list on LinkedIn
1. Check what already exists.
Open the lead lists first. Duplicate list names are rejected outright, and more usefully, half the time the list you were about to build is already sitting there from a campaign two months ago. Reuse beats rebuild.
2. If the ICP is investors, search the database.
VCs, family offices, PE firms: Reachium's own database holds more than 5 million B2B contacts and is strongest here, and it returns instantly without touching a LinkedIn seat. Go to SOP 06, B2B Prospecting Database.
3. If the trigger is a behaviour, scrape the behaviour.
This is the most underused path in the product. You can build a list from everyone who commented on a specific post, everyone who reacted to it, everyone engaging with a company page's recent posts, or the authors of posts matching a keyword search. Someone who commented on a post about your problem last week is a warmer lead than a title match. Commenters and reactors come back in the same call rather than running in the background.
All four run on any LinkedIn seat, each from its own page under the scraper, and all four need a lead list to already exist, so create it first.
4. If the ICP is a role and company shape, run a search scrape.
A Sales Navigator search gives the richest filters but needs a connected account holding a Sales Navigator seat. A standard LinkedIn search works from any account. Either way you build the search in the browser and paste the URL back. Go to SOP 05, How to Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to Generate Leads.
5. If the leads already live somewhere else, import them.
Apollo, ZoomInfo, Clay, Crunchbase, a CRM export, a conference attendee list. If you are already paying for one of those, or you need verified emails at volume, export a CSV and import it. Go to SOP 07, How to Import and Clean a LinkedIn Lead CSV.
6. Sanity-check the size before you commit.
Under 500 is too narrow, so drop a filter. 500 to 2,000 is the sweet spot for a targeted campaign. 2,000 to 5,000 suits a broader one. 5,000 to 10,000 wants narrowing. 50,000 plus means the ICP is not defined yet, so go back to SOP 02 rather than pressing on.
7. Know the pace before you start a scrape.
Sales Navigator scrapes run at roughly 2,500 profiles an hour and up to 10,000 a day; standard search and the behaviour-based types run at about 1,000 an hour and 4,000 a day. A 5,000-lead Sales Navigator scrape is a two-hour job, not a two-minute one. A scrape cannot be cancelled once it starts, so check the filters before you press go.
8. Refine after the fact rather than starting over.
Several scrapes can be merged into one deduped list. A list can be split by open-profile status so the open half feeds a free InMail campaign and the rest feeds a connect campaign. Both are additive and neither touches the source list. Never delete a list to "undo" a scrape: deleting is immediate and irreversible, and it can wipe hours of work.
9. Name it after the ICP.
The campaign name inherits from the list name, and future you will be reading it on a dashboard with twenty other rows.
Lead lists: do this, not this
Do this | Not this |
|---|---|
Check existing lists first | Rebuild a list that already exists |
Scrape commenters on a relevant post | Scrape a title match and hope for relevance |
Investors from the database | Investors from a LinkedIn scrape |
Verify filters before starting a scrape | Start it and try to cancel, which is not possible |
Merge and split lists to refine | Delete a list to start over |
"SaaS founders 11-50 US" | "Scrape July v2 final" |
Plan around 2,500 profiles an hour | Expect 5,000 leads in five minutes |
Two things the app owns
Importing your own connections or followers, and enriching an existing list with missing profile detail, both live on the scraper page in the app. They are not available over the assistant, so do them there.
Questions people ask
What is LinkedIn lead generation?
LinkedIn lead generation is finding people on LinkedIn who match a defined buyer profile, collecting them into a list, and contacting them through connection requests, messages or InMail. The list is the part that decides whether the rest works.
How do I generate B2B leads on LinkedIn?
Define the buyer, then pick one of five sources: a prospecting database, a Sales Navigator search, a standard LinkedIn search, a scrape of who commented on or reacted to a relevant post, or a CSV you already own. Behaviour beats a title match.
How many leads do I need to book a meeting?
On our own accounts, 37,551 connection requests produced 192 booked meetings: roughly 195 leads per meeting, end to end. Rates vary widely by ICP and offer, so treat that as a planning figure rather than a promise.
Can I build a LinkedIn lead list without Sales Navigator?
Yes. A Sales Navigator seat is only needed to scrape a Sales Navigator search URL. Standard LinkedIn search, post commenters, post reactors, company engagement and CSV import all run on a basic seat, and the database needs no LinkedIn action at all.
You are done when
The source is chosen and the reason for it can be said in one sentence
The expected result size lands in the 500 to 5,000 band
The list exists, or the scrape is running with a known finish time
The list name describes the ICP
Any merging or open-profile splitting is done before the campaign is built
Do it yourself. Open your lead lists in Reachium
Have our team do it for you. We build the lists, write the copy, run the campaigns and work the inbox. Book a call
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Next: SOP 05, 06 or 07, depending on what you chose · Back to the index
