LinkedIn has more than 1 billion members.
How can you make your personal or business profile stand out with this much competition?
First, you must choose the right account type for you.
With a variety of LinkedIn account types at your disposal, understanding how each one of them works is crucial for your career success.
We'll take look a each account type, so you can choose the best one for you.
The first step in LinkedIn is setting up your free LinkedIn account.
This serves as a launchpad for your career, enabling you to create a detailed profile, connect with colleagues, and explore many job opportunities.
The free account is a solid tool for those starting to carve their professional niche or for seasoned experts to maintain an established network.
A well-crafted LinkedIn profile is your digital resume, and personal brand rolled into one. It showcases your skills, experience, and professional achievements to potential employers and connections.
You can search for jobs using basic filters, apply to positions, and receive job alerts tailored to your interests by leveraging the free account.
The free account also lets you join LinkedIn groups and participate in discussions, enhancing your visibility and engagement within your industry.
While the free LinkedIn account is a powerful tool in its own right, it is pretty limited terms of the platform's full potential.
LinkedIn Premium is a powerful ally for those seeking to amplify their professional presence and unlock advanced capabilities.
Its enhanced services are designed to propel your career, sales, and recruiting efforts to new heights, offering many tools beyond the scope of a free account.
Here's how much you have to pay for each LinkedIn Premium account:
With a Premium Career subscription, users gain access to advanced job search filters, detailed insights into who viewed their profile, and the ability to message recruiters directly.
This level of access can significantly increase your chances of landing your dream job.
It equips you with sophisticated algorithms to discover and connect with potential leads.
It offers deeper search functionality and personalized algorithms to help you find the right prospects.
For talent acquisition professionals, Recruiter Lite is an essential tool. It provides advanced search filters to pinpoint ideal candidates, a larger InMail capacity, and tracking features to manage your recruitment pipeline efficiently.
Expanding your business network has never been easier with LinkedIn Premium Business. This tier offers unlimited searches in your extended network, business insights, and additional InMail messages, facilitating global connection and collaboration.
Each LinkedIn Premium account type is crafted to cater to distinct professional needs, whether a job seeker, a sales expert, a recruiter, or a business leader looking to expand their enterprise.
As professionals continuously improve and learn, LinkedIn Learning offers a full library of online courses and resources.
This platform provides subscribers unrestricted access to an extensive library of educational content, ranging from bite-sized tutorials to comprehensive courses across various industries and disciplines.
With LinkedIn Learning, users can dive into thousands of expert-led courses designed to foster professional development.
Topics cover everything from leadership and management to creative design, programming, and more.
Leveraging the power of LinkedIn Learning can significantly contribute to career advancement.
By acquiring new skills and certifications, professionals can showcase their commitment to growth and stand out in the job market or their current workplace.
Integrating LinkedIn Learning into one's professional journey offers the flexibility to learn at one's own pace.
LinkedIn Learning is a dynamic resource that aligns with your career aspirations and educational needs, whether you're looking to upskill, reskill, or simply explore new areas of interest.
LinkedIn Premium unveils many exclusive features that can transform how professionals connect and communicate.
Among the most notable is LinkedIn InMail, a powerful tool that allows direct messaging to anyone on LinkedIn, even if they are not a connection.
Premium users can reach out to industry leaders, potential employers, or prospective clients without any prior connection.
This feature breaks down networking barriers and opens up new opportunities for collaboration and career progression.
The variety of Premium accounts cater to different professional needs.
From Premium Sales Navigator with advanced sales tools to Premium Career designed for job seekers, each account offers a tailored set of features.
LinkedIn Premium accounts provide a competitive edge, whether leveraging InMail to initiate conversations with key decision-makers or using advanced search capabilities to find the right opportunities.
These extras enhance visibility and reach and equip professionals with the tools needed for strategic networking and targeted outreach.
LinkedIn continuously updates and improves its products to keep up with professionals’ busy schedules.
They have introduced Sponsored Inmail to better manage and personalize your InMail campaigns.
But what can it actually do?
LinkedIn recognizes its user base's diversity and their varied needs.
This has given rise to specialized LinkedIn accounts such as Sales Navigator Advanced and other niche offerings catering to specific professional community segments.
For those in sales and business development, LinkedIn Sales Navigator Advanced provides a set of sophisticated tools designed to enhance lead generation and foster meaningful business relationships.
Among the added features in Sales Navigator Advanced, you can find TeamLink.
With TeamLink, you can grow your network with the connections and networks of your colleagues.
This platform also offers advanced search capabilities, lead recommendations, and real-time insights into accounts and contacts.
Each specialized account comes with its own set of features and benefits tailored to meet the unique demands of its users.
Whether you're a recruiter, a sales professional, or an entrepreneur, LinkedIn has a subscription service designed to help you maximize your online professional activities.
Users can leverage a more targeted approach to networking and business strategy by choosing a specialized LinkedIn account.
These accounts are built with precision to provide relevant tools and insights that align with niche audiences' specific tasks and challenges, ensuring that every interaction on LinkedIn is as effective and efficient as possible.
As businesses grow and evolve, the need for scalable networking and talent solutions becomes crucial.
LinkedIn offers a range of account types designed to support teams and enterprises in their quest to build a stronger professional presence and foster connections that lead to tangible results.
From LinkedIn Premium Business to LinkedIn Sales Navigator Enterprise, these accounts provide enhanced features like unlimited searches, more InMail credits, and advanced analytics.
They are engineered to support collaboration among team members, streamline lead acquisition, and facilitate more strategic decision-making.
You can combine Sales Navigator Advanced Plus with your CRM to amplify and improve your data.
With Sales Navigator Advanced Plus, you will also receive personalized insights.
For example, with the Champions list, you can identify when your leads move to a new company. Or the At-Risk list, to know when they are leaving an open deal.
How do they help? Organizations report improved visibility, higher engagement rates, and increased opportunities for growth after leveraging the platform's specialized business tools.
LinkedIn's business accounts offer robust tools to help businesses of all sizes maximize their LinkedIn experience.
By tapping into these resources, companies can better position themselves in the competitive landscape, ensuring that every connection and conversation adds value to their business objectives.
As professionals navigate their career journeys or as businesses evolve, the need to transition between different LinkedIn account types may arise.
When upgrading or downgrading your LinkedIn account, you should understand how to keep your professional tools aligned with your current objectives and future goals.
Upgrading to a LinkedIn Premium account is straightforward.
Simply click on “Try Premium” and you’ll get a list of options.
However, downgrading requires considering the timing to align with the billing cycle and what features will no longer be available.
It's important to review the benefits of each account type and assess how they match your career or business needs before making a change.
Things to Consider Before Shifting: Before transitioning to a different account type, consider the long-term impact on your networking, job search, or lead generation strategies.
Will the advanced analytics of a Premium Business account significantly benefit your team?
Does the Sales Navigator align with your sales goals?
Reflecting on these questions can help you make an informed decision supporting your professional aspirations.
Transitioning between LinkedIn account types should be a strategic move that propels you toward your professional targets.
By carefully considering your needs and the features available, you can select and switch to the LinkedIn account that best fits your career path or business strategy.
-> A free LinkedIn account can be a powerful job search and networking tool.
-> For those looking to further their career or business goals, LinkedIn offers various Premium options, including Premium Career, Sales Navigator, and LinkedIn Learning.
-> Your professional goals should drive your decision to invest in a LinkedIn Premium account. Choose the account that aligns with your objectives and offers the features that will most effectively help you achieve them.
-> The right LinkedIn Premium account is out there to help you reach new opportunities and guide you toward your goals.
G2 Rating | Price | Best for | Standout feature | Con | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.9 star star star star star | $30/mo $75/mo $2,999/mo | Large, distributed sales teams | AI evaluation precision, gamified KPIs | Lack of tracking system | |
4.6 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Sales operations and finance teams | Powerful configurability | Limited training resources and complex to navigate | |
4.4 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Mid-market and enterprise businesses | Comprehensive incentive management | Potentially high cost and steep learning curve | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | $15/user/mo $40/user/mo Enterprise: custom price | Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes | Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes | Steep learning curve | |
4.6 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Collaborative teams | Connected planning | Complexity and steep learning curve | |
4.6 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies with complex sales structures | Complex incentive compensation management (ICM) with high efficiency and accuracy | Complexity for smaller teams and potentially high costs | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies who want to automate commission calculations and payouts | Simplicity and ease of use | Lack of features like redirection | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | $30/user/mo $35/user/mo Custom: upon request | Businesses that need a comprehensive and user-friendly sales compensation management software | Ease of use and adoption | Lack of ability to configure the product based on user needs | |
4.8 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies with modern sales culture and businesses who want real-time insights | A built-in dispute management and real-time visibility | Users say it works slowly, customer support is slow | |
4.9 star star star star star | $30/user/mo $50/user/mo | Smaller sales teams | Powerful automation | Lesser user base and average user interface | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Not publicly available | Companies with scalable needs | Automated Commission Calculations | Lack of filtering by date, no mobile app |
PRM Tool | Rating | Feature | Pro | Con | Mobile App | Integrations | Free Plan | Pricing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.65 star star star star star-half | Org-wide alignment | User-friendly layout and database | Suboptimal as a personal CRM | square-check | Lack of tracking system | square-check | Team: $20/month Business: $45/month | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Social Media Integration | Easy contact data collection | No marketing/sales features | square-check | Lack of tracking system | square-xmark 7-day trial | $12/month | |
4.75 star star star star star-half | Block Functions | High customization capability | Not a dedicated CRM | square-check | Limited | square-check | Plus: €7.50/month Business: €14/month | |
N/A | Open-source | Open-source flexibility | Requires extensive manual input | square-xmark | Limited | square-check Self-hosted | $9/month or $90/year | |
3.1 star star star | Simple iOS app | Ideal for non-tech-savvy users | iPhone only | square-check iOS only | Limited | square-xmark 1-month trial | $1.49/month or $14.99/month | |
3.6 star star star star-half | Smart Contact Management | Feature-rich and flexible | Reported bugs | square-check | Rich | square-xmark 7-day trial | Premium: $13.99/month Teams: $17.99/month | |
4.4 star star star star star-half | Customizable Interface | Customizable for teamwork | Pricey for personal use | square-check | Rich | square-xmark | Standard: $24/member Premium: $39/member | |
4.7 star star star star star-half | Integrated Calling | Integrated Calling | Too sales-oriented & pricey | square-check | Rich | square-xmark 14-day trial | Startup: $59/user/month Professional: $329/user/month | |
4.8 star star star star star | Business Card Scanning | Business Card Scanning | Mobile only | square-check | Limited | square-check | $9.99/month | |
4.45 star star star star star-half | 160+ app integrations | Comprehensive integrations | No free app version | square-check | Rich | square-xmark 14-day trial | $29.90/month or $24.90/month (billed annually) |
Capterra Rating | Free Trial | Free Plan | Starting Price (excluding the free plan) | Maximum Price (for the most expensive plan) | Best for | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.5 star star star star star-half | square-check 14-day | square-check | €15/month/seat billed annually | €792/month/3 seats billed annually + €45/month for each extra seat | Versatility and free plan | |
4.2 star star star star | square-check 30-day | square-xmark But it offers reduced price to authorised nonprofit organisations | €25/user/month | €500/user/month billed annually (includes Einstein AI) | Best overall operational CRM | |
4.3 star star star star star-half | square-xmark | square-check Limited to 3 users | Comprehensive incentive management | €52/user/month billed annually | Small-medium businesses and automation | |
4.5 star star star star star-half | square-check 14-day | square-xmark | €14/seat/month billed annually | €99/seat/month billed annually | Sales teams and ease of use | |
4.1 star star star star | square-xmark | square-check Limited 10 users | $9.99/user/month billed annually | $64.99/user/month billed annually | Free plan for very small teams up to 10 |
CRM goal | Increase the sales conversion rate for qualified leads from marketing automation campaigns by 10% in the next 6 months. | ||||
SMART Breakdown | 1. Specific: It targets a specific area (conversion rate) for a defined segment (qualified leads from marketing automation). | 2. Measurable: The desired increase (10%) is a clear metric, and the timeframe (6 months) allows for progress tracking. | 3. Achievable: A 10% increase is possible based on historical data and potential improvements. | 4. Relevant: Boosting sales from marketing efforts aligns with overall business objectives. | 5. Time-bound: The 6-month timeframe creates urgency and a clear target date. |
Actions | Step 1: Refine lead qualification criteria to ensure high-quality leads are nurtured through marketing automation. | Step 2: Personalize marketing automation campaigns based on lead demographics, interests, and behavior. | Step 3: Develop targeted landing pages with clear calls to action for qualified leads. | Step 4: Implement lead scoring to prioritize high-potential leads for sales follow-up. | Step 5: Track and analyze campaign performance to identify areas for optimization. |
Outcomes | Increased sales and revenue | Improved marketing automation ROI | Marketing and sales alignment | Data-driven marketing optimization |