How to Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator Boolean Search: 15 Real Boolean Search Strings That Actually Work
Master LinkedIn Sales Navigator Boolean search with copy-paste search strings for finding decision-makers, C-suite executives, and qualified B2B leads. Updated for 2025.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator is the most powerful B2B prospecting tool available today, but most sales professionals use less than 10% of its capabilities. The difference between average SDRs and top performers often comes down to one skill: Boolean search mastery.
Boolean search allows you to combine keywords with logical operators to create precise, targeted searches that cut through the noise and surface exactly the prospects you need. Instead of scrolling through thousands of irrelevant profiles, you can build search strings that deliver qualified leads ready for outreach.
This guide provides 15 ready-to-use Boolean search strings for different B2B scenarios, along with the foundational knowledge you need to create your own custom searches.
What is LinkedIn Sales Navigator Boolean Search?
LinkedIn Boolean search is a query technique that combines keywords with logical operators—AND, OR, NOT, quotation marks, and parentheses—to filter search results with precision. It transforms Sales Navigator from a basic directory into a surgical lead generation tool.
In Sales Navigator, you can use Boolean search in three key fields: the global keyword search bar (which searches entire profiles), the current job title field (which searches only current positions), and the company field.
The Five Boolean Operators You Need to Know
Before diving into specific search strings, you need to understand the five operators that power Boolean logic. Each serves a distinct purpose in narrowing or expanding your search.
1. AND – Combine Multiple Requirements
The AND operator narrows your search by requiring both terms to appear in the profile. LinkedIn automatically applies AND between separate words, but using it explicitly makes your intent clear.
Marketing AND SaaS
This returns profiles containing both "Marketing" and "SaaS" somewhere in their profile data.
2. OR – Include Multiple Variations
The OR operator expands your search by including profiles that match any of the specified terms. This is essential for capturing job title variations and synonyms.
CEO OR Founder OR "Managing Director"
This returns profiles with any of these three terms, significantly broadening your reach to capture leadership roles with different titles.
3. NOT – Exclude Unwanted Results
The NOT operator removes specific terms from your results. This is crucial for filtering out irrelevant profiles that share keywords with your target audience.
"Vice President" NOT Assistant
This returns VP-level profiles while excluding "Assistant to the Vice President" and similar subordinate roles.
4. Quotation Marks – Search Exact Phrases
Enclosing terms in straight quotation marks forces LinkedIn to find that exact phrase. This is essential for multi-word job titles and prevents false matches.
"Chief Marketing Officer"
Important: LinkedIn only supports straight quotes. Curly or smart quotes from Word or Google Docs will not work and may cause your search to fail silently.
5. Parentheses – Group Complex Logic
Parentheses group terms together and control the order of operations. They're essential when combining multiple operators in a single search.
(CEO OR Founder) AND (SaaS OR "Software as a Service")
This searches for executives (CEO or Founder) who are specifically in the SaaS industry.
Order of Operations
LinkedIn processes Boolean operators in this order: Quotation marks first, then parentheses, then NOT, then AND, and finally OR. Understanding this hierarchy helps you construct searches that behave as expected.
15 LinkedIn Boolean Search Strings That Actually Work
These search strings are designed for the Current Job Title field in Sales Navigator unless otherwise noted. Copy them directly and modify the industry-specific terms for your use case.
1. Find C-Suite Decision Makers
Best for: Enterprise sales, high-ticket B2B products
(CEO OR "Chief Executive Officer" OR CFO OR "Chief Financial Officer" OR COO OR "Chief Operating Officer" OR CTO OR "Chief Technology Officer" OR CMO OR "Chief Marketing Officer") NOT (Assistant OR Intern OR Junior)
This comprehensive string captures all major C-suite variations while excluding subordinate roles. Use with company size filters for enterprise targeting.
2. Target SaaS Company Founders and Executives
Best for: SaaS vendors, startup-focused sales
(Founder OR "Co-Founder" OR CEO OR "Managing Director") AND (SaaS OR "Software as a Service" OR B2B OR "cloud software")
Combines executive titles with SaaS-specific keywords to find decision-makers at software companies.
3. Find Marketing Leaders for MarTech Sales
Best for: Marketing technology vendors, agencies
(CMO OR "Chief Marketing Officer" OR "VP Marketing" OR "Vice President Marketing" OR "Head of Marketing" OR "Director of Marketing") AND ("demand generation" OR "lead generation" OR "growth marketing") NOT (Fractional OR Consultant OR Agency)
Targets in-house marketing leaders focused on demand gen while filtering out fractional CMOs and agency professionals.
4. Identify Sales Leaders and Revenue Executives
Best for: Sales enablement tools, CRM vendors
("VP Sales" OR "Vice President Sales" OR "Head of Sales" OR "Director of Sales" OR CRO OR "Chief Revenue Officer" OR "Sales Director") NOT ("Sales Development" OR SDR OR BDR OR Intern)
Captures senior sales leadership while excluding SDR/BDR managers and individual contributors.
5. Find IT and Technology Decision Makers
Best for: IT services, cybersecurity, infrastructure vendors
(CTO OR "Chief Technology Officer" OR CIO OR "Chief Information Officer" OR "VP Engineering" OR "VP IT" OR "Director of IT" OR "IT Director" OR CISO) NOT (Junior OR Associate OR Analyst)
Broad coverage of technology leadership including security-focused roles with CISO inclusion.
6. Target HR and People Operations Leaders
Best for: HR tech, recruiting platforms, benefits providers
(CHRO OR "Chief People Officer" OR "VP Human Resources" OR "VP HR" OR "Head of People" OR "Director of HR" OR "People Operations") NOT (Recruiter OR Coordinator OR Specialist)
Focuses on strategic HR leadership rather than operational recruiters and HR specialists.
7. Find Finance and Procurement Decision Makers
Best for: Financial services, procurement software, expense management
(CFO OR "Chief Financial Officer" OR "VP Finance" OR "Finance Director" OR "Head of Procurement" OR "Director of Procurement" OR Controller) NOT (Assistant OR Junior OR Analyst)
Covers both finance leadership and procurement roles for selling solutions with budget implications.
8. Target Operations and RevOps Professionals
Best for: Operations software, workflow automation, data tools
("Revenue Operations" OR RevOps OR "Sales Operations" OR "Marketing Operations" OR "Business Operations") AND (Director OR Head OR VP OR Lead OR Manager) NOT (Intern OR Coordinator)
Captures the growing RevOps function across its various titles and focuses on decision-making levels.
9. Find Product Leaders and Managers
Best for: Product analytics, roadmapping tools, UX research platforms
("Chief Product Officer" OR CPO OR "VP Product" OR "Head of Product" OR "Director of Product" OR "Senior Product Manager" OR "Group Product Manager") NOT ("Product Marketing" OR Associate OR Junior)
Targets product leadership while excluding product marketing roles and junior PMs.
10. Identify Startup Founders (Seed to Series B)
Best for: Startup-focused services, early-stage tools
(Founder OR "Co-Founder" OR CEO) AND (startup OR "Series A" OR "Series B" OR "seed funding" OR "venture backed")
Use with company headcount filters (1-50 or 51-200 employees) to refine by company stage.
11. Find Agency Owners and Directors
Best for: White-label services, agency tools, reseller partnerships
(Owner OR Founder OR "Managing Director" OR Principal OR Partner) AND (agency OR "marketing agency" OR "digital agency" OR "creative agency" OR consultancy)
Targets agency leadership for partnership and reseller opportunities.
12. Target E-commerce and DTC Leaders
Best for: E-commerce platforms, Shopify apps, logistics solutions
("Head of E-commerce" OR "E-commerce Director" OR "VP E-commerce" OR "Director of Digital" OR "Head of DTC" OR "DTC Manager") AND (Shopify OR Magento OR "direct to consumer" OR "online retail")
Combines e-commerce titles with platform and business model keywords for precise targeting.
13. Find Customer Success and Support Leaders
Best for: CS platforms, support tools, retention software
("VP Customer Success" OR "Head of Customer Success" OR "Director of Customer Success" OR CCO OR "Chief Customer Officer" OR "VP Support" OR "Director of Support") NOT (Associate OR Representative OR Agent)
Targets strategic customer success leadership rather than frontline support roles.
14. Identify Data and Analytics Decision Makers
Best for: Data platforms, BI tools, analytics software
(CDO OR "Chief Data Officer" OR "VP Data" OR "Head of Data" OR "Director of Analytics" OR "VP Analytics" OR "Data Science Lead") AND (analytics OR "business intelligence" OR "data science" OR "machine learning")
Covers the expanding data leadership function with relevant technical keywords.
15. Find Former Employees of Competitor Companies
Best for: Competitive displacement, migration campaigns
Use Past Company filter with: (Director OR Manager OR Lead OR "Vice President") NOT (Intern OR Associate OR Junior)
Apply Sales Navigator's Past Company filter to find leaders who previously worked at competitor companies—they already understand the problem you solve and may be open to evaluating alternatives.
Where to Use Boolean Search in Sales Navigator
Sales Navigator supports Boolean search in three specific fields. Each searches different parts of the LinkedIn profile, so choosing the right field is essential.
Global Keyword Search Bar
Searches across the entire profile including headline, summary, job descriptions, skills, and education. Use this for broad searches or when targeting specific skills and experiences.
Current Job Title Field
Searches only current position titles (marked "Present"). This is the most common field for B2B prospecting because it ensures you're targeting people currently in relevant roles.
Company Field
Searches company names and descriptions. Useful for targeting specific types of companies or excluding certain company types.
Common Boolean Search Mistakes to Avoid
Even experienced sales professionals make these errors. Avoiding them will dramatically improve your search accuracy.
Using Lowercase Operators: Boolean operators must be UPPERCASE. "ceo and founder" will not work—use "CEO AND Founder" instead.
Using Curly Quotes: LinkedIn only recognizes straight quotation marks. Smart quotes from Word or Google Docs will cause your search to fail silently.
Unbalanced Parentheses: Every opening parenthesis needs a closing one. Missing parentheses can completely change your search logic or cause it to fail.
Overly Complex Searches: Sales Navigator limits searches to approximately 15 operators. If your search is too complex, break it into multiple smaller searches.
Not Testing Incrementally: Build your search gradually. Start with core terms, verify results, then add complexity. This makes debugging much easier.
Using Unsupported Operators: LinkedIn does not support wildcards (*), the + or - operators, or proximity searches. Stick to AND, OR, NOT, quotes, and parentheses.
Pro Tips for Better Boolean Searches
Write searches in a text editor first. This lets you spot syntax errors and ensures you're using straight quotes. Then copy-paste into Sales Navigator.
Combine Boolean with Sales Navigator filters. Use Boolean for job titles while applying Sales Navigator's built-in filters for company size, geography, and industry. This creates powerful compound searches.
Save your successful searches. Sales Navigator lets you save searches for later use. Name them descriptively so you can reuse and iterate on proven strings.
Iterate based on results. Review the first 20-30 profiles from any search. If you see irrelevant results, identify the common keywords and add them to your NOT exclusions.
Account for title variations. The same role can have many titles. A VP of Marketing might be listed as "VP Marketing," "Vice President, Marketing," or "Vice President of Marketing." Use OR to capture all variations.
Use ChatGPT to generate Boolean strings. Describe your ideal customer profile and ask AI to create Boolean search strings. This can surface variations and synonyms you might miss.
Technical Constraints and Limits
Understanding Sales Navigator's technical limitations helps you build searches that work reliably.
Character limit: Approximately 1,000-2,000 characters per search field.
Operator limit: Approximately 15 Boolean operators per search in Sales Navigator.
Stop words ignored: LinkedIn ignores common words like "by," "in," "with," and "the" to optimize performance.
No error messages: LinkedIn won't tell you if your Boolean syntax is wrong—it simply runs a modified search. Always verify results match your expectations.
Start Building Better Lead Lists Today
Boolean search transforms LinkedIn Sales Navigator from a basic search tool into a precision lead generation engine. Start with the 15 search strings in this guide, customize them for your specific ICP, and iterate based on results.
The best Boolean searches evolve over time as you learn more about how your target audience describes themselves on LinkedIn. Keep refining, keep testing, and your outreach will become significantly more targeted and effective.
Remember: the goal isn't to find the most prospects—it's to find the right prospects. A smaller, highly targeted list will always outperform a large, generic one in conversion rates and pipeline quality.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Boolean search work on free LinkedIn?
Yes, but with limitations. Free LinkedIn supports basic Boolean in the keyword field, but restricts the number of OR operators to 3-4. For full Boolean capabilities including the title and company fields, you need Sales Navigator or LinkedIn Recruiter.
What's the difference between the keyword field and title field?
The keyword field searches the entire profile (headline, summary, all job descriptions, skills, education). The title field searches only current job titles. For most B2B prospecting, the title field provides more precise results because it focuses on current roles.
Why is my Boolean search not returning expected results?
Common causes include: curly quotes instead of straight quotes, lowercase operators, unbalanced parentheses, or exceeding the operator limit. LinkedIn doesn't display error messages—it silently modifies or ignores problematic searches.
Can I use wildcards in LinkedIn Boolean search?
No. LinkedIn does not support wildcard (*) searches. Instead, use OR to list all variations of a term you want to capture.
How often should I update my saved Boolean searches?
Review and refine your searches quarterly, or whenever you notice declining result quality. Job title conventions evolve, new roles emerge, and your ICP may shift as your business grows.
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