The Ultimate Guide to Prospecting with HubSpot and LinkedIn

Why Connect LinkedIn With HubSpot?

You mean you enjoy copy and pasting every DM into a note on a HubSpot contact record?

We use HubSpot daily, and we do our fair share of LinkedIn prospecting. That’s how we scaled Hublead to over 7,000 HubSpot users after all. And as someone who uses HubSpot daily, the ability to sync LinkedIn messages directly to each contact record has been a game-changer for our team (and happy customers!).

Here’s why I recommend using Hublead:

• You’ll save loads of time: We estimate that using a tool like Hublead could save you up to 10 hours per month. With an extra few hours each week, imagine how much more you could get done!
• Less room for error: Syncing messages to HubSpot keeps everything in one place, so no important details are missed.
• Less context-switching, more closing: All your LinkedIn conversations get automatically saved to your contact's record in HubSpot, so you always have the full context. This also makes it easier to follow up and helps you stay on top of client relationships.

How to Connect LinkedIn to HubSpot

When it comes to integrating LinkedIn with HubSpot, you have a few options:

1. HubSpot’s Native LinkedIn Sales Navigator Integration (the oldest version)
2. HubSpot’s LinkedIn CRM Sync (the newest native option)
3. Hublead (a third-party solution that works with any HubSpot plan and any LinkedIn plan)

You could use HubSpot’s native integrations (either the old one or the new CRM sync), but they come with a caveat: you need both a Sales Navigator Advanced Plus subscription and either HubSpot Sales Professional or HubSpot Sales Enterprise.

Not using those? Don’t worry, there are a few excellent tools available to help.

The Best Tools and Integrations for Connecting LinkedIn to HubSpot

Hublead is a Chrome extension that seamlessly integrates LinkedIn and HubSpot, allowing you to automatically add prospects, log conversations, and enrich contact data in one click on LinkedIn. 

No tab changing, no context switching, no duplicates, just your valuable time spent on prospecting.

Hublead can help you with the following:

• Import LinkedIn contacts
• Enrich Contacts
• Edit within HubSpot
• Sync conversations
• Track connection requests
• Build HubSpot lists based on LinkedIn data
• Report on performance and ROI

Hublead isn’t the only third-party integration that connects LinkedIn to HubSpot:

• LinkMatch makes it easy for users to import LinkedIn Sales Navigator information.
• LinkedHub is limited to importing contacts; you pay according to the number of contacts you want to import per month. And does not support LinkedIn Sales Navigator
• LinkPort: Import only contacts.

But time and time again, sales reps love Hublead for its time-saving features, data enrichment capabilities, and seamless connection between LinkedIn and HubSpot.

How to Import Contacts from LinkedIn to HubSpot

You’ve got a taste for your options, so now let’s look at one of the top time-saving benefits of integrating LinkedIn with HubSpot: importing contacts. 

You have three options to import contacts from LinkedIn to HubSpot:

1. Manually import from LinkedIn with a CSV
2. Sync leads from Sales Navigator
3. Automatically import using a Chrome extension (like Hublead)

If you opt for the manual route, you will need to set up an import file (based on either an export of LinkedIn data or a manually created file) and then map the fields to HubSpot, importing them into your CRM. This can be an incredibly time-consuming process (and not to mention the constant threat of errors), which is why an extension like Hublead can be a better choice!

With the Hublead’s LinkedIn Chrome Extension, you can:

• Verify if a LinkedIn lead already exists in your HubSpot CRM.
• Import LinkedIn connections directly into HubSpot with all contact information.
• Creates matching company records in your HubSpot account for each contact with an email or domain name.

Hublead also prevents duplicate contacts in HubSpot as well as duplicate companies. All you need to do is sign up for Hublead (you can trial it for free here, or check out our paid plans), connect it to HubSpot, and voila! In less than five minutes, you’ve successfully integrated LinkedIn with HubSpot. 

What Data Fields Can be Synced From LinkedIn to HubSpot?

There are no mandatory fields to sync to HubSpot contact properties. That said, we think it's better to have the following properties set up in your file to sync:

• First Name (Do not forget to remove smileys/emojis!)
• Last Name
• Email (Remove the free mails, here is a list of free email providers)
• Company Name

LinkedIn provides a few additional fields in the export:

• LinkedIn URL
• Job title
• Connected On

You can also manually add:

• Connection degree (Obviously, everyone will be 1st)
• Contact source (Your network or other people's network in your company)

How to Sync Messages from LinkedIn to HubSpot

Again, there are two routes you can use to sync LinkedIn messages to HubSpot:

• HubSpot’s Native Integrations: HubSpot offers two integrations with LinkedIn: the LinkedIn Sales Navigator integration and the LinkedIn CRM Sync integration. These integrations can sync inMails and other activities, but it’s worth noting that they only work with Sales Navigator Advanced Plus and require HubSpot Sales Professional or Enterprise subscriptions as well.
• Hublead: Hublead is a Chrome extension that integrates LinkedIn and LinkedIn Sales Navigator with HubSpot. Hublead syncs connection requests, acceptances, and messages to give you a seamless transition between the two platforms. You can even send DMs from the HubSpot contact record!

Are we biased? A bit. But having worked with 7,000+ happy HubSpot users, we think it’s fair to say that Hublead is a timesaver for sales teams of all sizes and a great way to sync your LinkedIn activities to HubSpot. Next, we’ll explore Hublead a bit more closely.

How to Report on LinkedIn Activity in HubSpot

Firing off DMs is one thing, but you also need to measure your performance (and report on your activities to your team and leadership). Fortunately, Hublead can help there, too.

Thanks to Hublead, with the LinkedIn data in HubSpot, I've been able to create reports and dashboards that provide real insights into how my LinkedIn engagement is performing.

For example, with Hublead, I can easily configure various reports to track:

• New Conversations: It’s helpful to see how many fresh leads I’m reaching out to.
• Daily Conversations: This provides me with a clear picture of how actively I engage in outreach on a day-to-day basis.

• Team Performance: I can compare individual and team performance metrics to see who’s excelling and where improvements are needed.
• Engagement with the Same Company: It’s useful to know how many conversations I’ve had with different leads from the same company and with related leads—it helps me refine my approach.

LinkedIn and HubSpot Integration Best Practices

LinkedIn may be the best prospecting channel, and HubSpot may be the best CRM, but that doesn’t mean you can simply fire off connection requests and DMs and leave it at that. 

Here are a few best practices to keep in mind:

• Optimize your own profile first: Before reaching out to prospects, make sure that your LinkedIn profile is polished and sells for you. Prospects will likely check your profile after receiving your message, so make sure your headline, summary, and recent activity demonstrate credibility and expertise in your field.
• Do your homework: Take the time to research your prospect's background, recent activity, and company news before reaching out. You don’t need to spend hours, but even five minutes to review their LinkedIn profile, recent posts, and company updates can help you find relevant conversation starters. 
• Write a good opener: Write a concise, personalized message that focuses on value for the prospect rather than your own needs. We recommend that you choose something specific from their profile or recent activity and clearly state why you're reaching ou. Keep it under 150 words and avoid heavy sales language.
• Follow up (and follow up again): Don't assume silence means disinterest. Send a thoughtful follow-up message 5-7 days after your initial outreach, perhaps sharing a relevant article or industry update. If still no response, try once more after another week with a different angle. It helps to mix in other channels too, like email, phone calls, or comments on their posts

Level Up Your LinkedIn Prospecting With Hublead Today

Time is a sales rep’s most valuable resource. 

That’s because the more time you spend prospecting and reaching out to leads, the luckier you will end up being and the more pipeline you will generate. 

Even CRMs as great as HubSpot can be a time sink, which is exactly why we built Hublead. Hublead streamlines your prospecting flow and perfectly syncs LinkedIn to HubSpot so that every connection request and DM automagically links to the right contact in your CRM. With advanced reporting, you can even show off your results to your manager and team. 

Click the button below to try Hublead for free and see how much time you save in the next week.