Does LinkedIn Sales Navigator integrate with Salesforce?
Yes, on the Advanced Plus plan only. LinkedIn's CRM integration page says integration between Sales Navigator and your CRM is only available to Advanced Plus users, and its plan guide describes Advanced as team collaboration without CRM sync. LinkedIn's security guide splits the integration into two parts that admins should assess separately:
- CRM Sync imports Salesforce records into Sales Navigator and writes selected activity back. LinkedIn stores the imported records on its production databases, encrypted at rest.
- Embedded Profiles show LinkedIn member and company cards on Salesforce lead, contact, account and opportunity pages. For these, LinkedIn stores no CRM credentials or record data, only a mapping of LinkedIn IDs to CRM record IDs.
| In Salesforce | Core | Advanced | Advanced Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listed starting price per licence | US$119.99 a month or US$1,079.88 a year | US$159.99 a month or US$1,799.88 a year | By quote |
| Salesforce data shown in Sales Navigator | No | No | Yes |
| Sales Navigator activity logged in Salesforce | No | No | Yes |
| Embedded Profiles on Salesforce records | No | No, removed 1 February 2025 | Yes |
LinkedIn moved Embedded Profiles to Advanced Plus on 1 February 2025, so teams on Advanced had to upgrade to keep them. The plan page says Advanced Plus pricing is customised to your team's size, CRM integration and onboarding needs, and you get a figure by requesting a demo. Before paying for any plan, our post on whether Sales Navigator is worth it compares Core with free LinkedIn search. For the searches, lists and InMail that work on any plan, see our guide to using Sales Navigator day to day.
Native integration or AppExchange package: which should you install?
LinkedIn recommends its AppExchange package, with Salesforce's native integration turned on as well if you need cadence steps. Salesforce's Add LinkedIn Sales Navigator to Salesforce article and LinkedIn's admin setup guide compare the two the same way:
| Feature | Native integration (Salesforce Setup) | AppExchange package (from LinkedIn) |
|---|---|---|
| InMail and connection request actions on records | Yes | Yes |
| LinkedIn profile components on lead, contact, opportunity and account pages | Yes | Yes |
| InMail and connection request steps in Sales Engagement cadences | Yes | No |
| Data validation (Not at Company flag) | No | Yes |
| Salesforce Classic | No | Yes |
| Account IQ, Lead IQ, Find Key People and Relationship Map inside Salesforce | No | Yes, package version 3.47 or later |
The last row comes from LinkedIn's security guide. LinkedIn recommends the package because it covers all features, data validation included, and supports Salesforce Classic; it says to turn on the native integration as well if your team needs InMail or connection request steps in Salesforce cadences.
Salesforce's setup article gives the native steps: in Setup, search for LinkedIn Sales Navigator and open it, then turn on Sales Navigator Integration on the LinkedIn Sales Navigator Integration tab. InMail and connection request actions then appear on default page layouts; customised layouts need them added by hand. To show LinkedIn profiles, add the LinkedIn Sales Navigator components to your lead, contact, opportunity and account Lightning pages. Salesforce's Add LinkedIn Sales Navigator to Salesforce article also notes that you can't unmatch a record from a LinkedIn profile, only match it to a different one.
Which Salesforce edition and LinkedIn licence do you need?
LinkedIn's guides say an Advanced Plus licence and a Salesforce edition with API access. Salesforce's pages word it differently, which matters if you're on Salesforce Professional. As checked on 4 November 2026:
| Source | Salesforce editions | LinkedIn plan named |
|---|---|---|
| Salesforce Help, Add LinkedIn Sales Navigator to Salesforce (native integration) | Enterprise, Professional and Unlimited | Sales Navigator Team or Enterprise |
| Salesforce Trailhead, quick cadences unit | Not stated | Team or Enterprise, then turn on the native integration |
| LinkedIn admin setup guide (shown as updated 6 days earlier) | Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited or Developer; Professional only with API Access and Chatter turned on, which may cost extra | Advanced Plus |
| LinkedIn's troubleshooting guide | API access only on Enterprise, Unlimited, Developer or Performance; no API package for Contact or Group | Advanced Plus |
In Salesforce's words: "This feature is available to users with a Sales Navigator Team or Enterprise license from LinkedIn." LinkedIn's guide says: "Sales Navigator Advanced Plus license: Required for CRM Sync, Embedded Profiles, and data validation." LinkedIn's plan page, updated 27 September 2026, offers Core, Advanced and Advanced Plus. Two checks before you sign: on Salesforce Professional, ask Salesforce whether your org has API access and what it costs; and ask LinkedIn to confirm in writing that your quote includes CRM Sync and Embedded Profiles.
How do you set up Sales Navigator in Salesforce?
Follow LinkedIn's admin setup guide; its install-to-verify steps come down to the seven below. LinkedIn says the first data import then takes from a couple of days to a week, depending on the size of your CRM. Have these ready first:
- An Advanced Plus licence with both admin and user access. An admin-only licence can configure the integration but can't check what sellers see.
- My Domain turned on in Salesforce.
- A dedicated Salesforce integration user, not a personal admin account, so the sync doesn't break when someone leaves. It needs View access on the listed objects and fields, plus write access on Tasks, Notes and Calls for activity writeback.
- The LinkedIn Sales Navigator OAuth app installed and enabled. LinkedIn's troubleshooting guide names a missing OAuth app as the most common cause of authentication errors when sellers create leads or contacts or send InMails.
Install the package
In Salesforce Quick Find, enter LinkedIn Sales Navigator, open the LinkedIn Sales Navigator AppExchange Package tab and click Install. Install for all users, or for specific profiles if only some people have licences.
Configure the components
Open the App Launcher, select LinkedIn Sales Navigator Assistant and follow its steps. For data validation, turn on the Enable Enterprise Features toggle.
Assign the permission set
Give the LinkedIn Sales Navigator Standard User permission set to every non-admin who needs Embedded Profiles. LinkedIn calls this an extra compliance step Salesforce requires.
Connect from Sales Navigator
Go to Admin, then Admin Settings, then CRM and Production. Choose Salesforce, sign in as the integration user, select Business account, and pick what to import and export: auto-saves, creating and updating leads and contacts, and logging messages, InMails, notes, calls, Smart Links and connection requests.
Turn on data validation
Check your Contact validation rules first, because they can make bulk updates fail. Then turn on Validate CRM Data under Exported to CRM, and schedule the jobs daily or weekly in the Assistant app.
Test with two sellers
Activity writeback is on by default. Ask one or two sellers to connect their own Salesforce login, create a contact and send an InMail with Add to CRM selected.
Verify
Embedded Profiles show on lead, contact, account and opportunity pages; Admin Settings shows a recent sync time; the test InMail appears in Salesforce; the Not at Company field starts filling.
To try it away from live data, LinkedIn supports a Salesforce sandbox first, and suggests staging 10 contacts because sandbox timeouts can stop a full data validation run.
What syncs between Salesforce and Sales Navigator, and how often?
Salesforce data flows in every 12 hours, and seller activity flows back instantly. The detail, from LinkedIn's integration FAQ and security guide:
| What | Direction | Timing and rules |
|---|---|---|
| Opportunity, task, contact, account, account team and lead data | Salesforce to Sales Navigator | First import a couple of days to a week; then every 12 hours, mostly through Bulk API calls |
| Leads, contacts and accounts on open opportunities | Auto-saved in Sales Navigator for the opportunity owner, with a CRM badge | After imports; not unsaved automatically if ownership changes |
| InMails, messages, calls, Smart Link views and connection requests | Sales Navigator to Salesforce, as Activities (Task records) | Instantly; activity back to 23 June 2021; calls only from the mobile app |
| Notes | Sales Navigator to Salesforce, in Notes and Attachments | Instantly; the only writeback that reaches Accounts |
| Not at Company flag on contacts | LinkedIn to Salesforce | Daily or weekly; starts within two scheduled cycles; adds six SN reports |
| LinkedIn company data | Never written to Salesforce | Writeback only appends activities and notes, and never overwrites or merges existing data |
Three limits to plan around:
- One Salesforce instance per Sales Navigator contract, according to a LinkedIn help page last updated five years ago.
- Each LinkedIn profile or account links to one CRM record. With duplicate leads or contacts, only the best-scoring match gets the features.
- The CRM badge shows for every Sales Navigator user, even those without permission to open that record in Salesforce.
Why isn't the integration working?
The usual suspects in LinkedIn's troubleshooting guide, updated two weeks before 4 November 2026, are a missing OAuth app, a personal admin login, page layouts or permission sets, and Contact validation rules:
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication error when connecting | OAuth app not installed or enabled | Install and enable the LinkedIn Sales Navigator OAuth app |
| Sync stops after a staff or role change | Connected with a personal admin account | Reconnect with a dedicated integration user |
| Import looks incomplete after hours | First ingestion still running | Allow up to a week; check the last sync time in Admin Settings |
| No Embedded Profile on a record | Page layout, permission set or licence | Try another browser, activate page layouts, assign the Standard User permission set, confirm an Advanced Plus licence |
| An InMail never reaches Salesforce | Seller not signed in, no write access, or record not matched | Have the seller sign in; grant write on Tasks, Notes and Calls; match the record |
| Only some contacts validated | Contact validation rules block bulk updates | Let the Not at Company field update without triggering rules, or exempt the batch job owner |
| Sync errors, then a disconnect | Errors left unresolved | Syncing stops for a three-day buffer, and the CRM disconnects if errors remain; fix them, then click Disconnect and Connect |
What can a small team do without Advanced Plus?
Log by hand, in the shape the integration uses, so your records match if you upgrade. LinkedIn's seller quick start guide says a written-back InMail appears in Salesforce as an activity whose subject begins InMail sent from Sales Navigator, and notes go to Notes and Attachments.
Keep the required fields few; our CRM data hygiene rules explain why an owner, a stage and a dated next step matter more than extra fields.
The other route is to keep prospecting records outside Salesforce. Siela's Lead Finder saves every lead to its built-in CRM with the reason it was picked, in a group for each run, and HubSpot or Salesforce can be connected to that CRM, though leads don't copy into Salesforce on their own; this page explains what the Salesforce connection does.
Frequently asked questions
What CRM does LinkedIn Sales Navigator work with?
LinkedIn lists four CRMs with full CRM Sync, Embedded Profiles and Embedded Experiences: HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle Sales and Salesforce. Pega, SAP and SugarCRM get Embedded Profiles only, and Freshworks gets Embedded Experiences. LinkedIn's CRM integration help page, checked on 4 November 2026, says the integration is only available on the Advanced Plus plan.
How much does the Sales Navigator Salesforce integration cost?
LinkedIn's plan page lists no separate price for it (checked 4 November 2026). The integration needs Advanced Plus, which LinkedIn prices by quote based on team size, CRM integration and onboarding needs. The plans with listed prices, Core at US$119.99 and Advanced at US$159.99 a month per licence, don't include CRM sync. On the Salesforce side you need an edition with API access, and LinkedIn says turning it on for Professional might cost extra.
Does activity writeback overwrite Salesforce records?
No. LinkedIn's FAQ for the Salesforce integration says existing data is never overwritten or merged; writeback only appends new activities and notes, and it doesn't push LinkedIn company data into Salesforce. Writeback is on by default, but each seller can turn it off in Sales Navigator under Settings, Privacy and data, CRM settings, by clicking Disconnect.
What happens to our data if we disconnect?
An admin clicks Disconnect in Sales Navigator's Admin Settings, and LinkedIn deletes the imported CRM data within 30 days. Saved leads and accounts stay, along with their alerts. You can also revoke LinkedIn's access through Salesforce's app authorisation flow. For Embedded Profiles, LinkedIn keeps only a mapping of LinkedIn IDs to CRM record IDs.
Do Embedded Profiles need CRM Sync?
No. LinkedIn says Embedded Profiles work independently of CRM Sync, though some actions inside Embedded Experiences, such as creating a lead from Find Key People, need it. Both still need an Advanced Plus licence for each user, and in Salesforce every non-admin who uses them needs the LinkedIn Sales Navigator Standard User permission set.
Sources
- LinkedIn Help: Integration between Sales Navigator and your CRM (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Sales Navigator account types and features (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Security guide for Sales Navigator and Salesforce CRM integration (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator: compare plans and pricing (updated 27 Sep 2026; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Change in Sales Navigator subscription plans for Embedded Profiles (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Salesforce Help: Add LinkedIn Sales Navigator to Salesforce (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Admin setup guide for Sales Navigator and Salesforce CRM integration (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Embedded Profiles and Embedded Experiences (widget) in your CRM (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Salesforce Help: Set Up LinkedIn Sales Navigator (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Salesforce Trailhead: Use LinkedIn Connections and Explore More Settings (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Troubleshooting guide for Sales Navigator and Salesforce CRM integration (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: FAQ guide for Sales Navigator and Salesforce CRM integration (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Reconnect to your Salesforce CRM after inactivity (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Turn the Salesforce Sync for Sales Navigator On and Off (last updated about five years ago; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Seller quick start guide for Sales Navigator and Salesforce CRM integration (checked 4 Nov 2026)