Short answer: Start by writing down who your best customers are (role, company type, size, location, the problem you solve for them), then translate each trait into a LinkedIn filter or a Boolean keyword query. Keep the list small and specific, check a sample of profiles by hand, and remove anyone who does not fit before you send a single invitation. The template and the queries below let you do it in under an hour, with or without Sales Navigator.
What is an ICP, and how is it different from a buyer persona?
Your ideal customer profile (ICP) describes the kind of organization or client that gets the most value from what you sell and is worth your time: industry, size, location, situation. A buyer persona describes the person you talk to inside that target: their job title, seniority, goals and daily frustrations.
On LinkedIn you need both. The ICP tells you which companies or households to look at. The persona tells you which profile to invite.
| ICP | Buyer persona | |
|---|---|---|
| Describes | The ideal client account | The person who decides or influences |
| Typical traits | Industry, size, location, growth stage, current situation | Job title, seniority, responsibilities, goals, objections |
| LinkedIn filters it maps to | Company, industry, location, company headcount | Title, keywords, seniority, function |
If you are a solopreneur or a real estate agent, the two often merge: your ICP might simply be "founders of small consulting firms in Lyon" or "managers who have just moved to my area".
How do you define your ideal customer profile?
Answer these questions with facts from your past deals, not with wishes:
- Who are your three to five best clients so far? Best means profitable, easy to work with and likely to recommend you.
- What do they have in common? Industry, size, location, the tools they use, the stage they were at when they bought.
- What problem did they hire you to solve? Write it in their words.
- What triggered the purchase? A new role, a fundraise, a move, a hiring wave, a new regulation.
- Who signed, and who influenced? Note the job titles.
- Who should you avoid? Clients who churned, haggled or never fit. Exclusions matter as much as inclusions.
ICP template: what should you fill in?
Copy this table into a document and fill in the right-hand column. Every line you can map to a LinkedIn filter goes straight into your search; the others go into your messages.
| Field | Your answer | Becomes on LinkedIn |
|---|---|---|
| Type of client | e.g. founder-led agencies, local professionals | Industry filter, keywords |
| Size | e.g. 5 to 30 employees | Company headcount (Sales Navigator) |
| Location | e.g. Greater Lyon, 30 km around my office | Location filter |
| Job titles to invite | e.g. founder, CEO, managing director | Title field, Boolean query |
| Seniority | e.g. owner, director | Seniority filter (Sales Navigator) |
| Trigger | e.g. new job, move, hiring, fundraise | Keywords, recent job change filter (Sales Navigator) |
| Problem you solve | One sentence in their words | Your first message |
| Proof you can show | A client like them, a result | Your follow-up |
| Exclusions | e.g. students, competitors, existing clients | NOT operator, manual review |
Then write your ICP in one or two sentences you could hand to a colleague:
Marketing agencies of 5 to 30 people in France, founder led, selling to B2B clients, who rely on referrals and want a second acquisition channel. We talk to the founder or the head of business development.
What do real ICPs look like? Three examples
Example 1: a real estate agent targeting managers in their area
| Field | Answer |
|---|---|
| Type of client | Managers and professionals who live or have just started a job in my area |
| Location | My city and the surrounding towns I cover |
| Job titles | Director, head of, manager, engineer, doctor, lawyer |
| Trigger | A new job or a transfer to the area, often a sign of a home search or a sale elsewhere |
| Problem | Finding the right neighborhood and the right property quickly, or selling the previous home |
| Exclusions | Real estate agents, students, people outside the area |
One sentence: "Managers who have just started a job in Nantes and its suburbs, likely to buy or rent within the year." Our real estate prospecting playbook goes further on this target.
Example 2: a freelancer
| Field | Answer |
|---|---|
| Type of client | Companies with fewer than 20 employees, in two sectors where I already have a reference |
| Location | My region, or remote across the country |
| Job titles | Founder, owner, managing director |
| Trigger | A new website, a hiring post, a recent fundraise or launch |
| Problem | They need the skill without hiring someone full time |
| Exclusions | Large companies, other freelancers in my field |
Example 3: an agency
| Field | Answer |
|---|---|
| Type of client | Companies of 50 to 500 employees in the two or three sectors where we have case studies |
| Size | 50 to 500 employees |
| Job titles | Head of marketing, marketing director, CMO |
| Trigger | A new marketing director, a hiring wave in marketing |
| Problem | Results expected fast with a small internal team |
| Exclusions | Agencies, consultants, junior roles |
Our pages for solopreneurs, real estate agents and agencies show how each of these profiles uses Sales Farmer.
How do you turn an ICP into a LinkedIn search?
Map each line of your ICP to something LinkedIn can filter on:
| ICP trait | Where to set it on LinkedIn |
|---|---|
| Job title, seniority | Title or keyword field, seniority filter in Sales Navigator |
| Industry | Industry filter |
| Location | Location filter |
| Company size | Company headcount filter in Sales Navigator |
| Specific company list | Current company filter |
| Situation (new role, hiring) | Keywords, or Sales Navigator filters such as recent job change |
Use Boolean search to sharpen titles
LinkedIn supports Boolean operators in its search bar. According to LinkedIn Help:
- quotation marks search an exact phrase, for example
"head of marketing"; AND,ORandNOTmust be typed in capital letters;- parentheses group terms, for example
VP NOT (assistant OR SVP); - wildcards such as
*are not supported.
Which Boolean queries can you copy for your job?
Paste these into the title field (or the keyword bar), then add your location filter. Adapt the titles to the language your prospects write their profiles in.
Real estate agent, managers in the area
(director OR "head of" OR manager OR engineer) NOT ("real estate" OR realtor OR student OR intern)
Freelancer, small business owners
(founder OR "co-founder" OR owner OR "managing director" OR CEO) NOT (student OR intern OR freelance)
Agency, marketing leaders
("head of marketing" OR "marketing director" OR CMO OR "VP marketing") NOT (intern OR assistant OR agency)
B2B sales rep, finance decision makers
(CFO OR "finance director" OR "head of finance") NOT (assistant OR intern OR accountant)
Recruiter, hiring managers in tech
("engineering manager" OR CTO OR "head of engineering") NOT (recruiter OR "talent acquisition")
Check the first page of results: if a third of the profiles are off target, add the intruders' words to the NOT group.
How do you build the list without Sales Navigator?
Free LinkedIn search covers more than people think:
- Search for people, then open All filters.
- Fill in Locations, Industry and, if you have a list of target companies, Current company.
- Paste your Boolean query into the Title keyword field rather than the main bar, so it only matches job titles.
- Start with Connections: 2nd. A mutual connection gives you a natural reason to write, and you can mention it.
- Save the search URL in a note so you can reopen it next week.
Two limits to know. Free accounts cannot filter on company headcount or recent job changes, so you check those by hand on each profile. And LinkedIn applies a commercial use limit to free accounts whose searches look like prospecting: the count resets on the 1st of each month, and Premium Business or Sales Navigator remove it. Work in short sessions with precise filters rather than browsing page after page.
When is Sales Navigator worth it?
When your ICP depends on company size, seniority or timing signals such as a recent job change, or when you hit the commercial use limit every month. For a local target (a city, a profession) free search is often enough.
How big should a LinkedIn prospect list be?
Size the list from your sending pace, not the other way around. LinkedIn does not publish its invitation limit, and reports put the usual weekly ceiling around 100 requests (details in our guide on LinkedIn invitation limits). A list of a few thousand people would take months to work through, and the profiles at the bottom would be stale by the time you reach them.
Better: build one tight list per segment, a few weeks of sending each, and compare segments with your acceptance and reply rates.
How do you check that a list is good before contacting anyone?
- Open 20 random profiles. If more than a few do not match your ICP, tighten the filters.
- Remove existing connections and current clients. They need a different message.
- Exclude competitors, students and job seekers unless they are your target.
- Check activity. A profile that has not been updated in years is less likely to see your invitation.
- Split by segment. Different titles or sectors deserve different messages.
How does Sales Farmer's ICP Finder build the list for you?
ICP Finder turns the steps above into three screens. Here is what it looks like for the real estate example:
- Choose your profile. Sales rep, real estate agent, entrepreneur, recruiter or marketer: the search adapts to your goal. Here, "Real estate agent".
- Describe your activity in a sentence or two. For example: "Real estate agent in Nantes, I help managers who move to the area find a home or sell their previous one." The company name is optional.
- Review the list. Sales Farmer runs a real LinkedIn search through your extension and shows the matching profiles with first name, last name, company and job title. Untick anyone who does not fit, add a profile you already know, search for more profiles, then export the list as CSV or turn it into a campaign.
The campaign then follows the usual sequence: invitation, acceptance check, personalized messages and follow-ups, which stop when the person replies. If you already have a search open on LinkedIn or Sales Navigator, the Chrome extension extracts the prospects from the results page into a campaign instead.
ICP Finder does not replace your judgment: it gives you a first list in minutes, and the 20-profile check above still applies.
Further reading
- LinkedIn automation limits in 2026
- LinkedIn prospecting message templates
- LinkedIn follow-up messages: timing and 12 templates
- Good LinkedIn acceptance and reply rates in 2026
- 5 cheaper Waalaxy alternatives
- LinkedIn for real estate agents: prospecting playbook
- 15 LinkedIn message templates for real estate agents
FAQ
What should an ideal customer profile include?
At minimum: the type of client (industry or situation), their size, their location, the problem you solve for them, what usually triggers a purchase, and who signs. Add the profiles you want to exclude.
Do I need Sales Navigator to build a prospect list?
No. Free LinkedIn search with location and industry filters and a Boolean query in the title field is enough for simple or local targets. Sales Navigator becomes useful when you need to filter by company size, seniority or recent job changes.
Where do I paste a Boolean query on LinkedIn?
In the main search bar, or better, in the Title field of All filters in people search, so the query only matches job titles. Type AND, OR and NOT in capital letters.
Why do I get "You've reached the commercial use limit"?
LinkedIn caps people searches on free accounts when the activity looks like prospecting or hiring. The count resets on the 1st of each month; Premium Business, Recruiter Lite and Sales Navigator remove the limit.
How often should I update my ICP?
Review it every quarter, or as soon as your acceptance or reply rate drops on a segment. Your best clients from the last few months are the best evidence of who your ICP really is.
Can I use several ICPs at the same time?
Yes, but run them as separate lists and campaigns. Mixing segments makes your messages generic and your analytics impossible to read.
Which Boolean operators work on LinkedIn?
Quotation marks for exact phrases, AND, OR and NOT in capital letters, and parentheses for grouping. LinkedIn does not support wildcards or brackets.
Build your first list in minutes
A clear ICP is the difference between invitations people accept and invitations they ignore. Start a 14-day free trial of Sales Farmer, describe your activity in ICP Finder and get a first campaign filled with real LinkedIn profiles to review.
