B2B database or LinkedIn/ LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Which wins for prospecting in ANZ?

When it comes to B2B prospecting, sales teams across Australia and New Zealand face a critical choice: stick with LinkedIn or invest in a dedicated B2B database. LinkedIn has traditionally served as a tool for initial research, but today’s modern sales processes demand greater speed, precision, and enriched data. 

This guide unpacks the fundamental differences between LinkedIn and LinkedIn Sales Navigator and a specialised B2B company and prospect database, highlighting real-world examples and research-backed insights tailored to ANZ sales teams. Whether you’re aiming for rapid B2B lead generation or powerful sales data enrichment, this guide clarifies the best approach. 

LinkedIn: A solid start for relationship-building 

With over 16 million combined users in Australia and New Zealand, LinkedIn remains essential for initial research, offering valuable professional context and networking opportunities. 

Where LinkedIn excels:

• Professional profiles: Clear insights into career histories, roles, and interests. 
• Networking opportunities: Visibility into professional interactions, job changes, and shared connections. 
• Content insights: Professional activity can inform timely and personalised outreach. 

LinkedIn effectively supports early-stage prospecting and personalised outreach but quickly becomes limited for large-scale or automated campaigns. 

 LinkedIn’s limitations 

• Contact information including mobiles: Very few people have their mobile and email address published and publicly available on LinkedIn or Sales Navigator, limiting outreach to LinkedIn only.  
• Incomplete SMB coverage: Only 33% of Australian SMBs actively use LinkedIn, leaving substantial prospecting gaps. 
• Manual workflows: Exporting, filtering, and verifying contacts is tedious, slow, and resource intensive. 
• Limited company insights: Minimal data on company size, industry specifics, or verified local identifiers like ABNs/NZBNs.

Ultimately, LinkedIn alone can’t consistently deliver comprehensive, reliable data for scalable B2B prospecting. 

LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Helpful, but expensive and limited for ANZ

LinkedIn Sales Navigator offers advanced search features and better prospect management tools than standard LinkedIn, providing: 

• Advanced filters: Seniority, company size, and industry. 
• Lead recommendations: Suggested prospects based on preferences. 
• CRM integration: Direct integration with systems like Salesforce.

However, Sales Navigator still has significant limitations for data-driven outreach – and comes at a steep price. As of 2025, plans start at $99.99 USD per user/month, with more advanced tiers exceeding  $160 USD per user/month. That’s roughly $150-250 AUD per user on a monthly basis. For mid-sized or fast-scaling sales teams across Australia and New Zealand, that can become prohibitively expensive – especially when core prospecting needs like mobile numbers, ABN/NZBN filtering, and sales data enrichment aren’t included. 

Despite offering advanced filters and lead suggestions, Sales Navigator falls short for outbound outreach at scale: 

• No verified contact details: Lacks emails and mobile numbers for direct outreach. 
• No ABN/NZBN validation: Can’t confirm local business registrations. 
• No sales data enrichment: Doesn’t integrate firmographic or contact-level data into your CRM. 

For ANZ sales teams focused on scale, speed, and precision, Sales Navigator is best viewed as a research companion – not a full prospecting solution. 

Why a specialised B2B database outperforms LinkedIn

B2B databases like Firmable are specifically designed to support efficient, targeted prospecting across Australia and New Zealand. 

Key advantages of a B2B database 

• Verified contact data: Accurate mobile numbers, emails, and LinkedIn profiles ready for immediate use. 
• Advanced segmentation: Detailed filtering by region, inferred gender, employee size, industry, ABNs/NZBNs, and tech stacks. 
• Real-time sales signals: Instant alerts on events like new hires, funding rounds, and expansions via Firmable’s AI-powered signals. 
• Built-in sales data enrichment: Automated integration with CRM systems, maintaining continuously updated firmographic and contact details. 

“Firmable gives us the clarity we need to move fast and stay focused. Whether it’s syncing data to Salesforce or extracting insights from LinkedIn, it’s all about simplicity and speed. Our team has been more empowered.”  
– Dane Meah, CEO, MyCISO

The power of localised data 

Effective prospecting in Australia and New Zealand demands more than a global database. Local nuances significantly impact outreach effectiveness: 

• Comprehensive ABN/NZBN mapping: Essential for accurate targeting. 
• Local contact formats: Properly formatted local numbers and emails. 
• Compliance-friendly segmentation: Ensuring compliance with regulations like Australia’s Do Not Call registry.

Conor Lydon, Director of Cure Recruitment, highlights: 

“Firmable helps us quickly understand market dynamics and connect effectively, particularly important for niche recruitment and new territory business development.” 

Real-world scenarios: When each tool shines

Choose LinkedIn for: 

• Connection requests, commenting on posts, etc.  
• Personalised LinkedIn messages and relationship-building. 
• Professional research and understanding individual context. 

Choose LinkedIn Sales Navigator for: 

• Enhanced search within LinkedIn. 
• Personalised InMail messages.  
• Basic lead management and CRM integration. 

Choose a deeply localised B2B database like Firmable for: 

• Efficient and accurate lead list creation. 
• Verified contact data including mobiles for effective outreach. 
• Strategic, data-driven prospecting leveraging real-time signals. 

Final recommendation: Combine LinkedIn for context with Firmable for conversion

While LinkedIn (and Sales Navigator) remain valuable for initial connections and research, they lack critical capabilities for scalable, targeted, and compliant outreach. A specialised B2B database is no longer optional – it’s essential for sales teams aiming for efficiency, accuracy, and results. 

Research underscores clear outcomes: 

• 27% of sales reps’ time is wasted on outdated data, emphasising the need for continuous sales data enrichment. 
• Businesses with enriched data experience conversion rates up to 160% higher.
• Accurate data increases win rates by as much as 68%.

Firmable is specifically designed to meet these needs, delivering precision, automation, and verified insights crucial for successful prospecting across Australia and New Zealand. 

Ready to power smarter prospecting across ANZ? 

Firmable offers unmatched local insights, verified contacts, powerful automation, and robust sales data enrichment to accelerate your B2B lead generation. Start your free trial today.