If you’re trying to build up a real list of leads from LinkedIn—maybe for sales, recruiting, or your own side hustle—manual copy-paste is slow torture. There are hundreds of tools that promise to save you hours, but most are a pain to set up, or they just dump out junk data. This guide is for anyone who wants a dead-simple, honest workflow for grabbing leads from LinkedIn using the Findthatlead Chrome extension—without getting tangled in hype or pointless busywork.
Let’s cut through the noise and get you started.
What Findthatlead Is (and Isn’t)
Before we jump in, here’s what you should know:
- What it does: Findthatlead helps you find email addresses and some other contact info for people you find on LinkedIn. The Chrome extension integrates directly with LinkedIn, so you can work from profiles or search results.
- What it doesn’t do: It doesn’t magically give you verified, personal emails for everyone. You’ll get a mix of work emails, guesses, and sometimes nothing at all.
- Who it’s for: Sales reps, recruiters, founders, marketers—anyone who needs to build a targeted list quickly and isn’t allergic to a little manual review.
If you’re hoping to just push a button and watch perfect leads rain from the sky, you’ll be disappointed. But if you want to speed up the grunt work and keep some control, this is a decent tool.
What You Need Before You Start
Don’t worry, the setup is quick, but you will need:
- A Chrome browser (the extension doesn’t work in Firefox or Safari).
- A Findthatlead account (there’s a free tier, but it’s limited).
- A LinkedIn account—you’ll get best results with a regular (free) account, but LinkedIn Premium can help if you’re prospecting a lot or need extra filters.
- Some idea of your target audience. Don’t just go after everyone with a job title—define who you actually want to reach.
Step 1: Install the Findthatlead Chrome Extension
- Go to the Chrome Web Store. Search for “Findthatlead,” or head directly from the link in your Findthatlead dashboard.
- Click “Add to Chrome” and accept permissions. It’ll ask for access to LinkedIn—this is normal.
- Login with your Findthatlead account. Look for the FTL icon in your Chrome toolbar. If it’s not there, restart Chrome.
Pro tip: Pin the extension in Chrome so you don’t lose track. If you’re juggling multiple extensions, this one’s easy to miss.
Step 2: Get Clear on Your LinkedIn Search
Before you start collecting leads, get specific. The more precise your search, the better quality your list:
- Use LinkedIn’s search filters: job title, location, company size, industry, etc.
- Avoid huge, generic searches (like “marketing”). Go for “Marketing Manager” at “SaaS companies in Boston” or similar.
- Don’t bother with fake profiles or obvious bots. If their profile picture is a cartoon or their work history is blank, move on.
Why bother? Garbage in, garbage out. If you scrape a bad search, you’ll end up with a list you can’t actually use.
Step 3: Start Collecting Leads
Option A: From LinkedIn Search Results
- Do your search and let the results load.
- Click the Findthatlead extension icon.
- You’ll see a popup—usually a list of profiles with checkboxes.
- Select the profiles you want, or hit “Select all” to grab the whole page.
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Click “Save” or “Get Emails.”
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The extension will try to pull emails for each profile. You’ll see a progress bar and maybe a few duds (not every profile yields an email).
- Your credits get used up fast if you select lots of profiles. Go for quality over quantity, especially on a free plan.
Option B: From an Individual Profile
- Go to the LinkedIn profile you want.
- Click the Findthatlead icon.
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It’ll try to find an email for this person. Sometimes you’ll get a direct hit (corporate email), sometimes a guess, sometimes nothing.
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This method burns fewer credits if you only want a handful of specific people.
- You can add notes or tags to keep things organized.
Heads up: LinkedIn doesn’t love mass scraping. If you try to pull thousands of leads at once, you’ll hit roadblocks or even get a warning. Stick to a few dozen at a time if you want to keep your account safe.
Step 4: Review Your Leads in Findthatlead
All the leads you collect go into your Findthatlead dashboard. Here’s where you should actually pause and look at what you’ve got:
- Check for missing info, weird email formats, or obvious junk.
- Export to CSV if you want to load into your CRM or email tool (most people do).
- Mark which leads are valuable and which to ignore.
- If you get a lot of “catch-all” or unverifiable emails, don’t blindly email them—your deliverability will tank.
Pro tip: If you’re serious about deliverability, run your emails through a verification tool before sending any campaigns. Findthatlead has basic verification, but it’s not perfect.
Step 5: Organize, Clean, and Use Your Leads
Don’t just blast out emails to everyone you find. A little extra work here saves headaches later:
- Segment your list. Group by job title, company, or region.
- Personalize your outreach—even a simple “I saw you’re working on X at Y company” beats a generic template.
- Strip out any leads that look fake, have weird emails, or bounce when you run a test campaign.
- Keep track of who you’ve contacted and when. Nothing says “spam” like emailing the same person twice in a week.
What Works Well (and What Doesn’t)
What’s good: - It’s fast for small-to-medium prospecting jobs. - Works right inside LinkedIn—no need to export or import lists just to get started. - You get some extra data (like company, position) with each lead.
What’s not-so-great: - Email accuracy is hit-or-miss. Expect a mix of verified, guessed, and “catch-all” addresses. - Free plan runs out quick—don’t expect to build a 5,000-person list without paying. - If you get click-happy and grab too many profiles, you’ll hit LinkedIn’s limits or get flagged for suspicious activity. - Some company domains are harder to get emails for (startups, small businesses, etc.). Don’t expect miracles.
What to ignore: - Don’t waste time on profiles with no work history or tiny networks—they’re rarely worth your credits. - Skip any “Growth Hacker Ninja Guru” types unless you really need them. These profiles are often just noise.
Pro Tips for Getting More (and Better) Leads
- Use Boolean search tricks in LinkedIn to narrow down results. (Example: “marketing AND SaaS” instead of just “marketing”)
- Mix manual and automated work. Sometimes it’s worth clicking through to a profile before you spend a credit.
- Don’t trust every email. Always verify before sending a campaign, especially if you’re new to cold outreach.
- Keep your LinkedIn activity human. Too much automation gets you flagged. Slow, steady, and real interactions keep your account safe.
- Connect, don’t just collect. Sometimes it’s better to send a real LinkedIn connection request with a short note before you ever email someone.
Bottom Line
Findthatlead’s Chrome extension isn’t magic, but it does what it says (mostly): helps you grab leads from LinkedIn without losing your mind to copy-paste hell. The real key is being deliberate—use good searches, review your results, and don’t just spam the world. Start small, see what works for your niche, and tweak as you go. Most “growth hacks” are just busywork. Keep it simple, focus on quality, and you’ll actually get somewhere.