If you're tired of slogging through LinkedIn, copying and pasting emails, and fiddling with awkward spreadsheets, you're not alone. The right tools can speed up prospecting—if you use them right. This guide is for sales reps, recruiters, founders, or anyone who wants to get more out of LinkedIn without losing an afternoon to busywork. Here’s a straight-shooting guide to using the Leadleaper Chrome Extension to find, capture, and organize leads from LinkedIn—minus the hype.
What Is Leadleaper, and Should You Even Bother?
Leadleaper is a Chrome extension that scrapes, organizes, and exports LinkedIn contact info (mostly emails) as you browse. It’s popular with sales teams, recruiters, and solo founders who need to build prospect lists without shelling out for expensive all-in-one tools.
What it does well: - Grabs email addresses from LinkedIn profiles and search results. - Lets you export prospects to CSV or sync with CRMs like Salesforce. - No-nonsense pricing (there’s a limited free version).
What it doesn’t do: - No automation—don’t expect auto-connection requests or bulk messaging. - Doesn’t magically give you verified emails for everyone. The accuracy depends on what Leadleaper can dig up. - Not a replacement for your own research or real conversations.
If you’re cool with that, read on.
Step 1: Install the Leadleaper Chrome Extension
Let’s start with the basics.
- Go to the Chrome Web Store. Search for “Leadleaper” or click the link from their website.
- Click “Add to Chrome.” Standard stuff—accept permissions.
- Sign up or log in. You’ll need a Leadleaper account. The free version is fine for starters, but you’ll hit limits if you prospect a lot.
Pro tip: Use a work email for sign-up. Personal Gmail addresses tend to get messy when you start exporting.
Step 2: Set Up Leadleaper
Once installed, you’ll see the Leadleaper icon in your browser.
- Open the extension. Pin it for easy access.
- Check your credits. The free plan gives you a set number of email finds per month. Don’t waste them on random profiles.
- Link your CRM (optional). If you use Salesforce, HubSpot, or similar, you can connect it in the settings. Otherwise, stick to CSV exports.
Honest take: The user interface is straightforward, but not exactly pretty. Don’t expect bells and whistles.
Step 3: Find Prospects on LinkedIn
Now comes the actual prospecting.
- Go to LinkedIn. Use Sales Navigator or regular LinkedIn—it works with both, but Sales Nav pulls more results.
- Run a search. Filter by job title, company, industry, location, whatever matters to you.
- View your search results. Leadleaper adds a little toolbar at the top of the results page.
What to know: - Leadleaper works best on the standard “People” search results, not on company pages or posts. - You have to actually load the results in your browser—no “set and forget.”
Step 4: Capture Leads
Here’s where Leadleaper starts to save you time.
- Click “Capture” or “Capture All.” The extension will scrape every profile on the page and try to find work emails.
- Jump to next page. Repeat the capture. Leadleaper collects as you flip through search pages.
- Review captured leads. The extension shows a list of collected emails, names, and LinkedIn URLs.
Real talk: Not every contact will come with a verified email. Some will be guessed or pulled from public sources, so double-check before you blast out emails.
Ignore: The “email confidence” score is… optimistic. Use it as a rough guide, not gospel.
Step 5: Export or Sync Your Leads
Once you’ve got a batch of prospects, you need to actually use them.
- Export to CSV. The simplest way. Just click “Export” in Leadleaper’s dashboard. You’ll get a spreadsheet with all the data.
- Sync to CRM. If you set up a CRM integration, you can push leads directly. This is handy, but sometimes field mapping is wonky. Check your CRM to make sure things landed in the right spot.
- Manual copy-paste. For tiny lists, just copy from the extension and paste where you need. Not glamorous, but it works.
What’s missing: There’s no built-in deduplication. If you prospect the same person twice, you’ll have to clean it up yourself later.
Step 6: Stay Out of Trouble
A few things you need to know before you get carried away:
- LinkedIn limits: Prospecting too aggressively can get your account flagged. Don’t view hundreds of pages in a row, and don’t send spammy messages.
- Email accuracy: Expect bounce-backs. Use an email verifier if deliverability matters.
- Privacy: Don’t be a creep. Respect opt-outs and don’t hoard emails for the sake of it.
Reality check: Tools like Leadleaper make it easier to build lists, but they’re not shortcuts to meaningful relationships. If you’re blasting cold emails to random people, you’ll burn your domain and your reputation.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What works: - Quick, manual list-building for targeted campaigns. - Exporting small batches of leads straight into your CRM or email tool. - Supplementing other prospecting tools if you’re on a budget.
What doesn’t: - Mass scraping or “set and forget” lead generation. You still need to think about who you’re reaching out to. - Relying on every email being correct. Always verify.
What to ignore: - The idea that this replaces real networking. It’s a shortcut for data collection, not human connection. - Any claims about “100% verified emails.” There’s no such thing.
Pro Tips for Getting the Most Out of Leadleaper
- Batch your prospecting. Do it in focused sprints—don’t run Leadleaper all day long.
- Customize your LinkedIn searches. The more specific you get, the better your leads.
- Clean your lists. Run exports through an email verifier before you send anything.
- Don’t be lazy with outreach. Use the extra time you save to write better, more personal emails.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple
Leadleaper isn’t magic, but it’s a solid way to take some grunt work out of LinkedIn prospecting. Stick to the basics, don’t overdo it, and focus on quality over quantity. Iterate as you go—your best process will probably be a little different than anyone else’s. Just remember: tools speed things up, but they don’t do the work for you.