LinkedIn Corp. is improving integration between its Sales Navigator prospecting tool and other popular desktop applications as well as adding a lead discovery feature to its mobile client.

The company is deepening integration with Salesforce.com Inc.’s CRM system to better identify and automatically present relevant accounts to users. Previously, the process involved manual tagging and importing.

Improved integration with Google’s Gmail cloud application now presents users with all LinkedIn public profile details and public social contact information about correspondents, enabling a sales rep to save a contact as a lead in Sales Navigator without leaving the inbox.

A discovery feature on the mobile client will now provide up to 10 recommendations per day based upon preferences defined by the user. The feature had previously been available only in the desktop client.

Sales Navigator is “the only social selling tool that’s built on a social network,” said Mike Derezin, vice president of LinkedIn Sales Solutions. “Social selling is starting to become mainstream, and this is a reflection of what we’re doing to make it part of the workflow.” Among the companies that have signed up for multiple thousand-seat licenses are Ernst & Young Global Ltd., Microsoft and SAP, he said.

Given Microsoft’s pending acquisition of LinkedIn, the choice of Salesforce.com as first priority for CRM integration begs the question of where Microsoft’s own Dynamics CRM fits into the plans. Derezin explained that Salesforce.com integration was under development place before the Microsoft deal was announced and that Dynamics is on the agenda. LinkedIn previously integrated with CRM systems through an iframe embed. With this tighter linkage, “for the first time we’re pulling CRM data into Sales Navigator,” he said. “We know which open opportunities sales people are working and we can populate the database with information about those accounts,” eliminating the need to search for such details manually. Sales reps can also customize their news feeds to elevate posts about clients and prospects.

The Gmail integration presents email users with a sidebar containing LinkedIn profile information as well as “icebreakers” or things a sales rep might have in common with a prospect. The built-in Team Link feature flags other people in the saleperson’s company who have a connection relationship with a prospect. Reps can save a lead directly into Sales Navigator from the Gmail screen. Similar integration with Microsoft Outlook is on the drawing board, Derezin said.

Sales Navigator comes in two versions. The professional edition is intended for individual use and is priced at $80 per month. The team edition is priced at $1,200 per year before volume discounts.

Image courtesy LinkedIn