LinkedIn is Cracking Down on Sales Data Tools

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LinkedIn's Crackdown on Apollo and Seamless

Last week, LinkedIn dropped the hammer on two sales data tools - and we’re here for the drama.

They suddenly removed the company pages of two major players in the sales data space from the platform. No announcement. No explanation. Just gone.

For sales teams using these tools, there’s a lot of unknowns…

Like… why’d they get kicked off? Are they coming back? And who’s next?

There's more to this story, and we’ve got the details. 👇️ 

What Just Happened?

On March 6th, LinkedIn removed Apollo.io and Seamless.AI's company pages from their platform.

The reason? Many believe it’s because both companies were accused of violating LinkedIn's terms of service by collecting and distributing user data without proper consent.

Scraping private data from the platform, including email addresses, browsing habits, and information not publicly visible on profiles isn’t allowed by LinkedIn.

And to put this in perspective, these aren’t small players. Apollo and Seamless are major providers of B2B contact data, used by thousands of sales teams.

Neither company has commented on what happened, but the message from LinkedIn seems pretty clear: tools that scrape and sell LinkedIn data without consent are at risk.

What’s Their Next Move

Here's where things get interesting - this might not just be about protecting user data.

As a Microsoft-owned company, LinkedIn has been investing heavily in their own data monetization tools, particularly Sales Navigator and LinkedIn Recruiter.

Some people think the timing of all of this might hint at a bigger move coming. LinkedIn could be preparing to enhance Sales Navigator to provide similar functionalities to those offered by Apollo and Seamless.AI, and own it all themselves.

Think about it: Why let third-party tools give away data for free (or at a lower cost) when you can sell that data through your own platform?

Others suggest LinkedIn might be implementing broader changes to clean up the user experience by reducing automated outreach and connection requests.

Either way, one thing is clear… LinkedIn isn't playing games anymore.

What This Means for You

If you're using LinkedIn's native tools like Sales Navigator, you can breathe easy.

But if you're relying on third-party tools for all of your data, this might be a good time to invest in some other strategies.

Some believe the future of sales data is shifting toward first-party data or information that prospects willingly give you, rather than data scraped from the internet.

Why? Because it's legal, higher quality, and more likely to convert.

Think about it like dating. Would you rather have someone's number because they gave it to you, or because you found it written on a bathroom wall?

This means doubling down on strategies like content, that bring the prospect inbound.

Here’s some ideas to think about:

• Creating content that generates leads

• Creating valuable lead magnets

• Hosting webinars and events

• Developing a social presence

Yes, it takes more work than just downloading a list of 1,000 emails and blasting them with email. But the opportunities you source this way are stronger, more valuable, and most importantly, yours to keep - regardless of what LinkedIn does next.

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