How to Scrape Competitors for Leads

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Competitor data and analysis is in of itself a useful tool to help you get ahead.

More specifically, scraping competitor networks and the folks that are engaging with their content and social media posts can help you put together a list of warmer leads that are likely in-market to buy.

There are a couple of ways to go about this.

How to Scrape Competitors Manually

Step 1: Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to Find Competitors' Connections

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is ideal for finding connections your competitors have with decision-makers.

1. Navigate to Sales Navigator's "Leads" section.
2. Use the "Connections of" filter and input a well-connected individual from your competitor’s team.
3. Apply additional filters like job title, location, or company size to generate a precise list.

Step 2: Use Data Providers to Get Contact Info

Tools like Seamless.ai, Apollo.io, and ZoomInfo help to uncover contact details for leads identified in LinkedIn.

After compiling a list of leads, you can use these tools to enrich profiles with email addresses or phone numbers, making your list actionable.

Step 3: Scrape Competitors' Current Customers

Use web scrapers like Bardeen, Phantombuster or Instant Data Scraper to pull lists of customer logos, names, or case studies directly from competitor websites.

Phantombuster can even give you insight into who is engaging with your competitors' social media posts through likes and hashtags.

This gives you an understanding of who is already using their product and allows you to approach those who might benefit from your offerings.

Step 4: Scrape Competitor Reviews

Web scraping also helps you monitor customer reviews from platforms like G2, Capterra, or Trustpilot.

Scrape this review data using Bardeen and use ChatGPT or another AI tool to assess the sentiment and identify potential leads who are dissatisfied with your competitor’s product.

About Web Scrapers

As tempting and useful as web scrapers are, you need to be aware of the risks.

• Data Accuracy: Web scrapers rely on publicly available data, which may not always be accurate or updated. Automated scraping also risks extracting incomplete or duplicated data.
• Tool Policy Violations: Using scraping bots can violate platforms like LinkedIn’s terms of service, leading to account suspensions or permanent bans.
• Volatility and Manual Setup: Setting up scrapes requires manual input, like URLs or filters, and platforms like LinkedIn impose rate limits on the number of profiles you can scrape within a day.

Step 5: Build a List of Target Accounts

Once you have gathered competitor connections, customer data, and reviews, build a target account list in Sales Navigator. Refine your list using filters for decision-makers or other relevant criteria, and create a lead list for your BDRs.

Safely Automate Competitor Scraping with Letterdrop

Letterdrop (SOC-2 compliant) focuses on engagement tracking rather than raw scraping, so you know which accounts are more likely in-market to buy a similar solution.

• You can find relevant keyword mentions using our social monitoring tool
• You can then scrape leads directly from posts and in the background, which get imported into a dashboard like the one shown below (either for first-party or third-party posts)

This engagement is historical, and allows you the opportunity to tie your LinkedIn activity to revenue.

(You can also directly 'act' on this data through automating DMs, likes, and even Apollo sequences — read more in our guide on following up on LinkedIn engagement.)