?? Behind the Scenes with LinkedIn Sales Solutions

Welcome to the world of deep sales - -where people powered data meets AI technology to revolutionize the way businesses connect, grow, and thrive! At LinkedIn, this impact is made possible by the diverse skills and talents of our Sales Solutions team.

The Sales Solutions team at LinkedIn helps customers leverage the power of AI with Sales Navigator to help them meet their goals.

But first, what is Sales Solutions?

Now that you know the basics, meet three Sales Solutions team members who are contributing to the evolution of the sales landscape, redefining success in the digital era, and transforming the way the world works!

Kalsang Tanzin, Director, Sales Solutions North America

When Kalsang was looking for her first job as a new immigrant in Canada, she was initially drawn to LinkedIn’s vision of “Creating Economic Opportunity for Every Member of the Global Workforce”. Now, with an impressive eleven-year tenure, she’s a second-line leader for the Enterprise Segment of the Sales Solution business in North America. Kalsang began her LinkedIn journey on our Marketing Solutions team as an Account Manager where she used her skills to take on various roles, managing transformative initiatives such as Sponsored Content and Client Solutions. After joining the Sales Solution team as a mid-market frontline manager role, she oversaw the segment's exponential growth while sharpening her organizational leadership skills along the way. Her transition to the Sales Solutions at LinkedIn was initially sparked by her interest in the untapped potential of the tool.

In your own words, how would you describe Sales Solutions?

Sales Solutions propels organizations' growth strategies. LinkedIn Sales Navigator is powered by the world's largest professional network of over 1 billion global members. Our team partners with Go-to-Market (GTM) organizations, so their sales organizations can have high quality conversations with the right people.

With so many pivots in the world of work the past few years, how are you and your team adapting to meet the challenges facing our members and customers?

We operate in a world where GTM leaders and teams are being tasked to deliver more with less. This period coincides with advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is redefining every aspect of the work world, including sales. Our teams are working on many initiatives that will help GTM teams adapt and pivot to this time, but what I am most excited about is seeing how we build on our AI Foundations to reimagine how sellers can use Sales Navigator. We recently launched Account IQ in Sales Navigator, which uses AI to help sellers more easily complete research. This is just the start of our evolution. Because of our network and AI foundations, Sales Solutions is in the position to enable a new level of sales productivity while keeping relationships at the heart of everything we do.

How has belonging shaped your experience at LinkedIn?

I am actually organizing a brunch with friends I met at LinkedIn almost 11 years ago. Working at LinkedIn has been an avenue to meet and nurture lifelong friends. This only happens when you work on great things with great people in an environment that encourages individuals to be their whole selves. In addition to feeling a sense of belonging, LinkedIn has taught me that I/we are responsible for building an environment where everyone feels a sense of belonging. We are not only the beneficiaries of belonging but also the builders of that feeling, which is why many individuals at LinkedIn participate in Employee Resource Groups outside their core roles.

What are you most looking forward to as you continue your career?

I genuinely enjoy solving problems, learning intensely and investing in the transformation of our people. On reflection, these are the top reasons why I have recommitted to LinkedIn for almost 11 years. The future will bring a new level of technological innovation. However, even in the new landscape, what still excites me is learning intensely, solving big problems, and doing both with transformational people

Louise Monks, Manager, Global Scaled Onboarding | Global Services

Based in Dublin, Louise's journey to LinkedIn happened unexpectedly after a chance coffee meeting with the female CEO of an Irish software company. While Louise's background was in psychology and she had no experience in the tech industry, her coffee connection helped her recognize transferable skills such as relationship building, conflict resolution, and time management. This discovery led to her exploration of a career in Client Services and Customer Success. Fast forward a few short years, an InMail from a recruiter about an exciting opportunity within LinkedIn's Connected Enterprise Group kickstarted her career journey at LinkedIn. Louise is now a manager, leading the Global Scaled Onboarding team.

In your own words, how would you describe Sales Solutions?

LinkedIn Sales Solution is a fast paced, dynamic, innovative and exciting part of the business. We help businesses of all sizes be successful, and help them reach their objectives and priorities as an organization. With our Deep Sales platform, we’re solving many different problems in the world of work using our unique dynamic real time data set; providing sellers with an in-depth view into the leaders and organizations they care about.

With so many pivots in the world of work the past few years, how are you and your team adapting to meet the challenges facing our members and customers?

Within my team and our immediate organization, we're anchoring on perspective and focus. Perspective in knowing that this period will pass and leading with empathy with our own customers as they navigate their own paths forward. I encourage my team to show up as a human first and a Subject Matter Expert second. When you're traversing an ever changing landscape.... Focus on doing the things we know make us successful and doing these things well consistently over time. This will move the needle on business performance metrics. As a leader, your team looks to you for guidance and support, it's imperative that you provide this clarity and focus frequently during these times. Tangible things I do with my own team is temperature checking; asking them 1 through 10 how they are feeling / doing?. This is an easy way to gauge people's current mindset and gives you the opportunity to identify patterns with each IC on your team. Knowing how to deal and manage people at their own comfort levels comes with time and patience.

How has belonging shaped your experience at LinkedIn?

It's allowed me to flourish. Having worked in a number of organizations, I’ve learned not to take what we have here for granted. LinkedIn provides an environment to be your absolute true self. It provides access! Access to a myriad of opportunities, different cultures, ways of working and endless learning pursuits. The true undercurrent of this wonderful company is only felt and can only be articulated from people who have experienced this.

What are you most looking forward to as you continue your career?

Globally, were at an inflection point with the way organizations work and the way organizations do business. Im excited to continue learning, to push myself outside of my comfort zone and to push my team to be the best possible versions of themselves. Long term, I hope to lead at a higher level, focusing on strategy and execution.

Rob Koenig, Senior Product Operations Manager

Rob's journey to LinkedIn, started after a decade-long career in recruiting. Leveraging transferable skills and industry knowledge, Rob pivoted into a Customer Success Manager role on the LinkedIn Talent Solutions team where he supported Search & Staffing customers. In this role, Rob had the opportunity to work closely with Product Operations and Research & Development (R&D), while also leading the Talent Solutions Product Champions team. This partnership led to another career transformation, this time into Product Operations. Rob now works with LinkedIn's Sales Solution product team, providing insight into what users want by analyzing voice-of-customer signals, and helping shape the product roadmap to create a best-in-class user experience.

In your own words, how would you describe Sales Solutions?

Sales Navigator leverages the data of our economic graph to enable sellers to find and connect with the right buyers.

With so many pivots in the world of work the past few years, how are you and your team adapting to meet the challenges facing our members and customers?

My team is currently focused on ensuring smooth launches across all generative AI driven features for both our members/customers and the field. What’s top-of-mind for us is ensuring that these features are frictionless and intuitive, that our support teams are equipped to support them fully, and we are able to accurately capture and synthesize voice-of-customer signals via these new surfaces.

The pivots of the past few years have further accelerated sellers’ shift from no-context spam and cold calls to the deep sales strategy of social selling, a philosophy that Sales Solutions has been driving for years. We’re currently focused on building generative AI features and thoughtfully weaving them into Sales Navigator to make sellers more successful.

How has belonging shaped your experience at LinkedIn?

After 10 years in the search & staffing industry, it took me a while to get comfortable embracing vulnerability, approaching work with a growth mindset, and bringing my authentic self to work. But, once I began to, I realized that I was experiencing tremendous personal and professional growth – and at a pace I was totally unaccustomed to!

LinkedIn’s approach to belonging, trust, and equity inspires me to work harder every day to enable this experience for our members and customers through our products.

What are you most looking forward to as you continue your career?

Ten years ago I would have never guessed I’d be working in tech; five years ago I would have never guessed I’d be working in product operations. Since accepting that InMail from LinkedIn in 2015, my career has taken several exciting and unexpected leaps. I can’t wait to see what’s next and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to forge the future with my incredible LinkedIn family.

While each of their roles may be different, all of our teams and functions are intrinsically connected:

• By prioritizing our members first, we’re all working towards the same goal: We’re creating the best possible experience for LinkedIn users to make them more productive and successful. ??
• LinkedIn’s global impact is only possible because we work together: We’re solving complex problems that require diverse perspectives and skills - when we lead with trust and respect for one another, our team members are able to focus on and thrive at what they do best. ??
• We’re all [in] it to create more equitable opportunities in the global workforce: This keeps us moving toward the future of work - creating inclusive skills-first features, connecting underrepresented talent, and investing in initiatives that foster belonging in our own workplace and beyond. ??

Want to learn more about our teams that support Sales Solutions, Marketing Solutions and Talent Solutions? Follow along with #LinkedInLife on LinkedIn and Instagram.