LinkedIn: The Beginning or The End?

I'm an optimist by trade. But I really do believe the best is yet to come just like a Tony Bennett Lady Gaga tribute and it won't be long. You can't blame a smart company for monetizing its offering. I've been the staunchest proponent of LinkedIn Sales Navigator. The company has delivered enough intrinsic value to their offering, it makes complete sense to pay.

Freemium models always experience backlash. I don't do recruiting and I'm not on here just to network. I will say that for an industrial strength selling tool, paying for Sales Navigator for unlimited access to the way all the data fits together, is priceless. So what if you have to buy direct dial software, too! CEOs - invest in your people!

Social Networks and CRMs typically have juxtaposed architecture. Prospects don't want to be hunted and hunters want to get straight to the point. Normal LinkedIn has become saturated with Paid advertising, although looking somewhat native but I'd say that's not any worse than the current state of affairs over at Facebook or Twitter.

We spend our lives convincing the powerful to change from the status quo. Hence why I'm amused when the social selling community writ large is aghast at the changes to the new LinkedIn layout. In many ways, it's simplified and better. It has absolutely nothing to do with Microsoft: there hasn't been time. Anyone who knows technology knows this is a fact.

I'm not worried about Microsoft of the 90's impacting the LinkedIn I know and love. It's amusing how it's immediately a finger pointing war at Microsoft as if Bill Gates himself is cackling somewhere like Mr. Burns in a giant echo chamber like Scrooge McDuck swimming through his gold doubloon filled money bin.

What is it specifically that's lacking? I mean we'd all love to have direct dials and emails but we can all understand how that would scare the "fish called Wanda" CXO right out of the social pond. We'd all love to have unlimited access to everything and every feature ever created but how on Earth could that be supported / maintained sustainably by mere ads.

We've gotta give LinkedIn a break for being a business. It too must operate in a free market economy run by capitalists and somehow thrive. So I say, pay to play and get yourself in the ring with their power tools. Pay for their social selling programs and pay for the primo toolset, whatever they deem worthy.

Embrace the walled garden that is LinkedIn just like you do so with everything from Apple be it hardware or software.

I have noticed that Groups has been fairly deprecated so I've succumbed to threading questions right out of my status feed which has been amazingly engaging and viral. Yes, it's spammy but I'll blame LinkedIn for making groups a ghost town.

I really enjoyed the dynamic of the old Groups functionality and how lively the discussions would be, especially on strategic sales.

So here are some Guy Kawasaki level, paradigm-shifting, curve-jumping, transformational ideas to improve or evolve LinkedIn's decadent capabilities I believe we can all get behind:

• Maxwell Bogner had the suggestion of rebooting GROUPs with dynamic videos and chat commentary in real-time.
• Yes, I agree. Everything in this system should be instantly EDITABLE like it is on Facebook.
• There should also be a direct CHAT interface like GChat and FB Messenger.
• Better yet, a VIRTUAL Reality Groups / Roundtables feature where professionals from all over the world can log in like in Second Life to discuss their most pressing business issues, collaborate on innovative ideas and work on philanthropic avenues to change the world across continents.

• Predictive Analytics inside Sales Navigator could be strengthened by machine learning based on the prospects that are saved to SUGGEST even more relevant prospects or topics that would appeal to them. I believe this may be happening with lead suggestions!
• Please allow more thought leaders into the INFLUENCER Program and expand it beyond just heads of state, captains, princes and industry titans.
• AI-driven conversation starters, like ticklers to suggest what to reference when sending a LinkedIn invite. Big data algorithms could serve up university in common or talking points to spark the conversation. That AI should definitely be named "Reid!" I've got 5,000 connections: now what - the software assistant "Reid" should cordially suggest some icebreakers to talk with prospects about that are even more relevant / intuitive than I could ever figure out with my simple humanoid faculties.

• CRM-like functionality: It's 2017! Shouldn't there be some way to score, organize and create lightweight opportunities similar to a HubSpot CRM on the back end for sellers in startups or SMBs relying on Navigator as their core interface to drive new business.
• You should definitely be able to pay to get more InMail. Not sure how this could be managed with a "hall monitor" of some kind. 30 InMails is nowhere near enough, even though you can hit reply to all of them and extend this to 60 or 90.

What have we gained and what have we lost with all the changes? Are there any incredibly useful features that LinkedIn needs to create? What are you using for sales, networking or job searching outside of here that would be very helpful? Please list your best suggestions for changes, updates, and feature your NOSTALGIA in the comments section below. I'll repost them back into the body of this article for everyone. Go Reid!

"The one question I ask myself is: Am I better off today being able to use LinkedIn than I was before LinkedIn became a business tool? The answer is easy, yes. We are all ahead of where we were in the pre-LinkedIn world." - Mark Hunter

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' button and also share via your Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Facebook social media platforms. I encourage you to join the conversation or ask questions so feel free to add a comment on this post. Please follow my LinkedIn post page for all my articles and visit me at www.tonyhughes.com.au if you are looking for a keynote speaker. Go to www.RSVPselling.com for sales methodologies that generate pipeline and manage complex opportunities. Flickr: Bennett Gaga: marcen27, Mr. Burns: lisatozzi, Rose Garden: Kyle Pearce, VR Goggles: Samantha Cristoforetti