Sales Leader Compass Newsletter: January 15, 2025

Welcome to 2025: Insights, Innovations, and Inspiration for Sales Leaders

As we step into a new year, it’s clear that 2025 holds tremendous opportunities for sales leaders ready to embrace change and innovation. From the transformative power of AI to evolving skills and career landscapes, staying ahead means staying informed and adaptable.

In this edition, we’ll explore key findings from the LinkedIn Work Change Report, dive into strategies for leveraging AI alongside human-centric skills, and celebrate the incredible milestones achieved by the sales community in 2024.

Here’s to a year of growth, connection, and success. Let’s make it one to remember!

Best,

Dan Daly, Sr. Content Marketing Manager, LinkedIn Sales Solutions

AI is Coming to Work: Insights from the LinkedIn Work Change Report

The LinkedIn Work Change Report highlights how AI is reshaping careers, skills, and business dynamics—creating new opportunities for professionals and companies. These shifts hold key lessons for sales leaders adapting to new opportunities and challenges.

AI adoption drives measurable success

AI investments are delivering results; in fact, 51% of businesses that have already adopted Generative AI reported revenue increases of 10% or more. As 88% of C-suite leaders focus on accelerating AI adoption this year, sales leaders can look forward to embracing AI tools to improve efficiency, discover new prospecting avenues, and enhance their team’s ability to connect meaningfully with clients in a rapidly evolving market.

Jobs are evolving quickly

More than 10% of today’s roles didn’t exist in 2000, with emerging positions like Artificial Intelligence Engineer among the fastest-growing globally. As professionals enter careers with more job transitions than ever before, sales leaders must adapt their strategies to engage with a workforce shaped by rapid innovation and evolving priorities.

Skills are shifting at record speed

By 2030, 70% of the skills required for most jobs will change, with AI emerging as the catalyst. LinkedIn data shows professionals are already responding, with a 140% increase in the pace at which LinkedIn members are adding new technical and human-centric skills like leadership and communication. For sales leaders, understanding these skill shifts is critical to engaging clients and building future-ready sales teams.

The report is a must-read for sales leaders heading into 2025 looking for an understanding of how the world of work is evolving and how to adapt their sales organizations.

Prefer a quick download? Dan Shapero, Chief Operating Officer at LinkedIn, shares what he found most interesting in the video below.

Thoughtfully Built AI + Human Connection = The Future of Sales Success

Wherever you look, AI is the talk of the town. It’s clear from our research that revenue-driving members of the C-suite have this front of mind. In fact, in a recent survey 89% of Chief Revenue Officers (CROs) said speeding up adoption of AI is important to their business in 2025.

However, AI can’t go to a meeting for you (yet). Thoughtfully built AI, that complements personal connection and human-centric skills is the way forward for sales.

As LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky puts it:

“No matter who you are, where you work or what you do, my advice is to focus?on three things.?

First is to remain a lifelong learner. The landscape of work is evolving rapidly, and we know the skills that are in demand today might be different tomorrow. Embrace that change. Seek out opportunities to learn new technologies, because the ability to adapt and learn how to learn is going to set you apart.

Secondly, don’t forget the human element. No matter how advanced our technologies become, the need for human empathy, ethical judgment, and leadership cannot be replaced by AI. Cultivate these skills. They will be your anchor and will differentiate you in a technologically driven world.

Finally, think about how you can use AI not just to advance your own career, but to make a positive impact on the world. You have the chance to apply these incredible tools to solve pressing global challenges, from climate change to healthcare.”?

This sentiment was reinforced in a recent interview with Jess Peluso, CRO of HR Acuity, who shared how they’re investing in AI that is ‘thoughtfully built’ to reduce the manual workload for sales teams, freeing them to focus on developing meaningful, people-centered skills.

Check out the full interview here.?

Sales Year in review 2025 Wrapped

As 2025 kicks into gear, it’s time to say goodbye to 2024 and celebrate the incredible year sellers have had on LinkedIn. From building connections to mastering new skills, the sales community has been unstoppable! Check out this fun video from the LInkedIn Insights team highlighting last year’s most exciting trends and milestones in sales:

• Over 20M sellers actively used LinkedIn in 2024.
• Sellers forged more than 1B new connections worldwide.
• Millennials led the charge, dominating the seller demographic.
• Top cities for sellers? New York, London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Paris.
• Most-followed influencer? Steven Bartlett from Diary of a CEO.
• The most-learned topic on LinkedIn Learning? “What is Generative AI” (no surprises there!)
• Sellers added ‘Distribution Sales’ as the top skill to their profiles.
• AI companies topped the charts as the most-followed businesses.
• TED Spark was the go-to newsletter for sales inspiration.
• Sellers joined PowerBI: Business Intelligence more than any other group.

Watch the video and share your own favorite sales moments with your network—let’s toast to a bigger, bolder 2025!