SalesTechStar Interview with Monica Lewis, VP of Product Management at LinkedIn

InterviewsArtificial Intelligence (AI)Buyer Insights

By Paroma Sen On Nov 13, 2024

Monica Lewis, VP of Product Management at LinkedIn chats about AI and the future of salestech driven sales in this quick chat with SalesTechStar:

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Hi Monica, tell us about yourself and your journey at LinkedIn

I joined LinkedIn 12 years ago and have had the opportunity to work on a number of different products for audiences ranging from sellers to job seekers, hiring managers and recruiters. People often ask me – what’s kept me at LinkedIn for all this time, when in our industry people typically change jobs every few years. It’s simple: I feel extremely connected to LinkedIn’s mission, creating economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. In building products for sellers and revenue organizations, with Sales Navigator we are helping grow the businesses that create jobs and growth opportunities for their employees. I also really cherish LinkedIn’s culture, which supports me as a mom of young kids and enables me to champion equity in the workplace, a personal passion.

We’d love to hear more about LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator AI Suite: how does it help modern B2B SaaS sellers stand out?

Our new suite of Sales Navigator features – Lead Finder, Lead IQ, Message Assist, and an enhanced Account IQ – helps every team member perform at the level of a top seller. Our new research revealed that AI can help free up an additional 11.5 hours a week so sellers can spend more time engaging with customers and closing deals. We created these features to equip B2B sellers with deeper insights to better personalize their outreach and streamline their workflows. Overall, the new suite of AI features helps B2B sellers stand out by freeing up time from administrative tasks, enabling them to invest more in relationships with customers and buyers – which is what top sellers prioritize.

Amid all the many sales follow ups and sales conversations that prospects are tuned to today, what can sellers do better to build stronger relationships without being too salesy?

It’s important to remember that on the opposite end of every deal is another human who is simply trying to succeed at their jobs, just like you. B2B sales is really about the person on the other side and how you communicate and relate to them. Human-centric soft skills, like empathy, storytelling, and active listening, are critical to building strong relationships with customers. And, our new research shows that the demand for core human skills in sales has actually increased globally compared to 2022. By integrating soft human skills with hard skills like negotiation and product expertise, and leveraging technology like the new Sales Navigator features, sellers can save time that can be used toward engaging in meaningful conversations, nurturing strong relationships, and ultimately closing more deals.

Not many marketing and sales teams have understood how to use AI well to power their processes and goals: can you share pointers for B2B SaaS sellers here in this conversation?

I know that many teams feel overwhelmed or stuck when it comes to AI – they’re excited to experiment with it, but they’re not always sure of the best way forward. My advice is to focus less on a big AI strategy and instead try to find one small win at a time. Challenge yourself to find one place where you can use AI to work more efficiently. That could be as simple as experimenting within existing tools you know and love that will drive the most value for your team, so it’s not too overwhelming.

As we learn more from our customers who are introducing AI across their teams, change management is also going to be crucial to adoption. A few pointers:

It’s important to set clear expectations
Train and educate your teams through multiple channels
Measure impact, learn what works and what should be changed and adapt accordingly.

Lastly, combine sales best practices with AI. For instance, researching customers and prospects is a key best practice. By using AI tools like AccountIQ, sellers can quickly generate comprehensive backgrounds on their customers, saving time and arriving better prepared for every conversation.

When it comes to using AI as part of a salestech stack and sales processes: what common pitfalls would you caution sales teams against?

One of the biggest pitfalls I commonly hear from customers is that they’re feeling overwhelmed because they feel they need to “boil the ocean,” so to speak. They want to do everything with AI, rather than just starting small and finding at least one win with the technology. Further, they’re expecting perfect solutions, rather than iterating and learning along the way. As with any new technology, it’s going to take time to perfect, so I would advise sales teams to take their time, find small wins and get comfortable testing and iterating along the way.

Some thoughts on the future of AI powered salestech before we wrap up?

In the age of AI, the skills required to do jobs is changing and Sales as a profession is poised to be the most transformed. Knowing this, it’ll be important to embrace AI, and learn to use it in ways that will enable you to work more efficiently, while ultimately adopting the behaviors of top sellers and closing more deals.

Quality conversations with the right people will still be very important, so don’t lose sight of that while adapting to a future with AI. Human skills and strong relationships will only become more important with the rise of AI in selling. Using tools like Sales Navigator, especially with new features like Lead Finder and Lead IQ, are going to allow sellers to spend more time with customers, deepening those relationships as sellers show up more prepared and unlock valuable insights that will drive profitable growth.

Episode 200 of The SalesStar Podcast by SalesTechStar – B2B buying and selling habits with Raul Murguia, Sr Dir of Integrated Marketing for LinkedIn Sales Solutions