Sales Navigator Community
A digital platform fostering learning and collaboration among Sales Navigator Program Managers, offering peer-driven support and inspiration to enhance their success in social selling.
Problem
- High churn in SMB accounts
- Customer Success services for SMBs are difficult to scale
- Challenges in identifying and cultivating expert voices and influencers for social selling
- Lack of access to robust analytics and no integration with platforms like Tableau or Microsoft
- Excessive cognitive load and too many obstacles to accessing information
- Limited options for branding customization
What’s been done before?
- LinkedIn Sales Solutions (LSS) ran a limited pilot (EMEA only) on the Salesforce Community Cloud platform using VirtualForce.
- Cornerstone OnDemand within LSS as a bundled option with the LMS
Challenges
- Migration from the Salesforce Community platform
- Limited availability of resources
- Collaborating effectively through multiple lines of business
- Limited experience of team manager in Product Design
Personas
Paul
Sales Technology / Program Manager
Part of the Sales Ops / Sales Enablement team. Not a current sales practitioner but may have past sales experience. Typically the primary admin overseeing tools.
Biggest Challenges:
Managing licenses and tool complexity, driving adoption, demonstrating value, and scaling tool usage.
Motivators:
Program success and internal recognition.
Value of Community:
Gaining social proof, exploring use cases, peer tips, and direct access to LinkedIn experts.
Behavioral Change Needed:
Engage with peers for advice and share internal successes instead of withholding them.
Prue
Social Selling Expert
SSI 75+, a champion of social selling who may or may not hold an admin or program manager role.
Biggest Challenge:
Often isolated in organizations where social selling isn’t widely embraced. In organizations with interest, time is a significant constraint, as some experts dedicate only 10% of their role to social selling. Prue needs scalable solutions to manage her expertise.
Motivators:
Recognition, exclusivity, influence, and opportunities for public exposure (speaking, writing). Values direct access to products and opportunities to provide feedback.
Value of Community:
A platform to voice opinions, enhance skills, and grow a following.
Behavioral Change Needed:
Shift from hoarding expertise to actively sharing insights within the community platform.
Noel
SMB Admin / PM / Sales Leader
Often the sole person managing the entire sales tool chain. Typically acts as the primary admin, operating independently.
Biggest Challenges:
Limited resources, demonstrating value, feeling isolated in the role, managing tool proliferation, and working within tight budgets.
Motivators:
Program success, internal recognition, and potential for promotion.
Value of Community:
Access to social proof, strategies, tips, Customer Success frameworks, and learning from peers’ experiences further along the journey.
Behavioral Change Needed:
Engage with peers, share successes, and prioritize training opportunities for the team.
Information Architecture
Salesforce Platform Feedback
We met with Sales Navigator product managers and the design lead to gather feedback on the current design:
- Ensure alignment with the updated global LinkedIn brand
- Evaluate the search bar for improved functionality and accessibility
- Link design concepts to the Aha! product for direct PM access
- Synchronize the product roadmap with upcoming Sales Navigator features
- Enable integration with the email system and analytics
Final Design
Drove the seamless branding of the new Community platform by designing logos, embedded brand fonts, and custom cursors. Took charge of custom coding for all pages, ensuring flawless implementation, and provided training and support to the Systems team.
Promo Videos
To enhance user engagement with the new Community platform, I spearheaded the development of a series of engaging videos. I collaborated with Community Program Managers, guiding them through the process of recording personal introductions to humanize the product. I provided comprehensive support in lighting, sound, and video techniques, ensuring high-quality production across our global team. Additionally, I managed the entire post-production process, delivering polished and professional video content that effectively reconnected our users with the Community.
