A Brief History of LinkedIn Sales Navigator

A Brief History of LinkedIn Sales Navigator

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  JULY ‘14 LinkedIn introducesSales Navigator, which was originally an extension of LinkedIn, as a standalone, Software-as-a-Service product designed to empower sales professionals to establish and grow relationships with customers and prospects. SEPT ‘14 LinkedIn launches the Sales Navigator app for iOS to give sales professionals access to customers and prospects even when they’re in the field. Sales Navigator upgrades its integration with Salesforce with lead recommendations and the capability to send InMail directly from Salesforce. JAN ‘15 LinkedIn announces that Newsle will be the engine for Sales Updates delivering timely company and member news within Sales Navigator. MAR ‘15 LinkedIn announces the availability of Sales Navigator in French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Italian, and Portuguese. JUNE ‘15 LinkedIn announces the expanded integration of Sales Navigatorwith Microsoft Dynamics CRM, a move designed to boost sales productivity. LinkedIn announces the availability of Sales Navigator Mobile forAndroid. AUG ‘15 LinkedIn acquires Fliptop, a provider of predictive sales and marketing software, which will be integrated into Sales Navigator. NOV ‘16 LinkedIn introduces an upgraded InMail for Sales Navigator, which enables sales professionals to create more personalized messages and easily send documents. SEPT ‘16 LinkedIn announces the CRM Partner Program, an initiative that enables leading CRM systems from HubSpot, Oracle, and others to integrate Sales Navigator functionality directly into their applications. AUG ‘16 LinkedIn introduces Notes & Tags in Sales Navigatorto help sales professionals keep a detailed chronological account oftheir interactions with potential customers or target companies. JULY ‘16 LinkedIn announces its acquisition of PointDrive, which enhances the way salespeople can share PDFs, videos, and other rich content with customers and prospects. LinkedIn unveils upgrades to Sales Navigator that include CRM Sync, Gmail extension, and new discovery features in the mobile app. OCT ‘15 LinkedIn makes two major updates to Sales Navigator by integrating the Social Selling Index into the product and launching a redesigned homepage, intended to simplify the selling process. MAR ‘17 LinkedIn rolls out the Enterprise Edition of Sales Navigator and TeamLink Extend, which helps salespeople to discover if anyone in their organization has a connection with a potential prospect. MAY ‘17 LinkedIn acquires Heighten, a startup with products aimed at improving sales process tracking and pipeline reporting. NOV ‘17 LinkedIn offers Sales Navigator Lite for Gmail. Sales professionals can now use some of their favorite Sales Navigator features right from their inbox, including viewing shared contacts, ice breakers, and saving leads. FEB ‘18 LinkedIn introduces the Sales Navigator Application Platform, which enables sales professionals to gain Sales Navigator insights directly in software such as Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, and Marketo. MAY ‘19 LinkedIn announces a new Sales Navigatorhomepage design that focuses on alerts to more easilysurface relevant and actionable insights for sales professionals. Microsoft Dynamics for Sales users can now view Sales Navigator insights for people added to their account org charts. FEB ‘19 LinkedIn introduces Sales Navigator Coach, a series of short videos that help sales professionals get the most out of Sales Navigator. LinkedIn enables the sharing of Sales Navigator Custom Lists with colleagues, enabling, for instance, Sales Development Reps to collaborate with Account Executives. NOV ‘18 LinkedIn introduces Advanced Alerts, which now inform sales professionals when an account has raised funding or when a saved lead has engaged with LinkedIn posts from their company. With Custom Lists, salespeople can jot down notes on a Saved Lead or Account and then filter the list based on groups like people who have changed jobs in the last 90 days. AUG ‘18 LinkedIn introduces Deals and Buyer’s Circle to improve pipeline review sessions between Sales Managers and Account Executives. MAY ‘18 LinkedIn launches a new Sales Navigator lead page which enables sales professionals to quickly check if a lead is relevant. A Brief History of LinkedIn Sales Navigator LinkedIn launched the stand-alone version of Sales Navigator in July of 2014. In its first five years, the company has tirelessly improved the product to make sales professionals more effective at their jobs. This timeline highlights key product enhancements that have enabled Sales Navigator to become the resource that sales teams rely on to expand existing customer relationships, acquire new business, and maximize productivity.