Samantha McKenna

Founder @ #samsales l Sales + Cadences + Executive Branding on LinkedIn l Ex-LinkedIn l Keynote Speaker l 13 Sales Records l Early Stage Investor l Overly Enthusiastic l Swiss Dual Citizen l Creator, Show Me You Know Me®

I had my first exposure to competitive "sales" in sixth grade when my school raised money for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.  Knocking door to door and delivering a pitch was the start of my education; I still have the portable TV that I won for second place, which fuels my competitive spirit.

I’ve spent my career in sales doing a few things – breaking records, putting others first, creating global sales programs, educating through peer interaction, and going to great lengths to make people feel valued.  I’ve launched new verticals, overseen the GTM strategy for some of the most successful initiatives in company history, and put in processes across businesses that redefine how each company works and succeeds.

As the founder of #samsales, I oversee an all-women team of 14 who believe in a manners-first and buyer-first approach. We:

•	Run sales trainings that cover prospecting via your likely under-utilized LI Sales Nav licenses, how to write great email copy, Show Me You Know Me™, perfect discovery calls, etc. all while being sales methodology agnostic

•	Speak at 100+ annual events - keynoting for SKOs, international conferences, and podcasts alike re: sales, social selling, and women in tech/sales/leadership

•	Write the content you have in Outreach.io, etc using our proprietary techniques + the most up-to-date data on what works to drive opens + replies

•	Teach social selling - as an LI influencer, ambassador of Sales Navigator, and former LI leader, I understand how to use the ecosystem to truly SELL. I've personally trained tens of thousands on the platform, ranging from 10-person teams to Fortune 500 brands. 

•	Build brands for C-Suites on LinkedIn.  If you want to build a brand on LI but don't know what to write, don't understand the algorithm, and don't have the time to manage, our full-service strategy will manage it exclusively like we do for some of the most prominent/highly visible execs you see on LI.

As a founder, I have one goal - to make as much positive impact as we can.  Since our inception, we’ve raised over 120K via personal donations + our annual charity events for incredible causes, and have given away hundreds of our trainings to the military and transitioning teachers, free of charge.

When you hire us, you're not just hiring a team, but rather investing in one who constantly puts good into the world.

Who am I, otherwise - 

Philanthropist, investor, dog lover, die hard competitor, writer, former Nickelodeon game show contestant, extrovert, expert in self-deprecating humor, and willing to walk through fire to make you laugh.

Limited Partner

Sign up for our newsletters, webinars, and all our content here www.samsalesconsulting.com 

Phyllis: Thanks for your email! I'm not the right person, Rebecca Taylor is.
Rep: Hi Rebecca, Phyllis suggested I reach out to you...
😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑

A few ways to level up your replies to these kinds of referrals:

A. Always reply to these emails. This person did the unthinkably kind thing - they replied AND gave you the name of the contact. Gratitude FTW.

B. In the email, ask, "I'll send her a note in just a minute - do you mind if I reference your name or would you prefer I not?"

"in just a minute..." signals your hope for a quick reply

C. Change your subject line 

"Training Inquiry - Referred by Phyllis Nefler" (with permission)

"Training Inquiry - Referred by a colleague" (without permission)

Bonus points if you add a little Show Me You Know Me here and really make an effort.

D. Don't bury the lede 

The reason you want to change the subject line is that you worked to get the most powerful thing: a piece of information that will exponentially up the odds of an open, but also a reply. 

I most often see this info pop up in the body or in a PS, which robs us of using that really great piece of data right in the subject line.

E. "Suggested" isn't exactly truthful, right? 

Be super careful with language as "suggested" ...well, suggests...that the person thought it was a good idea for you to reach out when, in fact, they simply gave you the correct name.

Imagine if Rebecca asks Phyllis who says, "I didn't suggest anything, I simply pointed them in the right direction", and now we've lost trust, and potentially the reply/meeting.

Bonus?

Connect with all parties on LinkedIn, especially Phyllis. Just because she wasn't the buyer this time, doesn't mean she won't be down the line.

This and about 12 other plays for proactive and reactive referrals is part of our Show Me You Know Me masterclass, and with 91% of buyers willing to offer referrals, one of the easiest ways you can set your pipeline on fire for 2026. 

#samsales

85% of sellers use spreadsheets to manage their books and deals. I know because...I'm one of them. What? Who said that? 

But, I can tell you why: because it's maddening to not have a single pane view of all our deals, next steps, contacts, client data, etc. 

As a seller, moving between countless tabs and products to remind myself of status and next steps, was inefficient, so I built something that made sense for how I think...the ever-so-modern-Google spreadsheet 💁‍♀️

If you're like me, what ZoomInfo launched with their GTM Workspaces solution should stop you in your tracks. 

One home for complete buyer context and even a way to help scale your Show Me You Know Me with automated research, making it even easier for you to stand out with your buyers. 

We know that sellers still spend more time admin'ing than selling, but I don't think we consider as much how the inefficiencies of running through all these different tabs and platforms costs us in pipe and deal progression. 

This product happens to be one step in the very right direction. https://lnkd.in/eQP9g3ee

#samsales

SHI International Corp.

SHI is a multi-billion dollar global provider of technology products and services. SHI helps organizations take a smarter approach to technology deployment, provision applications faster, and run efficient and effective IT operations across the datacenter, end-user devices, and in the cloud. SHI provides foundational solutions that allow our customers to build resilient, agile technology-based answers to their most pressing business needs.

With more than 30 years' experience of supporting organizations like yours through all sorts of business and technology challenges, SHI is uniquely positioned to help you create infrastructure, digital workplace, security and cost optimization strategies that will guide your company through a digital transformation journey.

Strategic Account Executive

Softchoice

Commercial Account Executive Leader

Softchoice is one of the largest IT solutions and professional service providers in North America. 
3-Time Consecutive President's Club Winner
2020 President's Club: 150% of YTD Quota
2021 President’s Club: 125% of YTD Quota
2022 Presidents Club: 135% of YTD Quota

IT Solutions and Business Advisor - Sr. Commercial Account Executive

TWE Solutions Inc.

We are a security focused IT consulting firm offering end-to-end, enterprise class IT solutions and manage services tailored for mid-market and enterprise companies to provide high-touch customer service.  Our focus is to identify our clients' business goals then leverage our experienced team of business and IT consultants to partner in their success.

Sales Executive

OpenDrives

OpenDrives is a next generation data storage and workflow solutions company that was originally created to solve the toughest challenges in the Media & Entertainment industry at the onset of high resolution and high bandwidth workflows. OpenDrives' mission is to increase performance and reduce costs for media technology workflows. By delivering performance and flexibility while remaining on budget, OpenDrives empowers the world's leading content companies to push the boundaries and discover new efficiencies in their workflows and business models.

OpenDrives delivers the industry’s best balance of Cost-per-Usable-Terabyte vs. Performance; reinventing content creation workflows and reducing project turnaround times. OpenDrives' customers realize meaningful competitive advantages by creating, delivering and monetizing digital content faster and more efficiently.

OpenDrives can assist with workflows including:

•	Digital Post-Production
•	VFX
•	Color-Grading
•	Animation
•	Broadcast
•	Film & Television Production
•	Online Media
•	Video Game Development
•	VR
•	Digital Archiving 
•	Digital Imaging & Media Processing
•	Digital Asset Management
•	2k,4k,6k,8k,HFR,HDR 

Product Offerings:

•	Avalanche - All SSD for Performance
•	Spectre - Hybrid SSD/HDD for Flexibility
•	Ridgeview - All HDD for Dense, Scalable Near-Line Active Archive

OpenDrives has delivered innovative solutions to many of Hollywood's most data-intensive projects with clients that include: boutique production houses (David Fincher), major film labs (Fotokem & Deluxe), online content giants (Youtube, Riot Games), Major Motion Picture Studios (Disney, Warner Bros, FOX, Legendary) & Television Broadcasters (NBCUniversal, ABC, HBO).

Account Manager

EasyAgentPro

*Deliver between 8-12 Consultative presentations daily
*Articulate modern forms of multi-channel marketing methods breaking down industry terms (e.g. SEO, SEM tools) into palatable rhetoric for real estate 
*Smoothly transition closed transaction to project management and customer success

Internet Marketing Specialist & Account Manager

Agent Image

*Positioned within top 4 Web Strategists quarter after quarter. 
*Demonstrated a strong understanding of white hat SEO practices and strategies, current web design practices
*Qualify sales opportunities ($1500-$40k), submit RFP’s, and maintain sales pipeline
*Coordinated between Art Directors, Project Managers, and Support Teams to ensure deliverables met monthly

Senior Web Marketing Strategist

Cutco Logo Gifts

*Generated leads through cold calls, industry focused networking, leveraging existing relationships to gain warm referrals.
*Exceeded monthly goals by 20%

Closing Gifts Consultant

Apple Inc

*Collaborate in Leadership meetings and drive sales specialists to outperform PY sales metrics by minimum 10%<
*Consistently led sales team by being one of the top 6 revenue drivers
*Demonstrate cross-functional skills by covering for absent non-sales roles (e.g. Family Room Specialist, Creative 1-on-1 trainings, floor leader)

Expert & Mentor

Andrews University

•	Assist the director in planning multiple events for the annual Alumni Homecoming weekend
•	Responsible for coordinating participants, programming, promotion, and execution of assigned events
•	Collaborate with partnering departments to communicate strategy and event details
•	Proofread and edit marketing and promotional materials

Contract Assistant for Alumni Services

*Coordinated and executed recruitment initiatives, interacting with prospective students via email and face-to-face consultations
*Represented the university to prospective students during campus visits and guided assigned students through enrollment process
*Manage and supervised tasks of other student workers while multi-tasking several communication projects and liaising between departments across campus

Student Leader

AMOR Projects: Touch of Love

•	Plan, direct, and execute children’s programming during Evangelistic meetings
•	Design and produce materials for promotional and fundraising initiatives
•	Conduct daily tasks and interpersonal communication in Spanish
•	Travel to remote villages with volunteer medical team, triage patients while maintaining order and delivering appropriate care
•	Develop and maintain relationships with local people to create opportunity for Christian and health education

Volunteer missionary

Seasoned enterprise account executive with robust experience in consultative selling presenting best in breed hardware/software solutions and professional services to solve identified business challenges.
•	Execute all phases of the sales cycle—prospecting, proposal generation, negotiation, project implementation, and account management. Strong emphasis on diversifying existing named account base. 

•	Experienced in navigating and consulting mergers & acquisitions identifying operational and financial efficiencies and developing paths for optimization.
•	Excellent written and verbal communication skills specializing in business value engineering
•	Versatile and quick to learn new skills and disciplines
•	Efficiently manage competing projects to achieve expected timelines & deliverables
•	Self sufficient and results-driven, I embrace the challenges of a dynamic, fast-paced environment 
Specialties: consultative selling, enterprise hardware, enterprise software, cybersecurity, public cloud solutions, account planning, value propositions, business development, consulting, business process improvement, strategic planning, channel partnerships, Software as a Service (SaaS)

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Samantha McKenna

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The Battle

Samantha McKenna

Karen Ybanez

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Samantha McKenna's LinkedIn Performance

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