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

Daily Content & LinkedIn Insights • Founder at I.Am.U Media • Content and LinkedIn Consulting for Founders & CEOs

Before joining The 216, most of our clients were struggling with:

→ No clear offer (or an offer nobody understood)
→ An inconsistent way to generate qualified leads 
→ No process to have sales conversations with confidence

Many felt like impostors when talking about their business.
Others seriously considered going back to their 9-5 jobs.

And in general, they were constantly worried about when they would sign their next client.

After joining The 216, they all walked out with clear frameworks around:

1️⃣ Niching and Positioning: Explaining their business in a way that people instantly “get”.
2️⃣ Offer Creation: Building a premium, outcome-driven offer built around real client pain.
3️⃣ Repeatable Outreach System: Having a simple process anyone can follow to start conversations every week using only LinkedIn.
4️⃣ Natural Sales Process: A sales process that feels natural, easy, and with improving close rates. 

It’s the same system that helped:

📌 Adina Samuels (Manuscript Ghostwriter): From corporate job → $200k solo business
📌 Christian Mather (Wealth & Exit Planner): 4× monthly income to $23k in under 10 weeks
📌 Matthew Mercer (Recruitment Coach): Consistent £10k–£15k months
📌 Allison Paley (CS Consultant): From self-doubt → landed a $36,000 client
📌 Efe Buyuk (Data Systems Designer): Made 6× the program fee in under 12 weeks
📌 Priscilla Leigh (Psychoaudiologist): First high-ticket client in 21 days
📌 Chris Corridore (Brand Strategist): First $15k month and best year ever

These are all real people. You can find their profiles in my Featured Section. 

I invite you to message them and ask what their experience was like. 

And if you're ready, and you want a business that runs with clarity, control, and clients you can count on, send me a DM and I’ll share how The 216 works.

—

Mat Lehnhoff

If you're sending connection requests and getting less than 20% acceptance rate, something's broken. Here's what to check:

1. Your profile picture is doing you dirty.

Make sure you're showing your face. Zoom in. And smile.

It sounds wild, but people will literally judge if you're worth connecting with based on this.


2. You're connecting with the wrong people.

The secret is to be as specific as possible. "Coaches & consultants" doesn't cut it.

Use specific job titles. Use specific locations. Pay for LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

Some audiences simply aren't active on LinkedIn. 
But you have to test it.


3. Your headline shows zero value.

The first 10 words of your headline are what matter most.

They need to show how you can help your ideal client.

Or at minimum, create some intrigue.

Don't waste that precious real estate writing something like "Loving father". 

Show what's in it for THEM.


Here's what nobody tells you:

Having less than 20% acceptance rate means you'll be able to send fewer connection requests.

Because it signals to LinkedIn that people don't want to connect with you.

Which means fewer opportunities to grow your network and generate leads.

No bueno.

But it's easily fixed if you pay attention to these 3.


PS: If you consistently have 20-30% acceptance rate, you should be able to send 200 requests/week.

—

Grow to $15,000 months with LinkedIn alone • Learn how at The 216

A client was overthinking their LinkedIn outreach, so I reminded them:

LinkedIn has 1.2 billion users 

And you don't need to reach ALL of them.

Not even close.
You just need to reach a handful.

For example:

You could have 10 clients at $1500/month to create a $180k/year business.

That's it. Ten people.

You can run that solo, keep 95% profit margins, and design the lifestyle you actually want.

So you basically can get ignored by a billion people on this platform and STILL WIN.

You can fail 99% of the time, and STILL WIN.

How cool is that?

Here's the punchline:

Stop worrying about reaching everyone.

Start focusing on finding those "ten" clients who need what you offer.

That's all you need.

(And you can always grow from there).

taplio

The Battle

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Mat Lehnhoff

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taplio

The Battle

Samantha McKenna

Mat Lehnhoff

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

Performance ScoreMat Lehnhoff's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreSamantha McKenna's LinkedIn Performance