Sam McKenna talks sales and AI

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On October 22 in midtown Manhattan, Revenue Brew held its first ever in-person event. During “The Modern Revenue Engine,” we stepped back and took stock of an action-packed four months capturing the changes impacting revenue generation.

Sam McKenna, a former sales executive, LinkedIn influencer, and founder of consulting firm #samsales closed out the day by discussing social selling, the best use cases for AI, and of course, how to not lose the human touch amid technological change.

A LinkedIn superuser of sorts, McKenna described the platform as “one of the most overvalued and undervalued platforms around.” She said some sellers are still only utilizing the surface level information the website provides, while imploring more people to interact with desired individuals and audiences as a means of laying the groundwork for future relationships. She went as far as likening the ideal LinkedIn presence to that of a dating profile.

“I made a post eons ago that said, ‘Sometimes I write a post for one person,’” she told the audience. “I’m writing a post for one prospective client in mind, and I write that content just focusing on them hoping they will see it.”

This is where McKenna’s pivotal “show me you know me” mantra comes into play. The idea is to get beyond the fluff—information anyone could have on a prospect—and say something that truly captures their attention. For this, the application of human nuance and the efficiency of AI needs careful curation.

“We can use AI to scale our intelligence, but then what [do ]we do with it? To me that’s part of the missing link in sales and really where the future of go-to-market is,” McKenna said.

She said AI tools are best when they can be leveraged by a human touch on the back end. For her, it’s critical to avoid searching for the AI “silver bullet” that can do all the work in one sweep.

“Now that you have this first date, this discovery call, how do you show up in a different way? How do you build rapport? How do you ask questions?” she said.

This dance between the human element of selling and the growing capability of AI was a hot topic throughout the day and was touched on by speakers including Dibs Beauty CEO Jeff Lee and Amp Social founder and CEO Morgan Ingram.

Ingram gave a talk discussing pipeline growth and how social selling is so much more than simple spray-and-pray tactics.

“It is way more than just posting content, mass messaging a lot of people, and the AI slop you’ve seen in your inboxes,” he said.

McKenna echoed this sentiment, encouraging sellers to consider how they can stand out beyond using the same AI tools that everyone else has.

“What can you do as a seller, as a leader, as a rep, as a BDR, to stand out and be different and say: ‘I have a brain, I made an effort, I’m really trying here. Can you give me a shout?’ Worst case, they respond and say, ‘Great email, not the right time.’ You’ve sparked a dialogue, and who knows what can happen,” she said.