I write about the three topics that I am most passionate about; Sales, Marketing and Social Media. These topics are covered from my experiences in outside sales and marketing. My objective is to use my expertise to help business and the individual.
I’m a Strategic Marketer with Field Sales, Sales Enablement, Content Creation, and, Classroom Teacher/Trainer skillsets using Marketing to drive Sales/Growth.
As a Marketer, I’ve worked with Start-Ups, a Political Campaign, and a Digital Marketing Conference.
I’m certified in Inbound Marketing with classes in Marketing, Product Management, Product Marketing, SEO, and SEM.
Before teaching, I was an Outside Sales and Marketing Rep. selling and marketing dental products to Dentists using consultative selling, trade show marketing, field marketing, and market research.
I publish Sales, Marketing & Social Media Today a blog covering industry events and trends.
I write about the three topics that I am most passionate about; Sales, Marketing and Social Media. These topics are covered from my experiences in outside sales and marketing. My objective is to use my expertise to help business and the individual.
A LinkedIn profile is a great opportunity to showcase who you are and what you can do for others. To effectively showcase yourself with your LinkedIn profile, you need to be able to tell a story that is credible and engaging. How do you tell a story on LinkedIn with your profile? There are 8 steps you need to take to optimize your profile for storytelling.
1. Creating a Great Headline
A headline is equivalent to the title of a book, essay, or story. The headline should be engaging. Like a story, the reader decides if they want to read more or move on. Using the automatic headline that lists your job title is a mistake. It is boring and makes you just like everyone else. It demonstrates that you lack creativity.
Your headline should be a short introduction showing how you help others in your current role. This is key if you are happily employed or if you are looking to advance in your current field. If you are looking to change careers, the title should demonstrate how you can take the skills and insights that you have developed and apply them to the career that you aspire to obtain. In other words, the headline should be able to answer the question “What are you looking to do or what do you want in your next role?”
2 Uploading a Photo
LinkedIn profiles include large amounts of text. Similar to a story, text alone is not visually appealing. This is where a photo can help. When you upload a photo to your LinkedIn profile, your profile comes to life; similar to cover art on the front cover of an autobiography. Remember your profile is your story and brief career autobiography.
When you chose a picture, make sure that it is clear and makes you look professional.
3. Recording an introduction
LinkedIn also lets you record a 30-second introduction to your audience.
4. Crafting and Creating a Summary/Presentation
Your summary should reflect and expand on the headline. This is the place where you provide a brief overview that supports the headline, thesis, and title of your story. Your summary is a place to introduce yourself to your audience. It is important to keep your audience in mind. Put yourself in the place of the reader. Would you want to read your profile if the roles were reversed?
Once you introduce yourself, tell your story. Explain your background, where you are today, and where you want to be in the future. Make sure to include how your current skill set and experience have helped others and how these skills can be applied to a new role. When you list your work experience, make sure to back up your headline and summary. Think of this as your body paragraphs.
You can also share links to a digital portfolio, website, or whatever boosts your profile appearance.
5. Describing your work experience
As I mentioned above, the work experience section of your profile is the body paragraphs of your essay and story. It should be listed in chronological order. Each position that you describe should have specific examples of how you helped others in the role. LinkedIn also allows users to upload presentations and videos of their work. This can serve as a digital portfolio of your work that people can view. The next thing that I would do is obtain recommendations. You can also share your presentations from Slideshare on LinkedIn as well.
6. Obtaining Recommendations and Endorsements
A LinkedIn recommendation serves as proof that you have done excellent work in your position. These recommendations should be from coworkers, supervisors, and customers that you have served. They should serve as the conclusion to your story and essay where your claims are verified and validated. Recommendations should not be given away freely; doing that will undermine your credibility.
Endorsements are a quick way for someone to say that you are good at a particular skill without needing to write a recommendation. LinkedIn allows users to list up to 50 skills that connections can endorse.
7. Open to Work/Open to Hire
LinkedIn allows users to share if they are open to working or looking to hire. This is a nice addition to their job seeker and job posting experience. I am currently looking for work.
As you can see, LinkedIn allows you to list 5 job titles along with your desired work type location, etc. While I chose to make my job search public, LinkedIn allows users to make their open-to-work status visible to only recruiters to protect the anonymity of job seekers.
Recruiters and hiring managers can also share that they are hiring for roles by using the Open to Hire frame.
8. Creator Mode
LinkedIn allows you to display 5 topics on your LinkedIn profile to show potential followers when you turn on creator mode. Creator mode also allows you to reach your audience in new ways with tools such as LinkedIn Live, Audio Event, Newsletters, and follow on LinkedIn.
Putting it all Together
Using these 8 steps will allow you to create a LinkedIn profile that can help you tell a credible and engaging story to potential customers and employers.
How have you used your LinkedIn profile to tell your story?
I’m a Strategic Marketer with Field Sales, Sales Enablement, Content Creation, and, Classroom Teacher/Trainer skill-sets using Marketing to drive Sales/Growth.
As a Marketer, I’ve worked with Start-Ups, a Political Campaign, and a Digital Marketing Conference.
I’m certified in Inbound Marketing with classes in Marketing, Product Management, Product Marketing, SEO, SEM.
Before teaching, I was an Outside Sales and Marketing Rep. selling and marketing dental products to Dentists using consultative selling, trade show marketing, field marketing, and market research.
I publish Sales, Marketing & Social Media Today a blog covering industry events and trends.
Inbound Marketing, Digital Marketing, Content Marketing, Product Marketing, Demand Generation, Social Media Marketing, Sales Enablement Enablement, Sales Strategy, Marketing Strategy, Employer Branding, Recruitment Marketing.
Open on title, industry, company, location, and level. Reach out on LinkedIn or at dan@dangalante.com to start a conversation.
Posted 116 weeks ago
Sales, Marketing & Social Media Today
I write about the three topics that I am most passionate about; Sales, Marketing and Social Media. These topics are covered from my experiences in outside sales and marketing. My objective is to use my expertise to help business and the individual.
Agentforce in Action at Salesforce Agentforce Tour in New York
I covered Salesforce AgentForce in New York this past week. This event was organized to showcase Salesforce’s new product Agentforce which is DIY AI in action. Agentforce is a customer service agent that can be built by Salesforce customers and integrated into all industries across the customer journey.
Salesforce Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer, Slack Parker Harris kicks off the Keynote in New York!
Users of Salesforce Foundation Enterprise Edition and higher can upgrade to Agentforce for free!
Customers could build a customer service agent on-site.
Salesforce hosted a hackathon where the winner of the Agentforce contest won $20000!
The keynote showed how service and customer success functions have evolved from chatbots to copilots to Agentforce a self-designable customer service agent that can be customized to users’ specific needs across the customer journey, increasing productivity, reducing customer friction, and maximizing the customer experience.
Patrick Stokes EVP of Product & Industries Marketing at Salesforce, shows how he exchanged his sweater for the right size using Sofie and a customer service agent Saks Fifth Avenue built using Agentforce.
Patrick Stokes
I saw multiple demos of Agentforce across Sales, Marketing, Service and, more.
Salesforce announced the launch of the Testing Center for Agentforce; coming this December, which will allow users to develop Agentforce to answer every possible question in all forms and variations; something the current chatbots and copilots can’t do. Agentforce enables users to take proactive prescriptive action in real-time.
AgentforceTour was a great event. I learned much about DIY AI and how it can transform the customer experience.
I want to thank Salesforce for having me at Agentforce Tour.
If you want to be on the cutting edge of DIY AI, attend Agentforce in your city.
I covered the World Business Forum in New York this past week. World Business Forum or WOBI for short is a global conference that shares the leading trends in Business. WOBI brings industry thought leaders together to share insights on business topics such as Creativity, Marketing, Innovation, being creative, Leadership, Management, and more.
My favorite talks were from Gary Hamel, Angela Ahrendts DBE, and Jon McNeill.
Gary Hamel shared an idea called Humanocracy which is the title of his latest book. Gary shows that employees and not just executives should lead at all levels to get things done and improve outcomes. Gary states that AI will not solve organizations’ productivity issues instead he says that productivity issues need to be solved by people which is a different opinion.
Angela Ahrendts DBE shared her insights from leading at Apple and Burberry. One point that stood out is that Angela said that Profit and Loss (P & L) statements do not tell the whole story, instead, she said that leaders need to examine the People and Impact (P& I) along with the (P& L) when examining the performance of the organization and its employees.
Jon McNeill was the former head of innovation at Tesla. He shared how he used innovation when he was tasked with increasing Tesla’s Digital Sales 20X and the steps he took to reduce customer friction in Tesla’s Online Buying Journey; reducing it from 63 clicks down to 10 clicks to achieve his 20X Digital Sales Goal.
I enjoyed the lunch and learn by Texas Tech where Gary shared even more insights on how his management and innovation ideas improved healthcare outcomes for patients at a healthcare system.
Attendees did more than just go to talks, attendees had a chance to network, connect with event sponsors, meet the speakers, and get their purchased books signed by speakers at the Barnes & Noble station right after their talk.
If you want to learn more about the latest business trends from industry thought leaders, attend WOBI.
Posted 7 weeks ago
Advertising Week Turns 20: Highlights from Advertising Week 2024
This week, I covered Advertising Week in New York. Advertising Week is celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year. Advertising Week offers insights on many topics beyond advertising, including marketing, e-commerce, media, retail media, AI, Generative AI, technology, creativity, and beyond.
Smokey the Bear celebrated his 80th Birthday at Advertising Week.
The conference was held at the Penn District in New York City. Panels were held on different stages that were centered on the themes of scaling up, innovation, creativity, the marketplace, technology, media, great minds, podcasting, CMOs, excellence, and women’s empowerment.
There were many great exhibits as well. I enjoyed using Meta’s AI which turned me into Super Man and Iron Man.
Meta had great AI Ray Ban sunglasses that enabled me to use the internet for many tasks.
Attendees also had a chance to make their reels on Meta.
Advertising Week looked back and looked to the future as well. The founder of Advertising Week Matt Scheckner, shared how he started the conference with an idea. He shared his story from the parade in Times Square in 2004 to today; describing how Advertising Week grew to have a presence with conferences across the globe. Matt Scheckner assembled a panel of leaders from business and entertainers On a panel he shared with Susie Essman of Curb your Enthusiasm, Tim Armstrong, Kim Kellehner, and Claudio Romo Edelman. The panelists shared their journeys and their keys to success: embracing change and growing.
There were many panels about using AI, Data, Storytelling, Global Marketing, public speaking, pitching deals, and selling advertising. Additional panel pictures can be found on Instagram.
I learned so much. If you are interested in trends in advertising, marketing, AI, and beyond, attend Advertising Week.
I want to thank the organizers of Advertising Week for having me as their guest.
Posted 10 weeks ago
Insights from 2024 DMWF NA
Last week, I covered the Digital Marketing World Forum conference in New York. The conference was held at the Marriot Marquis in New York’s Times Square. The Digital Marketing World Forum or DMWF for short, covered a wide array of topics beyond just digital marketing, that covered AI, ecommerce, influencer marketing, and creativity just to name a few.
DMWF also had interesting service providers in the Digital Marketing space.
The conference was divided into two tracks. Track one consisted of topics that fell into the categories of: Covering Data, CRM & Insights // eCommerce & Omnichannel // AI & Marketing Automation // Digital Transformation & Leadership // Customer Experience, Email & Automation // Mobile Marketing & Advertising //.
Track two consisted of topics that fell into the categories of: Influencer, Affiliate & Creator Marketing // Content & Video Marketing // Social Media & Community Marketing // Digital Brand Strategy & Communications //.
There were so many amazing discussions. The topics that I found the most interesting were Building a successful Full-Funnel Marketing Strategy, and How to navigate changing social platforms.
In the Building a successful Full-Funnel Marketing Strategy panel,
Shayna Macklin, Director, Social / Brand + Music Partnerships & Fractional CMO, Playboy Enterprises, Inc. & Rainbow Apparel Co
Carly Schrager, Head of Marketing Automation Engagements, North America, Bluprintx
Moderator: Dasha Shunina, Ambassador Community & Partnerships, Puzzle
David Johnston, Head of Social Media, U.S. Department of Defense
Lamarr Shand, Head of YouTube & Digital Video Strategy, Google
Cara Hedgepeth, Senior Social Media Community Advisor, AARP
address the questions of:
Social strategies in 2024 and beyond
Defining your customer profiles and adapting your game plan for your audiences, including B2B and B2C
Using data and insights to define your social strategy and increase engagement
Socials in different industries — when should you engage with your customer?
The DMWF was an amazing conference. If you are interested in Digital Marketing and all things Marketing, I suggest attending the DMWF.
I want to the thank the organizers of the Digital Marketing World Forum for having me as their guest.
Posted 11 weeks ago
Connecting & Innovating at TechDay 2024
I covered TechDay in New York this past Friday. This year was special because it was the 10th anniversary of TechDay.
Over the past ten years, TechDay events have connected over 10,000 startups with over 250,000 investors, accelerators, engineers, suppliers, and other members of the tech startup ecosystem. This is according to TechDay.
Attendees had the opportunity to network with venture capitalists, and accelerators, learn about the latest technology, and attend tech talks.
These tech talks consisted of thought leaders from the NYC startup ecosystem, including investors with over $5 billion in combined assets under management. Thought leaders spoke on a series of panels focused on the history of the NYC startup ecosystem, its present opportunities, and possible futures
Entrepreneurs had the opportunity to audition to pitch their start-ups on Shark Tank.
There were many exhibitors at TechDay as well. Companies were from a wide array of industries.
In this video, I walked the event floor to give you a sense of the things happening from networking, connecting, pitching, and learning.
Thank you to the organizers of TechDay for having me.
TechDay was a great event.
TechDay events are held both in person and online. Visit techdayhq.com for a schedule of upcoming events and a recap of the recently completed TechDay Expo.
Did you attend?
What are your thoughts on TechDay?
Comment and share below.
Posted 31 weeks ago
Survey of 2023 Holiday Spending
I surveyed my audience on LinkedIn on how their spending was impacted by inflation.
This is an updated extension of my last report where I surveyed my audience on LinkedIn about their holiday spending intent, method of purchase, types of purchase, and sentiment in the U.S. Consumer spending is always top of mind for marketers, sellers, and retailers.
This year, I focused only on inflation and holiday spending.
How has inflation impacted your holiday spending?
How did inflation impact your spending during the holiday season? Share your thoughts.
As you can see, 71% percent said they spent less during this holiday season. Consumers must see value in what they are buying. Brands need to create memorable experiences for consumers with their offerings
Based on my research, my finding suggests:
Inflation has dampened consumer spending during the holiday season.
Customers are taking a closer look at their finances this year.
Brands need to provide value offerings that create memorable experiences for customers.
How did inflation impact your holiday spending?
Please share your thoughts and join the conversation.
I’m a Strategic Marketer with Field Sales, Sales Enablement, Content Creation, and, Classroom Teacher/Trainer skill sets using Marketing to drive Sales/Growth.
As a Marketer, I’ve worked with Start-Ups, a Political Campaign, and a Digital Marketing Conference.
I’m certified in Inbound Marketing with classes in Marketing, Product Management, Product Marketing, SEO, and SEM.
Before teaching, I was an Outside Sales and Marketing Rep. selling and marketing dental products to Dentists using consultative selling, trade show marketing, field marketing, and market research.
I publish Sales, Marketing & Social Media Today a blog covering industry events and trends.
Open on title, industry, company, location, and level. Reach out on LinkedIn or at dan@dangalante.com to start a conversation.
Posted 46 weeks ago
Trends in AI & Generative AI: Insights from The 2023 AI Summit New York
Last week, I covered the AI Summit in New York. I was excited to learn about the trends in AI and generative AI and to see some commercial applications of these new technological advancements.
Patrick Murphy of UAB led the AI Exhibitor hub. Patrick shared insights from his research on Entrepreneurship. He shared how start-ups use AI, and Generative AI to scale up and bring products to market.
Generative AI is being used in the following eight ways:
Content and Asset Generative
Automated Processes
Ideation
Financial Management
Project Design
Optimized Structures
Acceleration and incubation
Ethics and Risk Management.
There was a pitching completion where start-ups did pitches in multiple rounds. At the beginning of the competition, they received advice from judges on best practices.
One of the start-ups that was of interest was Botwise. Jan Nowak shared how his team shared a use case on how they leveraged Language Learning models (LLM)using statistics and GPT solutions for rapid automation in customer service for Mylead.global is a platform that allows influencers to earn money. As a result, MyLead.global was able to screen influencers faster and better for their big brand clients.
AI-Powered Use Cases from across the board panel discussion
Leaders Saira Kazmi Ph. D. (CVS Health), Matthew Blakemore (Creative Industries Council) Taha Mokfi (HelloFresh), Kriti Kohli (Shopify), and Kris Perez (Data Force) share how they use chatbots, improving both the buyer and seller experience using AI. How AI can be used in video games to identify levels of violence and how AI can improve in healthcare and Radiology reducing the amount of time images are read while improving accuracy and detail.
Another interesting Panel was by Tim Delesio CTO of techolution
Tim asked What’s driving the explosive rise of AI all of a Sudden?
The answer is the economics of the labor market.
On the demand side, he cited labor shortages and persistent high inflation.
On the supply side, he cites the rise of ChatGPT and, major scientific and Technological breakthroughs in the past five to seven years.
He shared trends in AI for 2024 that include:
Physical Labor with AI to help deliver small batch sizes with high-precision quality control
Improved customer engagement by providing a new generation of customer service agents using Generative AI
Tim demonstrated some of these trends when he ordered a soda using an AI-powered robotic arm.
The booth had another machine showing how AI can enhance inventory management when items are ordered.
I was amazed to see some AI Tech that techolution brought to the marketplace.
On that note, I saw an AI-powered Kiosk by Graphen where a man ordered his food and paid. This company is using AI to revolutionize all industries.
Man orders food AI Kiosk
Man pays for food at AI Kiosk
There were so many great talks and exhibits.
Additional pictures can be found on Instagram.
I want to thank the AI Summit for having me as their guest. If you want to use AI and Generative to improve business outcomes, sign up for the AI summit in your city.
What do you think is next for AI and Generative AI?
I asked my LinkedIn audience If the Sales and Marketing functions were merged and run by Sales, What would be your main focus? Why?
As you can see, 68% of those surveyed said that increased lead generation and demand generation was a top priority. What this means is that people see Marketing as a vehicle to increase Sales and Revenue.
Free Trials
Previously, I have discussed the marketing strategy of free trials, discounted trials, and loss leaders.
Free Samples
Another great marketing strategy for brands to get prospects and current customers to try a new product or retry an existing one is to offer a free sample. This can be done by handing out the product sample during online, field, and tradeshow marketing.
Field & Trade Show Marketing
Samples can be in the form of a physical product, a link to an online offering, offering a discount to make a purchase. Recently, I attended the 9th Avenue International Food Festival in New York. I received sample food products. One of the vendors offered a food sample and a coupon to make a purchase.
At Tradeshows, brands can offer physical and digital products in exchange for customer information. This is an excellent tactic for lead generation. Most times brands scan the badge of customers to collect this information.
Online Marketing
Brands can also reach customers online to get them to request a free sample. The sample can come in the form of a download or a physical offering depending on the product type.
Brands can also offer branded merchandise as a way to be remembered by prospects and customers.
How have you used free samples to attract new customers, renew, upsell, and cross-sell existing customers?
I’m a Strategic Marketer with Field Sales, Sales Enablement, Content Creation, and, Classroom Teacher/Trainer skill sets using Marketing to drive Sales/Growth.
As a Marketer, I’ve worked with Start-Ups, a Political Campaign, and a Digital Marketing Conference.
I’m certified in Inbound Marketing with classes in Marketing, Product Management, Product Marketing, SEO, and SEM.
Before teaching, I was an Outside Sales and Marketing Rep. selling and marketing dental products to Dentists using consultative selling, trade show marketing, field marketing, and market research.
I publish Sales, Marketing & Social Media Today; a blog that covers industry events and trends.
The 2023 New York Auto Show is happening at New York’s Jacob Javits Center.
I had the privilege of covering the New York Auto Show on press and industry days. The show opened with the World Car Awards Breakfast.
I want to congratulate Hyundai for winning multiple awards with its all-new Ioniq 6 EV including the World Best EV Award, World’s Best Design, and 2023 World Car of the Year!
Congratulations to all of the other finalists as well.
I rode along in the Hyundai Ioniq 6 EV on one of the multiple test tracks at the show. It was an exhilarating experience!
The show consists mainly of EVs and hybrid vehicles. There are two levels including using EV test tracks where you can a do ride-along. There are fun exhibits that I recommend that you experience. I rode along on all of the test tracks experiencing various EVs.
The Jeep track simulates a mountain and off-road driving experience.
If you are interested in learning about EVs, Charging Stations, and electric power there are displays and resources to explore at the show.
You can find additional pictures posted on Instagram.
There were also some new vehicle roll-outs and major press announcements from Kia, Hyundai, Chrysler, Ram, VW, and many others. You can see some of them below.
Kia Press Conference The all new EV9.
Hyundai Press Conference and Reveal Kona N Line, The All New 2024 KONA Electric
I enjoyed the Subaru Loves Pets campaign at the show. Subaru is partnering with animal nonprofits to get pets adopted, especially pets that are disabled and traumatized.
The show is open to the public as of yesterday at the Jacob Javits Center located at 429 11th Avenue New York, New York 10001. How to get to the Auto Show. The Auto Show runs from Friday, April 7th, through Sunday, April 16th, 2022. The hours are as follows Monday — Saturday from 10 am to 7 pm and Sundays from 10 am to 7 pm. General admission tickets are $21 for adults and $ 7 for children. If you want early access for this Friday or Saturday tickets are $45 for adults and $7 for children. Tickets can be purchased here.
What are you hoping to see at the auto show?
If you have attended the auto show, what was the most exciting thing you experienced?
Building relationships with customers and closing deals is critical for sales success. In business, customer acquisition and customer retention are crucial to generating revenue. It is cheaper to keep existing customers than to acquire new ones.
Once a sale is made, it is tempting for sales reps to move on to the next customer.
However, the sale is not complete when the customer signs the contract. Customers should pay their invoices on time to ensure the business has enough cash to operate and potentially turn a profit.
What on time means is dependent on a company payment policy. Customers can have payment terms raining from C.O.D, net 30, net 60, net 90, net 120, or longer. Some cycles can run for a year or longer. Certain companies offer financing options. Payment structures are structured based on the length of the sales cycle.
How can we make sure customers pay their invoices on time?
Here are six ways to keep customers and get them to pay their invoices on time.
Build and nurture customer relationships.
When the sale is complete, put all details in writing.
Follow through with the implementation product or service post-sale.
Check-in with your customer to make sure they are happy with their purchase. This can present an opportunity for upselling, cross-selling, repeat business, referrals, and testimonials.
If the customer voices concerns or has an issue with a product or service, address it immediately.
Make sure to honor any promises and warranties extended during the sales cycle.
If you follow these steps, you will get most customers to pay their invoices on time.
What do I do if a customer will not pay their invoice?
In large organizations, the accounts receivable manager will handle the customer by sending past-due notices and charging penalties. However, if Sales Reps work for a small company as I did, this will be the Sales Rep’s responsibility. Ideally, the Sales Rep should be able to handle customer issues because they have a relationship with the customer.
Sales Reps should call and visit the customer. During the visit, Sales Reps need to try to solve the issue. Be polite. Never raise your voice or swear at a customer. The goal is to get paid while keeping the customer whenever.
As a result of implementing the strategies above, my receivables (open invoices) were the lowest in the company! This allowed me to earn more commissions, make more sales and develop great relationships with my customers.
It is important to note that Sales and Service across acquisition and retention are subdivided in larger organizations.
How have you improved customer retention and gotten your customers to pay on time?
I’m a Strategic Marketer with Field Sales, Sales Enablement, Content Creation, and, Classroom Teacher/Trainer skill sets using Marketing to drive Sales/Growth.
As a Marketer, I’ve worked with Start-Ups, a Political Campaign, and a Digital Marketing Conference.
I’m certified in Inbound Marketing with classes in Marketing, Product Management, Product Marketing, SEO, and SEM.
Before teaching, I was an Outside Sales and Marketing Rep. selling and marketing dental products to Dentists using consultative selling, trade show marketing, field marketing, and market research.
I publish Sales, Marketing & Social Media Today; a blog that covers industry events and trends.
