LinkedIn Names a New Category

“B2B selling is in trouble. Traditional sales methods are failing. Only 5% of the buyer’s journey is spent with a salesperson.” That’s the intro of a new article in Harvard Business Review, sponsored by LinkedIn. Two things that stand out here: 1. When I first saw this article, I didn’t realize it was sponsored. I saw the HBR name and assumed “this must be legit.” Clever use of a sponsored article in a well-respected publication to gain credibility. 2. It looks like LinkedIn is trying to create a new category, calling Sales Navigator the world’s first “Deep Sales" platform*.* Taking a page from Category Pirates — LinkedIn is trying to name the category, frame it, and claim it. Will be interesting to see if Deep Sales has sticking power. Check out the HBR article here