Sales people know that many of the best insights come from your peers. And social media is where some of the best sellers gather to push the community forward, sharing their challenges and successes along the way. To help you sift through the sea of talent, we curated a list of 16 sales influencers to follow in early 2021 — but that list has grown.

This year, we’re adding 13 new names to our top-tier cohort, featuring experts in go-to-market strategies, diversity and inclusion, mental health, productivity, and revenue growth in our digital-first world. These are the future-makers in sales.

Without further ado, here are the influencers who made our list for 2022.

Allen Alleyne

Founder and Head Coach, Elite Level Academy, London, United Kingdom

Why you should follow Allen: He’s an award-winning sales pro, mentor, and the host and founder of “The Elite Level Podcast,” which educates aspirational sales talent on how best in class leaders think, act, and operate. Alex has been recognized as LinkedIn’s Top Voice in the Sales category two consecutive years. Follow him on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Motivation is temporary, discipline lasts forever. Having the discipline, routine, and structure to get the work done, whether you feel like it or not, separates top performers from the rest.

Alexine Mudawar

Co-Founder, Women in Sales Club and Strategic Account Executive, Alyce, Chicago, Illinois

Why you should follow Alexine: With over nine years of SaaS sales experience, Alexine is backed by numerous President’s Club awards, high achievement recognitions, and a track record of surpassing quota. She’s also a co-founder of Women in Sales Club and a champion for diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Follow her on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Hire outside of the box. Think about folks from different industries, regions, and educational backgrounds. There are a lot of incredible candidates looking to transition fields, and we can gain a lot from their respective skill sets.

Ali Powell

Strategic Account Executive, Terminus, Charleston, South Carolina

Why you should follow Ali: She’s an expert in software sales with more than a decade of hands-on experience. Before landing at Terminus, she was a founding sales rep on the mid-market team at HubSpot. She also started a community on LinkedIn to connect women in sales roles. Follow her on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Figure out what you are good at in sales and become the best at that thing (or those few things). Don’t try to be the best at everything.

Anita Nielsen

President and Owner, LDK Advisory Services, Frankfort, Illinois

Why you should follow Anita: She’s a sales performance consultant, author, trainer, and coach with over 20 years of trench experience in B2B (business to business) sales. Anita is dedicated to helping sales leaders and teams guide buyers to positive buying decisions using the principles of psychology. She’s also committed to elevating women in B2B sales. Follow her on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Always go into a sales conversation with good intent. Believe, in your heart and soul, your job is to help make your client successful based on what success looks like for them. Color your entire sales motion with benevolence and sincerity and you will earn the trust needed to get the buyer to make a decision in your favor.

Ashley Zagst

Account Executive, Chili Piper, Portland, Oregon

Why you should follow Ashley: A former marketing intern turned successful account executive, Ashley is a lifelong learner on a constant quest for growth. She’s the leader of Proud Pipers, Chili Piper’s internal organization for LGBTQIA+ Pipers and allies. Follow her on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Become your customers’ customer. Knowing your product and ideal customer profile (ICP) isn’t enough. You need to understand how your prospects buyers are buying, what their market looks like, what their competitors are doing, and how to help them find success.

Belal Batrawy

Head of GTM, GTM Buddy, Atlanta, Georgia

Why you should follow Belal: He’s a go-to-market (GTM) leader and advisor for early-stage startups, including two that went public, two that have been acquired, and one that is now a Fortune Unicorn. Belal has received awards from Salesforce, Salesloft, Crunchbase, Built In, and AngelList for his thought leadership. Follow him on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Map your sales process to the universal buyer. Don’t be the hero trying to save others. Be the guide. The buyer is the knight in shining armor and the seller is the wise wizard, there to give the buyer a magical sword to slay the dragon.

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Chantel George

Founder and CEO, Sistas in Sales, New York City, New York

Why you should follow Chantel:She’s the founder of Sistas In Sales (SIS), the largest global organization for women of color (WOC) in sales. SIS partners with Fortune 500 companies, tech startups, and consulting businesses to help them attract, hire, and retain WOC sales professionals and provides sisterhood for this underrepresented community. Follow her on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Do not be afraid to lean into what makes you unique because that’s also where your authenticity comes from.

Cherilynn Castleman

Managing Partner and Executive Coach, CGI and Chief Learning Officer, National Association of Women Sales Professionals (NAWSP), Bradenton, Florida

Why you should follow Cherilynn: As a sales coach, best-selling author, and internationally renowned sales expert, Cherilynn teaches clients how to develop growth strategies and innovative go-to-market models. She is also passionate about giving women of color sales professionals the gentle nudge they need to change their lives for the better, forever. Follow her on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Whether you’re speaking to someone in the same room or on the other side of the planet, it’s all about communication and connection. Act the same way you would in a live, in-person meeting. Establish your credibility, showcase your warmth and human side, and be authentic and vulnerable. Clients want to connect with human beings, not robots.

Chloe Stewart

Chief Revenue Officer, Pilot.com, San Francisco, California

Why you should follow Chloe: She’s a go-to-market leader focused on scaling startups across different industries, markets, and stages. Chloe is an operator at heart and thrives on building revenue teams and cultivating cultures of collaboration and over-performance. Follow her on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Providing value to your buyers isn’t always tangible. Being responsive and building trust results in incredible value.

Cynthia Barnes

Founder and CEO, National Association of Women Sales Professionals, Detroit, Michigan

Why you should follow Cynthia: Cynthia’s spent the past two decades studying the innate strengths of women in sales and what it takes for them to reach the top 1%. She is also the creator of THRIVE: Success Strategies for Women in Sales, the first and only women-centric sales training, and is the host of the weekly podcast “Unstoppable, with Cynthia Barnes.” Follow her on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Get a mentor ASAP (as soon as possible). Look for someone who has what you want, do your research, then ask for their mentorship. Success isn’t created in a vacuum and we need others to help us navigate this thing called life.

Daniel Disney

Founder and Owner, The Daily Sales, London, United Kingdom

Why you should follow Daniel: He’s one of the world’s leading experts on LinkedIn, Sales Navigator, and social selling. Daniel has generated millions of pounds (GBP) in sales from LinkedIn, grown an audience of over 800,000 LinkedIn followers, and published two best-selling books about LinkedIn and sales: “The Ultimate LinkedIn Sales Guide” and “The Million-Pound LinkedIn Message.” Follow him on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Fully optimize your LinkedIn profile and make it customer-focused. A salesperson’s LinkedIn profile should be less about them and more about their customers. Include information on what problems your product or service solves, what ROI (return on investment) you can generate, and an example of a company you’ve helped.

Dini Mehta

Chief Revenue Officer, Lattice, San Francisco, California

Why you should follow Dini: She’s passionate about leading authentically and building high-performing, diverse teams with a strong culture. Dini offers a wealth of expertise on scaling companies from the Series A stage to unicorn status. Follow her on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: For those starting out in sales, learn from folks who are successful today. But don’t let that limit your growth. You will eventually find your why and your own path. Run your own race.

Donald C. Kelly

Founder, The Sales Evangelist,
Greencares, Florida

Why you should follow Donald: As a former top-performing technology sales professional in both the public and private sectors, Donald has cracked the code to helping teams thrive in B2B sales. He is also the author of “Sell It Like A Mango: A New Seller’s Guide to Closing More Deals.” Follow him on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Stop collecting LinkedIn connections like Pokémon cards! Your network equals your net worth. Set a goal to drop personal messages to five to 10 of your connections each week. Sharing a small conversation helps you stay relevant and encourages stronger relationships.

Elyse Archer

Founder and CEO, She Sells, Durham, North Carolina

Why you should follow Elyse: She’s the founder of the Superhuman Selling and She Sells movements. The organization empowers entrepreneurs and sales professionals to revolutionize how they sell, explode their income, and leap ahead in all areas of life. Follow her on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: When you have big goals, you will be met with big challenges. This doesn’t mean anything is going wrong. Rather, it’s a “proving ground,” helping you become the person who gets the results you desire. Your vision must always be bigger than your fear.

Gabrielle (GB) Blackwell

Sales Development Representative Leader, Airtable and Co-Host/Co-Founder, Women in Sales Club, Austin, Texas

Why you should follow GB: GB is a sales development leader and community cofounder focused on ushering in the next generation of SaaS sales talent. She’s an expert in building outbound prospecting teams from the ground up and turning around low-performing sales development representative (SDR) teams using a combination of data-informed decision-making and fiercely compassionate leadership. Follow her on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Take care of you first! The work doesn’t get taken care of until you are taken care of. Prioritize your health and wellbeing in order to do your best work.

Galem Girmay

Revenue Enablement Manager (EMEA), UserTesting, London, United Kingdom

Why you should follow Galem: She co-founded RevGenius and is host of the podcast “What Is Your Legacy?” She helps construction companies register, train, and manage their workers and subcontractors online. Galem has a special place in her heart for women in sales, and for anyone who considers themselves the underdog. Follow her on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Manage your time and calendar according to what needs to get done, create a repeatable system, and make sure you protect your time and energy.

Ian Koniak

Founder and President, Ian Koniak Sales Coaching, Inc., EL Segundo, California

Why you should follow Ian: He’s president and founder of Ian Koniak Sales Coaching, helping account executives perform without sacrificing their time, health, and personal life. As a speaker, trainer, and expert on enterprise sales, Ian has led national training workshops for Fortune 500 companies. Follow him on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Don’t use a deck during your first meeting with a client. Instead, focus on a human-to-human conversation. You are the main differentiator in sales. You become interesting to others when you are interested in others.

John Barrows

CEO, JB Sales, Boston, Massachusetts

Why you should follow John: John’s goal is to change the negative perception of sales and believes that when sales is done right, it’s one of the greatest professions in the world. John is also the coauthor, with his daughter, of an Amazon bestseller children’s book, “I Want to be in Sales When I Grow Up.” Follow him on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Without goals in your career, you’re just along for the ride and someone else is dictating the path. The best sales professionals in the world set daily, weekly, annual and life goals and hold themselves accountable.

Jim Keenan

CEO and President, A Sales Growth Company, Denver, Colorado

Why you should follow Keenan: He’s been leading sales organizations for over 20 years. A teacher and coach by nature, Keenan has a knack for reducing complex issues into simple, bite-size pieces. He’s passionate about selling, coaching, and teaching teams in all industries. Follow him on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Stop trying to sell to your buyers. Help them. If you’re selling when you’re selling, you’re not selling.

Larry Long, Jr.

Founder and Chief Energy Officer, LLJR Enterprises, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina

Why you should follow Larry: A former college baseball player (Go Terps!), Larry is now focused on and passionate about helping sales professionals stay motivated and inspired. He is an international keynote speaker, emcee, host of the “Midweek Midday Motivational Minute,” and co-author of “Color Outside the Lines.” Follow him on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Ensure sales reps and leaders are prioritizing self-care. This allows them to excel and accomplish goals (both personal and professional) by giving their best to clients, prospects, and colleagues.

Lindsey Boggs

Global Director of Sales Development, Quantum Metric, Raleigh, North Carolina

Why you should follow Lindsey: She’s an accomplished global sales leader with over a decade of experience with startups to Fortune 500 companies. Lindsey also co-founded UNCrushed.org, a nonprofit for mental health, where she tells people’s stories and breaks the stigma of mental health, especially in the workforce. Follow her on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: When building a cadence for prospecting, it can sometimes take at least 14 touches to get a response, so why stop at three? Pre-pandemic, research firm Gartner stated it took 21 touches to get a response from a prospect.

Lori Richardson

President, Women Sales Pros and CEO, Score More Sales, Boston, Massachusetts

Why you should follow Lori: A renowned sales consultant and author, Lori created the She Sells Summit to bring 12 women-in-sales groups together for biannual virtual events. She also hosts the award-winning “Conversations with Women in Sales” podcast. Follow her on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Know that sales is an admirable profession. It is a real career, even if you don’t go into leadership. Become a student of sales. Learn about negotiation, communication, psychology, self-awareness, and self-management — not to mention who your buyers are and what they do. The sky’s the limit in professional selling!

Marcus Chan

Founder and President, Venli Consulting Group, Portland, Oregon

Why you should follow Marcus: Before becoming a consultant and sales coach, Marcus was in corporate America for 14 years, where he delivered more than $700 million in sales contracts. In his last role, he was a multiple President’s Club award-winning director, leading a sales cohort of over 100 employees. Follow him on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: If you want to change your sales and life results, leverage this simple but powerful equation: (Energy X Focus)^Time = Results. Work on building the right habits that increase your energy and eliminate habits that decrease your energy. Then add in focus as the multiplier to get results.

Nikki Ivey

Chief Revenue Officer, Inclusivv, Jacksonville, Florida

Why you should follow Nikki: She’s a sales culture subject matter expert and a founding member of several sales communities, including Sales for The Culture and SDR Defenders. Nikki invests her time at democratizing access to the B2B tech sales profession. Follow her on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Creating > criticizing. It can be tempting to engage in water cooler talk about your company’s cultural shortcomings. But whether your team lacks diversity, psychological safety, or interdepartmental alignment, constantly complaining does little to improve the situation. Instead, lead by example and create the culture you wish for.

Niraj Kapur

Sales Coach and LinkedIn Trainer, Everybody Works In Sales, New York City, New York

Why you should follow Niraj: After 23 years running sales teams for some of London’s most successful businesses, Niraj wrote the Amazon Top 20 book, “Everybody Works in Sales.” It combines unique storytelling and tactical advice to ensure reps have what they need to sell effectively. Follow him on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Personal stories on LinkedIn grow your brand and business faster than you could possibly imagine. Use them.

Rakhi Voria

Vice President of Sales, Procore Technologies, New York City, New York

Why you should follow Rakhi: An enterprise tech veteran, Rakhi was most recently Vice President of Global Digital Sales at IBM where she led a team of 350 sales development reps across the globe. She has a passion for advancing women in sales and millennials in business. Follow her on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: A big piece of leadership is being willing to share your story as a way to build deeper human connections.

Richard Harris

Founder and CEO, The Harris Consulting Group, San Francisco, California

Why you should follow Richard: He has more than 20 years of SaaS experience and believes in the “4Ps” of sales: process, planning, people, and performance. Richard’s clients include Zoom, Google Cloud, PagerDuty, DoorDash, Salesloft, and Gainsight. He is also the co-founder of Surf & Sales. Follow him on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Know that there is a big difference between following a script and sounding scripted.

Shawanda Roberts

Vice President of Sales, Frost & Sullivan, New York City, New York

Why you should follow Shawanda: Audrey Hepburn once said, “Nothing is impossible. The word itself says, I’m possible.” Shawanda lives her career and personal life by this motto. She’s also passionate about helping women enter B2B sales and rise to the top — either in leadership or within other areas of the sales ecosystem. Follow her on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Get in front of fear. Think of the word as face everything and rise.

Scott Leese

CEO and Founder, Scott Leese Consulting, Austin, Texas

Why you should follow Scott: Through domestic and international consulting as a strategic advisor, Scott has trained an army of salespeople and sales leaders thousands strong. He was named a Top 25 Inside Sales Professional by the American Association of Inside Sales three times, is a three-time author, and is regularly sought after as a consultant, advisor, leader, and sales trainer. Follow him on LinkedIn.

Pro-tip: Shrinking the gap between idea and action will improve your self confidence. Actions > words.

The tips keep coming 

Looking for more tips from today’s leading global sales professionals? Our State of Sales report delivers the latest industry and sales performance insights from nearly 6,000 sales leaders.

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