Ad
Salesforce Ad — LinkedIn: an InMail signed by a salesperson
Why it works
A paid message that arrives in the LinkedIn inbox from a named person, the head of Salesforce’s Financial Services sales team, written as a one-to-one note (the library shows the merge field, “Hi %FIRSTNAME%”). It offers an industry cut of the report (900+ financial-services sales leaders) behind a “Download” button, and next to it a second way out: “a quick chat” opens a direct message to Robert himself. It’s the one State of Sales ad that offers a salesperson before the report is even downloaded. Other InMails on the account follow the same pattern for events, signed by Hamish Miles and Jeremy Smith.
LinkedIn Message Ad (sponsored InMail) · sender Robert Hellstern, Salesforce · paid for by Iprospect.com Inc. · for State of Sales: Financial Services Edition
The copy, in full
Hi %FIRSTNAME%, I lead our Financial Services team, working with businesses from scale-up through to mid-market. We surveyed 900+ sales leaders across financial services, and the shift underway is bigger than most boards are tracking, especially where AI is converting to revenue versus where it's just noise. Here's why it matters right now: 75% of leaders say the shortage of experienced sales talent is getting worse, and 55% are struggling to hire at all. If your growth plan still leans on headcount, it's already at risk. Scaling revenue this year isn't a hiring problem. It's an automation problem. Get the full data here: State of Sales: Financial Services Edition If you're open to a quick chat, I can share how similar teams are getting results on this. Robert