From growing startups to established Enterprise companies – we have you covered.
Whether you’re a scaling startup or a established Fortune500, investing in #samsales not only brings unparalleled sales and LinkedIn expertise, but also invests in an all-women team committed to positive impact and philanthropy.
High-Level
With over 100,000 LinkedIn followers, #samsales’ Founder and CEO, Sam McKenna, has spent her nearly 15+ year career in Enterprise sales doing two things: breaking over 13 sales records and doing so by leading with a manners-first and buyers-first approach to sales that shuns the status quo of the profession.
In addition to sharing her practical and actionable sales, leadership, and entrepreneurial tips, Sam holds an unparalleled amount of distinctions as a LinkedIn expert, including being one of few people to be a LinkedIn brand ambassador and LinkedIn Sales [In]sider. Further, she has been creating content since 2011, been an influencer on the platform since 2016, is a former Enterprise sales executive leader for LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator division, and was awarded the coveted Top Voice on LinkedIn award in 2024.
Sam has also been named a Top 100 Global Sales Leader 2023, Top 50 Women in Revenue, Top 25 Women in Revenue, Top 20 Women in Sales Leadership, repeated recognition as both a 100 Best LinkedIn Influencers and a Top Ten LinkedIn Sales Star, amongst dozens of awards, and is frequently sourced as a keynote speaker for global brands.
She has also been a featured speaker at top business schools across the U.S. including Harvard Business School, Kelley Business School, and The Kellogg School of Management.
Since its inception in 2019, #samsales has scaled to multi-millions in revenue, having achieved 312% of their first year’s annual revenue goal and continued to have significant double-digit growth ever since.
To date, #samsales has built itself into a powerhouse all-women team, served over 250 clients, raised over $110K for charity, been featured in global publications like the Wall Street Journal’s print edition, Fortune, Newsweek, USA Today, and Business Insider, and has donated hundreds of training subscriptions to veterans, active-duty military and their spouses, and teachers transitioning to new roles.
See Sam’s recognitions here.
… A Little More Granular
Originally hailing from Geneva, Switzerland, Samantha is not only a graduate of Swiss Finishing School, but of her parents’ life lessons as two successful entrepreneurs. The mission of #samsales is to make a positive impact to the business of sales. As Sam began quickly succeeding in sales, she was consistently asked for advice from her peers and leaders and always received the same type of response, “Huh. I never thought of that…”
Sam has capitalized on her upbringing to not only set the bar of expectations higher than what we think we can achieve, but to be a client advocate and connector that constantly delivers an above-and-beyond experience.
Sam is an avid reader, an extrovert, enthusiastic beyond measure and loves teaching others what it takes to build and close revenue that they never thought possible.
Superpowers: Connecting with anyone – especially strangers in Starbucks’ lines, speeding (don’t ask about her speeding tickets…), negotiating compensation when customer service issues arise
Vices: Stinky cheese, Hendricks gin, Sex and the City (yes, still!)
Kimberly Pencille Collins
SVP, Strategy + Product
kimberly@samsalesconsulting.com
Though Kimberly may have spent most of her career outside of traditional sales, she was no stranger to the art of selling before joining the team. Starting with the challenge of selling politicians to the voting public, Kimberly graduated early from the College of William and Mary and headed directly to DC where she served as spokesperson and Communications Director for several Members of Congress and a Senate Committee. During that time she was quoted in several major publications, including the NYT, WashPo, and DC Capital File Magazine where she was listed as a person to know in politics.
Long hours and a forthcoming baby (where she would later learn the art of selling vegetables to a reluctant toddler!) led her to move off the Hill and into consulting. There she found her love of working with startups on their messaging and Business Development strategies. In between projects, she wrote for publications including Scary Mommy and Moms.com before coming to #samsales to be one of the OG members of the team.
What began as the role of the #samsales office chameleon, donning all the hats needed to keep things running smoothly and effectively, became her doing the same, but for our clients and their BDR teams. Kimberly now heads up all our BDR training, management, and workshops, giving tips, real-time Q&A, advice, and occasionally demanding pet photos and often casually dropping how cold it is in England where she is living the ex-pat life.
Superpowers: Supporting scaling start-ups, butchering common idioms, (and) proper usage of the Oxford comma
Vices: Double spacing after periods, cookbooks, Nate Silver
Hear what Kim’s fans have to say!
Commitment to Client Service and Core Differentiators
“I’m a four-time VP of Sales and CRO. I have hired Sam multiple times for over a decade. She and her team will always over-deliver.”
There’s a right way, a wrong way and an above-and-beyond way to do things. Samantha’s entire successful career has been built on going the extra mile for her clients. Whether it’s instantly thinking of how she can connect them to new executives and opportunities, remembering special occasions and delivering champagne to an event, or simply adhering to a tight set of standards and SLAs, the company lives and breathes to delight its customers and to always pace ahead of our competition by miles. Learn More.
Don’t just take it from us, read what our #samfans have to say about working with us!
Meet the Core Team
Katherine Kirk
katherine@samsalesconsulting.com
Our world centers around our clients – enter Katherine’s infectiously kind and go-above-and-beyond personality. As a military spouse who is always only days away moving (again…), Katherine developed an entrepreneurial spirit that brings a commitment to responsiveness, attention to detail and process like no other. Before joining the team, she started her own thriving business as a virtual Marketing and Business Development Director, Customer Relations Manager and General Badass. Now, Katherine spends her days supporting our clients, managing our internal sales team, making jewelry for her company WĀRE, and Instagram hunting for cute animal memes.
Superpowers: Consistent achievement of client satisfaction, loving all shades of beige, cooking the perfect jammy egg
Vices: home decor blogs, matching pajama sets, burrata cheese
Paige Tills
paige@samsalesconsulting.com
Here at #samsales we are bursting at the seams with women of tremendous skill, life experience, education, and talent. Paige is no exception. She joins us with a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the University of San Diego and a mental library of gifs that rivals GIPHY (have you seen our newsletter?!). Before becoming our resident expert on Hubspot, great headlines, and Taco Bell commercials, Paige nudged the world a little closer toward peace working as the Director of the Charles W. Hostler Institute on World Affairs. In the few moments that #samsales doesn’t keep her busy, she can be found picking up tumbleweeds of dog hair, mentoring refugees, and wondering why her mother’s dog’s IG has more followers than her.
Superpowers: Crafting the #samsales story – one gif at a time, building cross-cultural connections, forcing friends to karaoke
Vices: Anything Bravo TV, subsequently forcing said friends to listen to her karaoke, cinnamon rolls
Alexa Nizam
alexa@samsalesconsulting.com
When our clients “Ask Alexa,” she might not be able to play their favorite song, but she can write content that is more than just a one-hit wonder! Before joining #samsales, she graduated from UT Austin (hook ’em!) and started her own content company. She has written over 100 articles on video marketing (including one shared by Google Analytics) as well as freelanced for clients in tech and e-commerce. Now, she’s helping our LinkedIn Executive Branding clients get noticed by industry leaders and prospects alike through the writing she does on their behalf. When she’s not thinking about how to structure content for a new audience on LinkedIn, Alexa loves trivia (she’s still mourning Alex Trebek), finding any excuse for a beach day, and listening to John Mayer.
Superpowers: Finding the story in any brand, coming up with the word that’s on the tip of your tongue, over-caffeinating despite “quitting coffee” on an annual basis
Vices: Dad jokes, cats that need to be adopted, niche Spotify playlists
Kea Thorstenson
kea@samsalesconsulting.com
Life at #samsales got a little brighter (and a bit more organized) the day Kea joined our team. A former investment banker turned sales superstar, Kea is a master at helping our clients find the right services to match their unique needs as well as the best spreadsheet with which to track it! Originally a rodeo queen from South Dakota, the U.K. ultimately swooped her up and refuses to give her back – we are thinking that might have something to do with her American-style cookie company she feeds the country with… Her wonderful English-American sense of humor, adorable children, and sweet chocolate lab are always the highlight of our many internal Zoom calls. Aside from loving her work with #samsales, she dreams of eventually being our professional in-house yoga instructor.
Superpowers: Rapport builder (one brick at a time), swimming in cold English water, converting the Brits to all things American – big cookies, big smiles, and warm hugs
Vices: Big cups of coffee, shouting defense at her kids’ football (soccer) matches, Mod Podge
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Jillian Whitlow
jillian@samsalesconsulting.com
As we know well at #samsales, not all paths to greatness are linear, and Jillian is proof of that. With a career spanning every imaginable role, including the food and beverage hospitality industry, niche whiskey and mezcal sales, customer success in tech, and maternal advocacy, Jillian has cultivated a unique blend of skills that make her a true Jill-of-all-trades. Now, she’s embracing her lifelong dream to write for a living, as a ghostwriter for our LinkedIn Executive Branding clients. Outside of work, you can find Jillian throwing an impromptu dance party with her young kids, cheering for the New Orleans Saints (no matter how many times they let her down), or ranching and farming with her husband. If she’s not busy (ha!), she’s dreaming of living like Anthony Bourdain—traveling the globe, eating, drinking, and swapping stories with fascinating people.
Superpowers: Accomplishing 30 hours of work in a 24-hour day, eating chilis that would make Sean Evans cry, helping others find their voice
Vices: A cutesy baby outfit for every holiday and occasion, breakfast tacos (not burritos—to be very clear), sandy toes and salty hair