LinkedIn's Sales Navigator, launched in July 2014, has evolved into a robust software-as-a-service product designed to enhance sales professionals' ability to build customer relationships, integrating with platforms like Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics. Over the years, it has introduced various features including mobile access, CRM integrations, personalized messaging, and advanced alerts to streamline the sales process. This timeline illustrates the significant improvements made to Sales Navigator over five years, aimed at increasing sales productivity and effectiveness.

1. JULY ‘14
LinkedIn introduces Sales
Navigator, which was
originally an extension of
LinkedIn, as a standalone,
Software-as-a-Service product
that integrates with Salesforce
and is designed to empower
sales professionals to establish
and grow relationships with
customers and prospects.
SEPT ‘14
LinkedIn launches the Sales
Navigator app for iOS to give
sales professionals access to
customers and prospects even
when they’re in the field.
Sales Navigator upgrades
its integration with Salesforce
with lead recommendations
and the capability to send
InMail directly from Salesforce.
JAN ‘15
LinkedIn announces that
Newsle will be the engine for
Sales Updates delivering
timely company and member
news within Sales Navigator.
MAR ‘15
LinkedIn announces the
availability of Sales
Navigator in French,
Spanish, German, Dutch,
Italian, and Portuguese.
JUNE ‘15
LinkedIn announces the
expanded integration of
Sales Navigator with
Microsoft Dynamics CRM, a
move designed to boost
sales productivity. LinkedIn
announces the availability
of Sales Navigator Mobile
forAndroid.
AUG ‘15
LinkedIn acquires Fliptop,
a provider of predictive
sales and marketing
software, which will be
integrated into Sales
Navigator.
NOV ‘16
LinkedIn introduces an
upgraded InMail for Sales
Navigator, which enables
sales professionals to create
more personalized messages
and easily send documents.
SEPT ‘16
LinkedIn announces the CRM
Partner Program, an initiative
that enables leading CRM
systems from HubSpot,
Oracle, and others to
integrate Sales Navigator
functionality directly into their
applications.
AUG ‘16
LinkedIn introduces Notes &
Tags in Sales Navigator to
help sales professionals keep
a detailed chronological
account of their interactions
with potential customers or
target companies.
JULY ‘16
LinkedIn announces its
acquisition of PointDrive, which
enhances the way salespeople
can share PDFs, videos, and
other rich content with
customers and prospects.
LinkedIn unveils upgrades to
Sales Navigator that include
CRM Sync, Gmail extension,
and new discovery features in
the mobile app.
OCT ‘15
LinkedIn makes two major
updates to Sales Navigator
by integrating the Social
Selling Index into the product
and launching a redesigned
homepage, intended to
simplify the selling process.
MAR ‘17
LinkedIn rolls out the
Enterprise Edition of Sales
Navigator and TeamLink
Extend, which helps
salespeople to discover if
anyone in their organization
has a connection with a
potential prospect.
MAY ‘17
LinkedIn acquires Heighten, a
startup with products aimed at
improving sales process
tracking and pipeline reporting.
NOV ‘17
LinkedIn offers Sales Navigator
Lite for Gmail. Sales
professionals can now use
some of their favorite Sales
Navigator features right from
their inbox, including viewing
shared contacts, ice breakers,
and saving leads.
MAY ‘19
LinkedIn announces a new
Sales Navigator homepage
design that focuses on alerts
to more easily surface relevant
and actionable insights for
sales professionals.
Microsoft Dynamics for
Sales users can now view
Sales Navigator insights
for people added to their
account org charts.
FEB ‘19
LinkedIn introduces Sales
Navigator Coach, a series
of short videos that help
sales professionals get the
most out of Sales Navigator.
LinkedIn enables the sharing
of Sales Navigator Custom
Lists with colleagues,
enabling, for instance,
Sales Development Reps
to collaborate with
Account Executives.
NOV ‘18
LinkedIn introduces Advanced
Alerts, which now inform sales
professionals when an account
has raised funding or when a
saved lead has engaged with
LinkedIn posts from their
company.
With Custom Lists, salespeople
can jot down notes on a Saved
Lead or Account and then filter
the list based on groups like
people who have changed
jobs in the last 90 days.
AUG ‘18
LinkedIn introduces Deals and
Buyer’s Circle to improve
pipeline review sessions
between Sales Managers and
Account Executives. LinkedIn
also updates the Salesforce
experience optimized for
Salesforce Lightning.
MAY ‘18
LinkedIn launches a new
Sales Navigator lead page
which enables sales
professionals to quickly
check if a lead is relevant.
A Brief
History of
LinkedIn
Sales
Navigator
LinkedIn launched the stand-alone
version of Sales Navigator in July of
2014. In its first five years, the
company has tirelessly improved the
product to make sales professionals
more effective at their jobs. This
timeline highlights key product
enhancements that have enabled
Sales Navigator to become the
resource that sales teams rely on to
expand existing customer
relationships, acquire new business,
and maximize productivity.
OCT ‘17
LinkedIn introduces the Sales
Navigator Application
Platform, which enables sales
professionals to gain Sales
Navigator insights directly in
software such as Salesforce,
Microsoft Dynamics, and
Hubspot.