Can we really use ChatGPT for doing anything more than being clever? More specifically, in what instances would you trust ChatGPT if your time, money, or reputation were actually at stake? For example, I received a message from LinkedIn offering something called, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, of which I know nothing, so I asked ChatGPT.
Can ChatGPT Explain
First, I asked it to tell me what it was:
While I do not know how ChatGPT works, one explanation is that it simply takes every bit of text it has ever been fed, or “trained with,” and then selects the most likely (common?) bit that comes next, whether that bit is a character, letter, phrase, text, or punctuation. Assuming this is true, then it is very likely that ChatGPT has done nothing more above than repeat the most commonly available marketing text and/or reviews available. – Let’s put a pin in that for a moment.
Even with ChatGPT’s help, I sense a lot of lingo and marketing speak above. Let’s be more specific. What if I asked how it could help a freelancer like me specifically?
How Does ChatGPT Work While Telling Me How LinkedIn Sales Navigator Works
Here we arrive at the catch. Since I knew nothing about LinkedIn Sales Navigator before I asked ChatGPT I have no way of knowing if it is correct. I’m left asking one question, and whenever I ask such a question my mind must do so with the voice of the late Sam Kinison right before he loses his mind at Rodney Dangerfield in the highly underrated–although slightly dated –comedy Back to School.
“Is she right?”
ChatGPT Is Definitely Fun
This is where ChatGPT becomes a giant novelty that can do little more than tell me what I already know, albeit in fun new ways. (See also: Baby Got Back in the style of Canterbury Tales.)
What ChatGPT has done for me is generate new marketing material for LinkedIn Sales Navigator. While that is swell, it doesn’t tell me whether or not I should take some of my precious time (and eventually money) to find out. For that, I need Google, although I’ll have to sort through fake reviews, and affiliate links. Then, I need Reddit, where the internet’s harshest critics cannot be drowned out by fake reviews, SEO, link building, or affiliate links.
Google got me there eventually. Ironically, my landing page at this site was an article about LinkedIn Sales Navigator. I didn’t find that page very enlightening, but there was a link, (and it’s the internet, and I have ADHD, and well…) to the infinitely more valuable article about How to Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Within that article are the comments and opinions you wanted from the is-it-worth-it article. I also found this guide which confused me. It reads like a guy pushing an affiliate link, but there is no affiliate link. Maybe my ad blocker got it.
Back checking my search results via Reddit was less valuable. There didn’t seem to be too much there about it, which either means salespeople are dumb and don’t use Reddit, or Sales Navigator is too new and/or inconsequential to have much about it on Reddit. What I did find essentially said that you (a salesperson) have to have some sort of marketing system/tracker and Navigator is as good as the next one. I also found that a lot of people sell some sort of free, or cheap, pirated access to Navigator.
The Verdict?
Well, I got a full post out of it 🙂
What ChatGPT said seems to be true, even if limited. Apparently, I am either a naive buffoon, or a sweet lamb being led to slaughter when it comes to LinkedIn. I thought it was for networking professionally and finding jobs, which it kind of is, but this offering is about finding people you can sell stuff to. I’m sort of morally opposed to that, although that may be a personal quirk that makes me hate sales.
I failed at being a financial advisor because I wasn’t good at prospecting, and by prospecting, I mean calling random people telemarketing style. I was great at being a financial advisor and when I did get people into my office, I was also very good at closing new prospects. But I hated, hated, HATED dialing for clients. It bothered me so much that when I explained to my doc what it made me feel like, she prescribed anxiety medication for me.
Back then you weren’t allowed to put anything on the internet because of compliance, the SEC, FINRA, and whatever. Now that I know what a joke SEC and FINRA enforcement is, I should have done it anyway. I had built several successful websites about other topics and being one of the first financial planners with a real interactive presence online I probably could have done well. But picking up the phone and calling people is something I despise, even if they are “warm leads.”
I also despise the people I don’t remotely know sending me messages, and requests to join my network. It’s still spam. It doesn’t matter if they call it InMail or whatever.
“Hi, I’m <Someone>. I saw your profile and I was really impressed. I help people <something><something> buy <something><something>.” — You know what I’m talking about.
Well, guess where that crap comes from? Most of them are from LinkedIn Sales Navigator, I would bet. Although apparently none of them used Reddit because they are supposed to be sending me personalized video using Loom which would make their whole month, or something.
(Loom, BTW is the hell spawn of, “this could have been an email.” Its elevator pitch is that instead of having a video meeting, you could use Loom to record a short video to send to your team. — FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST SEND AN EMAIL! If you can’t type, dictate to your assistant or something. Just send an email. Always. Seriously.)
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Anyway, I’ll get back to work. If you do need a freelance writer (I specialize in finance, technology, and technical writing but can do most anything with a bit of research), or a freelance web developer, go ahead and contact me. I’ve got email, twitter, LinkedIn, a website and everything. What I don’t have is LinkedIn Sales Navigator. I also never saw your profile and even if I did, I’m not sure what it would take to impress me about a LinkedIn profile (maybe you run NASA, or are a retired assassin, or something). Even if I saw and was impressed, I still wouldn’t send you sales spam with or without a sales tool.
BTW, here is the scene I’m talking about in Back to School with Sam Kinison.
If you want the whole movie, you can watch it for free with HBOMax subscription, or you can get it electronically from Amazon for $3 or $4, or you can get the DVD if you still have a DVD player.
