Let’s get straight to the point!
Your personal profile is your foundation when it comes to generating new business with LinkedIn.
Realistically you can spend months optimising your LinkedIn profile but 90% of the results come from what I will cover in this short guide.
Which means there’s no excuse not to get started! TODAY!
The whole purpose of the profile is really quite simple and serves 2 core purposes.
- Get the customer’s attention
- Convince the customer of your value (enough to want to talk to you or take some initial first step)
In this guide I will go over why your LinkedIn profile is an essential component for consultants and B2B professionals looking to scale their businesses and cover how to best structure your profile.
Foundational Thinking For Sales With LinkedIn
Before getting into overhauling your LinkedIn profile it’s important to understand some core marketing fundamentals.
If you want your LinkedIn profile to become an asset it’s essential that you have a good long think about who it is for (please don’t say everyone)!
Understanding who, is the first and most vital step in order to structure a profile that has a purpose and will likely convert on that purpose.
Understand that your LinkedIn profile is actually not really about you!
This is where so many people go wrong and why there is so much opportunity for those who understand this.
Your profile if for your client! It needs to speak to their problems, desires, thoughts and needs.
It is not just a list of your qualifications and technical services.
Understand that people don’t buy your services, qualifications or intelligence… They buy the solution you provide to their problem.
A good LinkedIn profile understands this and clearly defines who the client is, their problem and gives them confidence that you are the one that can solve it.
Not HOW you solve it, just that you CAN solve it.
Too much technical information can confuse people and scares them away from taking the first step.
So always remember to focus on who you are helping, understand their problems and present the solution (you!).
SIDENOTE: It is important to understand that your prospects’ biggest problem, and what they think is their biggest problem, are not always one and the same. Remember to focus on what your client thinks is their biggest problem. That way you can get their attention so that you can educate or upsell on what you know.
LinkedIn Profile Structure
When considering your LinkedIn profile, think of it in 3 core components and purposes.
1 – Your headline
Follows you around on LinkedIn and is visible when you reach out to connect with people, message people, comment, post etc. It’s often your first touch point with a potential prospect so its important that it catches their attention enough to want to view your profile.
2 – Your profile and background image
The first thing that people see when they land on your profile and a golden opportunity to build some credibility and interest quick enough to entice them to keep reading.
3 – Your about section
Time to sell! You managed to get your prospects attention enough to read your profile. Don’t take this lightly! People are precious with their time and distractions are everywhere… Wow, amazon are having a sale on red ties! Where was I? Oh yeah, it’s important to only add information here that will add to the overall goal, which is getting your prospect to take some initial first step.
Your LinkedIn Profile Headline
Your headline needs to be captivating enough that it convinces people to click on your profile and learn more about you.
A great framework is one that incorporates who you help, what problem you solve and how you do it in as little space as possible (You have a maximum of 120 characters for your headline).
The following structure is a great template to help you get started.
Helping {{WHO}} achieve/solve {{WHAT PROBLEM DO YOU SOLVE}} with {{SERVICE PROVIDED}} |
{{TITLE}} at {{BRAND}}
To put it into context my tagline is “Quality B2B leads or your money back | LinkedIn Lead Generation”.
- Who: B2B Businesses
- Problem: Need quality Leads, worried they will get ripped off
- Service: LinkedIn Lead Generation (Money back guarantee)
If you have space, you can also add your title and your company if you feel it may add some authority to your headline.
If you offer a lot of services then try to focus on the one thing that your client thinks is their biggest problem and use that as your ‘foot-in-the-door service’.
If you try to push too many things at once it weakens your overall message and makes you look like a generalist not a specialist.
SIDENOTE: Please don’t tell me that you are a problem solver, thought leader or entrepreneur. These terms are incredibly overused and vague. I mean, who isn’t a problem solver or leader of thoughts?
I’ve included a few examples below to give you an idea of the different ways you can structure it.
- Mine Consultant: Plan the Mine, Mine the Plan Aligning Production and Planning Teams
- Corporate Trainer: Helping businesses improve profitability with Lean/Six Sigma Training
- Management Consultant: Ensuring project success Oil & Gas change management consultant
- SAAS Provider: Director at FirmChecker.com.au | Helping Law and Accounting Firms STAND OUT In a Crowded Market
- Copywriter: Helping advertising agencies bring their clients’ brands to life through storytelling White label copywriter
Still not convinced? Check out this message I got from a client shortly after updating their profile. Don’t underestimate the power of a good headline!
SIDENOTE: You can also use emojis in your headline and about section to dress it up a little and get some attention. How much you use depends on you, your personality and your target market. To get a list of copy/paste LinkedIn friendly emojis go to https://b2bleads.com/linkedin-emojis/
Profile And Background Image
The first thing people notice when they land on your profile are the images.
In an instance you can build credibility and trust with your target market without them having to read a single word, so I always encourage people to put some effort into getting this right.
Let’s start with the profile picture as this is fairly straight forward.
Make sure it is sharp, professional and approachable!
What I mean by approachable can be illustrated in the images below.
Both are sharp and professional but one feels more open, friendly and approachable.
You want people to feel safe to start a conversation with you.
Now the banner image is one of my favourite parts of the LinkedIn profile as it really can build credibility and trust in an instance.
How?
Lets say your background image had a picture of you delivering a keynote talk to an audience of thousand or included a book you had published? It’s hard not to assume you have some authority in your field right?
If you’ve done some work with large reputable brands why not include them in the banner as past clients. Build reputation by association and leverage the power of other brands.
My personal favourite is having an image that is a little quirky or different and drives some curiosity.
Perhaps you are new to business and don’t have past clients or can’t disclose them? You can still make it very obvious what niche you serve or service you offer. Remember in the end that all your customer really cares about is whether you can solve their problem or not.
Side note: Not a designer? Not a problem. Head to https://www.fiverr.com and you will find hundreds of great designers who can help you put together a great profile banner image that doesn’t blow your budget.
I’ve included a few examples below to help get your creative juices flowing.
Your LinkedIn Profile About Section / Summary
Remember what I said in the beginning about the purpose of your LinkedIn profile? Get the customer’s attention and convince the customer of your value (enough to want to talk to you or take that first step).
You got their attention with your headline, you drove some interest with some slick imagery now it’s time to sell them on your VALUE and that’s the key purpose of your
about section.
If you aren’t sure where to start, I’ve found the following headings incredibly valuable.
- What I Do
- Why Me?
- Who I work With
- My Services
- Results
- Who I’ve Helped
- My Background
- Next Steps
These headings break-up the text making it easy for your client to find the information they need in the order they need it.
You don’t need to use all these headings but try to prioritize the ones that help build the most trust in your abilities.
LinkedIn only gives you 2600 characters (approximately 300 words) here which forces you to get to the point quickly.
Remember to keep it simple and resist the urge to use the word limit just because it’s there.
Often times, as experts in a field we forget what’s common knowledge and what’s insider expertise and terminology.
Einstein said it best, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough”.
Write your profile so anyone can understand what you do and the value you provide.
Now let’s dive into the purpose of each section.
What I Do
This is almost a repeat of your tagline here to drive home your core value proposition and is also a good
opportunity to dive into more of the clients problem.
Why Me?
There are likely many other professionals and businesses like you out there.
What makes you special and why would I choose to work with you?
Why does your service work?
Simple yet essential questions to answer.
Who I work With
I often exclude this section but it can be useful if you need to dot-point out or explain in a little more detail who you help.
Sometimes you have to describe the situation someone is in rather than the demographic or niche.
Our Services
Sometimes people are looking for specific services or keywords.
List them here but don’t go overboard, remember that the focus is not on HOW you solve the problem.
Results
Any noticeable results you can include here? The more specific the better. “Improved profit by 25%” is more convincing than “Improved profit drastically”.
Who We’ve Helped
If you have the social proof or can build credibility with well known brands then here’s your chance to do so.
You can always direct to pages on your website with more information too.
If you don’t have any big names people will recognise you can leave this section out.
My Background
Only include this if the rest of your profile is a little weak or you have an interesting background that might get people’s attention.
Next Steps
Always finish your about section with the next step you want your prospect to take.
Message you?
Book a strategy session?
Check out your blog?
Download a resource?
People are lazy and if you don’t tell them what to do next it’s unlikely they will act.
If you have done everything properly up until this point, then the next step should be an obvious decision for your prospect.
SIDENOTE: The worst thing you can do in your profile is be boring and generic. Have some fun with it, show some character. Remember people want to do business with people they know, like and trust. I found once I stopped playing it safe with my content marketing and decided to be myself and have fun with it I started to attract more clients and the right kind of clients that I enjoyed working with. Take a chance and be yourself. It sounds cliche, but it’s true.
Summary
The profile is a vital component to your LinkedIn digital marketing and lead generation strategy.
Now through your daily activities on LinkedIn such as posting, messaging and commenting you are well positioned to have people checking out your profile and building interest in what you have to offer.
If you are looking to scale things up and really start feeding the LinkedIn sales machine you have built then the next step is to start feeding it prospects.
If you are ready to take your LinkedIn to the next level and start generating consistent sales then be sure to check out my full guide to Linkedin Lead Generation.
The best part about it is it’s completely free and you can get started today.
I look forward to seeing you there and hope you get as much out of your LinkedIn profile as I have!
Ready to take your LinkedIn lead generation to the next level?
Book a call with our team, learn more about what makes us different and whether or not our strategies would be a good fit for your business.
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