The Perfect LinkedIn Profile For B2B Lead Generation

The Perfect Linkedin Profile Recipe

Your personal LinkedIn profile is really your foundation when it comes to generating new leads on the platform.

There are many ways to write a your profile, however I have found that there are a handful of key points that you need to cover in order to really convince your ideal client of your authority in your field and provide the incentive to want to work together.

Start With Who

The first and most important thing you will want to consider is who are you writing your profile for.

If you are writing it for directors of mining companies it will probably have a different feel to it then if you are writing it for a Psychologist.

Understand the target market and the tone and language you need to use and remember that your profile is not about how smart you are or how much experience you have.

It’s about how you can help your clients solve their problems…

Solve A Problem Vs. Provide a Service

It’s important to understand that people don’t buy services… They buy solutions to their problems.

A good LinkedIn profile takes this into account and clearly defines the clients problem and how you are the one that can solve it.

Take for example, a broken office chair as a problem.

I’m not going to go looking for people with experience on screw drivers, hammers and other tools that might be used to fix the chair…

No! We are all too lazy for that.

I’m going to out looking for someone who says “I fix chairs”.

It sounds obvious in an example like this, however too many business owners still focus on their experience and credentials rather than the underlying problem they solve.

Dumb It Down

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.

Your Tagline

Your tagline is almost like your micro elevator pitch. It follows you around on LinkedIn and a great opportunity to catch passerbyes attention.

Your tagline needs to be captivating enough that it convinces people to click on your profile and learn more about you.

There’s is no one right answer but a common framework (that you will likely see everywhere now you know it) is the following.

I help ________ to _________ by __________

To put it into context my tagline is “I help B2B consultants generate new leads by starting valuable conversations with their ideal clients on LinkedIn”.

Its pretty obvious what I do and who I help straight away from reading this and enticing enough to get people to want to read more.

So have a think about what you do and how you can phrase it as ‘I help SOMEONE to ACHIEVE SOMETHING by DOING SOMETHING‘ or at least some variation that includes…

The SOMEONE your are trying to help

The PROBLEM you are solving

The SERVICE Provided

If you do lots of different things then try to focus on the one thing that adds the most value in your business and focus on that as your foot in the door.

If you try to push too many things at once it weakens your message and makes you look like a generalist not a specialist.

Your About Section (max 2000 characters)

Your about section is arguably one of the most important compontents of your LinkedIn profile and essentially your elevator pitch.

You only have 2000 characters to help people understand what you do and how you can help them and confince them to take action.

I’ve provided some great headings below that are a great way to answer the questions your ideal client wants to know in the order they want to know them.

You don’t need to include all of them, especially if you are just starting out and don’t have a lot of testimonials but consider it a framework to get you started and thinking about the right things.

What I do (I help _____ to achieve _____ by providing ____ )

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.

What Makes Me Unique / Why it works

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 quickly.

Who I work With

Dive into more detail of the specific market segments you help and possibly some of the specific problems they are experiencing.

Services I provide

Sometimes people are looking for specific services. List them here. Don’t go over board in this section.

Results / Testimonial / Who I’ve helped

If you have the social proof or can build credibility with well known brands then nows your chance to do so. You can always direct to pages on your website for more information too.

CTA – Let’s Talk / Next Steps / What now?

Never finish your about section without steps for what to do next.

Remember people are lazy today and you need to connect the dots for them.

Think about what you want your prospects to do next.

Obviously you want them to become a client, but consider a smaller next step they need to take first.

Message you?

Call you?

Check out your blog?

Make it easy!.

Having structured heading isn’t necessary but it does help your audience find the answers they need to know quickly.

Because if there is one thing everyone is today its….

LAZY!!!

With so much content and information available today people now want to find and consume only the relevant information quickly.

The Power Of Images

‘A picture is worth a thousand words’

Whilst there is only have space for a small profile picture and a 1584 x 396 background image there is still a lot you can do with it.

Plus the fact that so many people don’t take advantage of this key real estate means its easier to stand out from the crowd.

This is the first thing people see when they land on your page and in an instance you can build credibility and trust without even having to read a word…

How?

Quality: Get a banner image that looks professional.

You aren’t a designer?

No problem, head to https://www.fiverr.com/ and you will quickly be able to find a professional who specialises in LinkedIn profile images for minimal cost.

Attention Grabbing: Quality is one thing, but if the image isn’t attention grabbing then whats the point?

Its also a great way to show what niche or demographic you work in without having to say it.

For example, If you work in construction, have it construction themed.

Leveraging recognised brands: This is my favorite tip when it comes to imagery.

Companies spend a lot of money on branding because people build trust with brands.

You can build trust by association just by having worked with, for or even just being a reseller of reputable brands and putting this information up front and centre.

Businesses do it on their websites all the time yet seem to forget about it when it comes to their LinkedIn profile.

Have Fun and Don’t Be Boring

Yes its B2B but the B doesn’t stand for boring!

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.

Not just more clients either, but the right kind of clients that I resinated with and really enjoyed working with.

Take a chance and be yourself.

It sounds cliche but its true.

Recommendations

Recommendations are a great way to build trust and credibility. Reach out to everyone you have worked with who is willing to say something nice about you.

Some Examples

Lets face it, all the theory in the world can’t beat real world examples. I’ve included some great examples below to reference and help you with your journey (note: these profiles may have changed since time of writing this article)

Summary

The profile is a vital component to your LinkedIn digital marketing and lead generation strategy.

But like much like a shop in the middle of the dessert, if you don’t have a way to get people to view your profile then all your hard work has gone to waste!

To learn how to use LinkedIn to generate high quality B2B leads for your business week to week simply follow the link to get access to the video step by step guide.

LEARN HOW TO GENERATE LEADS