What Does Your LinkedIn Profile Say About You? The Big Mistake Sales Pros Can Easily Avoid

You use LinkedIn to source information about your ideal buyers so that you can build stronger relationships. In the same way, buyers use LinkedIn to source information regarding companies and sellers to see if they qualify as a potential partner.

While buyers research and compile their short lists in the background, sales pros are missing prime opportunities to attract qualified, genuinely interested prospects. Fifty percent of B2B buyers flat-out avoid sales professionals with incomplete LinkedIn profiles.

If an incomplete LinkedIn profile is preventing you from making buyer short lists, read on. In this post, we provide tips on not just completing your profile, but doing so in a way that motivates more buyers to engage with you.

Capitalize on Opportunities to Showcase Your Best Work

What better way to showcase your best work than rich media? If you haven’t already, look for opportunities to add rich media assets to your LinkedIn profile. You can add presentations and documents to your overarching profile summary, and to each section of your work experience if you desire.

By including these rich media presentations in your profile, you provide prospective buyers with access to visually appealing examples that articulate your approach or demonstrate your accomplishments. What are you most proud of in your career? Put it in a presentation, and frame it up in a way that allows your sales prospects to glean value or insight from it. Not sure where to start? Most companies have existing sales collateral that can be easily transformed into a personal sales presentation that resides on your LinkedIn profile.

Establish Immediate Credibility in the Minds of Your Ideal Buyers

Authoritative sales leaders have a point of view. Equally important, though, is making sure that sales prospects can easily access your thoughts, as 92% of buyers will engage with sellers known as industry thought leaders.

Your LinkedIn profile allows you to publish articles visible to your whole network. Once published, these articles will appear on your LinkedIn profile for all future sales prospects to see.  When your connections comment on or share your articles, that activity is seen by members of their networks, too.

If publishing long-form content isn’t in the cards, you can also establish credibility by being an active participant in your industry. Getting involved with relevant LinkedIn Groups allows you to serve as a helpful resource, making it more likely that buyers will see you at your helpful, insightful best, while also increasing the chances that fellow group members will recommend your services. You can assist members of the group when you have insightful information to add, or by referencing research and real-life examples that add depth to the discussion.

Your LinkedIn participation will appear as part of your recent activity when someone views your profile. When potential buyers look at your recent activity, will they come away thinking of you as a knowledgeable, active participant in your industry?

Your Recommendations Can Do the Heavy Persuading for You

Buyers overwhelmingly prefer to work with vendors that have been recommended by someone they know. A blank or shallow recommendations section may give buyers pause, whereas a profile that displays ringing praise can offer sales prospects several compelling reasons to do business with you.

To secure those valuable recommendations, politely request testimony from customers with whom you have a positive relationship. Once you’ve identified a candidate, follow these best practices for soliciting recommendations on LinkedIn. Recommendations don’t just round out your profile, they can give you a distinct competitive edge.

If you can’t seem to find time for that “complete my LinkedIn profile” task, try breaking it up. Schedule (in your calendar) 30 minutes per week to analyze and improve your LinkedIn profile. Every time you incorporate a bit more information and actively demonstrate your value, you improve your chances of making a buyer’s short list.

Learn more ways to take your personal brand from incomplete to impressive with our new eBook, Read Me If You Want to Create an Effective Sales Profile on LinkedIn.