Over the years I have reviewed thousands of LinkedIn profiles and completed scores of LinkedIn profile rewrites for clients.

During this time I’ve identified something that many people aren’t aware of. And it is that ..

Successful people have identified what they are excellent at, and they communicate that expertise to clients.

And one powerful way to do that is through our LinkedIn Profiles.

A professional LinkedIn profile rewrite is a wise investment for experts and specialists for many reasons.

• First Impressions – We only have a matter of seconds to make a first impression. We owe it to ourselves and to our businesses to make the most of the brief opportunity
• Getting Found – Showing up for the right keywords gives more visibility for us (and our company page) when potential buyers search LinkedIn
• Referrals – Being referred to the right people at the right time by our connections can be boosted by a better profile
• Being shortlisted  – not being eliminated from the long-list can be improved through better profiles for individuals, and for the senior management team of a business
• Partnerships – other business goals such as partnerships, investment, recruitment and so on can be enhanced through better profiles, especially of the business leader

Our profiles, from the photo, headline and summary, need to work really hard in the following situations:

• when people look at our profile before a phone call or a meeting
• when people look to see who viewed their profile
• when our profile appears in search results (and the right words will make it appear more often)
• when our profile is included in the list of employees of the company or organisation(s) we work for
• when we post status updates and they appear in the home feed of our connections and others
• when we write posts for the LinkedIn Pulse database
• when we appear in the list of ‘profiles other people looked at’
• when we appear in the ‘keep in touch’ reminders

Our LinkedIn Profile is the foundation for our online presence, our digital footprint, our online personal brand and professional presence.

When did you last update your profile?

And have you ever gone through a complete LinkedIn profile rewrite?

Take a look at the tips, advice and examples below to see how your profile could have much greater impact.

Creating powerful LinkedIn Profiles

LinkedIn is not just a place for job-seekers and recruiters.

It’s an online network that people in the B2B market can use to find new clients and grow their businesses.

• It’s surprising how many senior people still have a CV style profile, which people might take as a sign they are looking for a job.
• Even more surprising are the number of skeleton profiles of business leaders and senior managers. What impression does that give out? Would you turn up for a meeting looking dishevelled and unprepared? And what example or leadership does that set for people in their department?

Another observation is that different people have different roles, different objectives, and different audiences and communities that they work with.

Therefore it’s logical that their LinkedIn profiles need to serve different purposes, to resonate with different audiences, and  meet different objectives.

Would you be impressed by the following LinkedIn Profiles?

Here are some examples of those differences. Take a look at some actual profiles via the links in the testimonials on the following pages.

• A Consultant (Business Consultant, Management Consultant, Sales Consultant, IT Consultant, HR Consultant etc.) who had a clear specialisation of working with organisations of a particular type and helping them to improve their business performance in some particular way, to identify the starting point, the destination and have a methodology for the transition, and social proof through testimonials, articles, associations, peer approval etc. If that capability matched your requirements wouldn’t you want to meet them?
• A Business Leader (Chairman, CEO, MD, Business Owner) who has a clear vision and mission for their business, one that spoke to prospects and customers, staff and recruits, suppliers and sales channel partners, investors and the press etc. One that supported the efforts of the sales and marketing team, customer services, production and development and more. Maybe one that highlighted growth and partnering opportunities. And one that inspired confidence in the likelihood that it would deliver, based on a track record of success. If the journey that the business is on was clear, and aligned with your aspirations, wouldn’t you want to know more?
• A Sales Leader (Sales Director, Sales Manager, Business Development, New Business Sales) who is clearly customer focused, plugged into the customers’ market, connected with decision-maker peers, aware of market trends and issues, and with a track record of heading up value delivery to clients, not just making quota. Wouldn’t you want to find out how you, your department and your company could benefit, reassured by the value you’d expect to get from a conversation, and confident that you could probably refer them to colleagues or clients.
• A Business Professional (such as Heads of delivery departments, project managers, consultants, fee earners, sales account managers etc.) who was clearly aware of their role and contribution to value delivery to clients, had clear expertise in one or more areas, and evidence of skills development and progression. And more so, would you feel reassured to see a team of specialists who worked together, as part of considering whether to short-list a potential supplier, or recommend them to your colleagues, or your clients.
• And the LinkedIn Company Page that represents the business vision and ties together the profiles of the key individuals and staff. A powerful image and well crafted description to engage with prospects and customers, recruits and other interested parties creates a really positive tone. It can also support staff endeavours online, as the company page can make a major contribution to the way businesses are perceived, and the actions that visitors take.

This is what the Wurlwind LinkedIn Profile Rewrite service delivers – profiles that create a very positive first impression.

Three key objectives for a LinkedIn Profile Rewrite

If you accept the importance of moving beyond a skeleton or a CV profile then these THREE objectives become clearer.

And by the way, this goes way beyond the LinkedIn prompts that get you to 100% and they only cover the foundations.

1. The 180 degree switch – from About Me to About You!

This is fundamental for an effective LinkedIn profile for someone in post or running a business and looking for greater success in that role.

• A recruiter has a brief for a role they are recruiting for, and they can match and score a CV against that.
• A potential customer has a business need, a challenge, a problem to overcome or an opportunity or aspiration to move towards.
• And some potential customers need to have their eyes opened to the needs or opportunities they don’t yet recognise.

Therefore the first challenge for a LinkedIn Profile Rewrite is to make the switch from About Me to About You.

2. Supporting the Know, Like and Trust journey

Trust is pretty important in business and especially in business development, in sales, in partnerships, in recommending and leading change etc.

And although trust will depend on many things there is the potential to be eliminated early on if a competitor has a stronger set of credentials.

Trust is also fairly granular and specific. Beyond the basics like honesty, integrity, keeping confidences and similar there is another level.

This can be conveyed in the expression of being a ‘go-to’ person. Who do people go-to for financial advice, for marketing ideas, for connections, for negotiating a deal, to design systems and so on.

The second objective of the LinkedIn Profile Rewrite is to identify the right area of trust and then to portray that trust.

3. To set up an appropriate response for the reader to take

It would be a shame if, after all the preparation, the reader was left to make their own mind up about whether to take action, and if so what, don’t you think.

If we want someone to do something isn’t it far more effective if we specifically ask them, and their only options really are Yes, or No.

Of course we’ve added our email address and / or phone number to the profile or page, and maybe our Twitter handle too.

But at the end of the Summary, and maybe in the Advice for Contacting section, include a clear and compelling call to action (CTA).

Maybe that’s asking for certain people to connect, or for referrals to particular people, of for a business leader to sign-post people in the company to be contacted for different matters.

LinkedIn Profile Rewrite benefits

Business success increasingly depends not just on being visible but moving people through the know, like and trust sequence in ways the buyers prefer.

• People are finding that with progressive visibility and a positive profile come progressive benefits.
• The innovators have grasped the potential of the Internet and LinkedIn very quickly, and are forging ahead in their respective markets.
• Our clients say they feel much more confident as a result of having a very professional, purposeful profile created for them.
• With our support they are dressed for success online.

Profiles of each person, each company and the key people in management and sales deserve to present a credible and joined up message.

After all, our website, premises, exhibition attendance, marketing and lead generation campaigns and many other expenses could be let down by a poor impression on LinkedIn.

What triggers people to get a LinkedIn Profile rewrite?

There are several recurring events or business circumstances when people seek help with a profile rewrite including:

• undertaking a business review and sharpening focus in either the same or a different direction
• attending an event or conference where there will be a lot of visibility of the LinkedIn profile
• undergoing a rebrand with potentially a new website and wanting that to flow through, or to be guided by, the LinkedIn profile(s)
• stepping out of a role as an employee (either voluntarily or not) or the armed services and wanting to research or pursue a new direction
• undertaking a business or sales team shake-up and wanting to present a clearer and more consistent message to the market

And quite often people make the change having been referred to me by a previous client, often as a result of seeing their profile and the conversation that follows.

Would you like more guidance and help with your LinkedIn Profile Rewrite?

Congratulations if you are still reading. I guess you’re pretty serious about improving your LinkedIn Profile.

You might also be feeling a little daunted or maybe overwhelmed.

But also, wouldn’t it be a shame if in say 3 months you were still feeling you REALLY ought to tackle your LinkedIn Profile.

Imagine instead if you acted now and within 2-4 weeks you and maybe your business and colleagues had a much more professional image on LinkedIn.

Would that make you feel a lot better?

Especially to experience the clarity and confidence that comes from the repositioning that I help people to develop, their purpose, their golden thread, or similar.

This isn’t a high pressure sell but if you would like to discuss LinkedIn profile improvements and see if a LinkedIn Profile Rewrite is right for you and your business click the button below…

Mark.