Time to Make a Stand on LinkedIn

Once I heard about someone who made an Excel Spreadsheet to determine if his girlfriend would be a good life partner. There was a set of criteria with various values and a total sum to drive a go-no-go decision. Now, that is perhaps a not-so-common practice in a relationship setting.

However, in the business world, that sort of approach is quite normal. You scan through a contact’s LinkedIn profile to search for clues to determine whether this individual knows their stuff and can be trusted (remember, people buy from those they like and trust).

People will generally trust you if they can determine “where you stand” and what your core values are. And a great place to show who you are, and what you are about is Linked-In. So, I recommend that you revisit your LinkedIn profile to see if it reflects who you really are as well as letting readers know what value you can offer them. We are no longer able sit with someone for an hour over lunch to figure out if we want to do business together.

LinkedIn also lets you publish content on your profile. This is an opportunity to not only share more about who you are and what you believe, it can also generate new connections and sales leads. Create content, post it on your profile and share it with your network. The content that you create will build your credibility and recognition in your field. Write about your industry, your critical observations about the market that you serve, express an opinion, share a piece of valuable advice. Create something that people will like and share with their networks.

Regular writing will make the creation process easier, and quality content will support your brand value and create awareness. You are giving your network content that they can use as they come to know you and learn to trust you. If you have a mailing list of people, encourage them to connect with you on LinkedIn, and that way, you’ll keep your centres of influence warm.

Click on Andrew Penny, Graham Birkenhead, Jelena Franco, Santiago Duje and connect with us on Linkedin. We’d love to have you in our networks.