To your prospects, you don't exist. You're nobody. They've never even heard of you. So, if they were to go to your company's website, would they get a sense of your personal expertise and the value you could bring them?
Probably not — and, that's a real problem. Recent research by The Corporate Executive Board shows that when it comes to winning new business, you are more important than your products/services. What prospects really care about is working with a knowledgeable person who can help them achieve their business objectives.
LinkedIn provides one of the best ways for you to show prospects that you can be an invaluable asset. Yet, in my "2013 Sales & LinkedIn Survey," 41.3 percent of top performers rated their LinkedIn profile as decent or better, compared to only 15.1 percent of other respondents. That's a substantial difference — and one that can be swiftly and easily corrected.
Here are three ways to build a LinkedIn profile to boost your sales credibility:
1. Create a strong, customer-centric LinkedIn summary. Create a summary that highlights the value you bring to your clients and makes you sound like a person worth meeting.
2. Add statistics. If you have good data from your customers, use it. For example, on my LinkedIn profile, I state, "With one client, 87 percent of reps landed pivotal initial meetings with large corporate accounts within just 60 days." It's a fact, and it helps my prospects know what kind of results they'll get by working with me.
