Most business people I speak to on LinkedIn say they don’t get any business from it, just recruiters connecting to offer them a job and thus wasting their time.

I don’t even have to take a look to know why.

Your LinkedIn profile is your shop window, so what you put on it is what customers will expect to buy. If you’re a business owner or sales person wanting results from LinkedIn for your business, a CV-based profile won’t get you far. By having such a profile, you’re selling yourself as an employee and thus attracting recruiters.

Although you are one person, there are many ways to present and sell yourself. Your skills are relevant, as is your job history. It is your experience that has crafted you into the expert you are today, and that could very well be the reason someone hires you today. However, it’s how you present this information that will determine who comes knocking.

For example, if a prospect invites you in for a sales meeting and you hand them your CV, they’d consider you may be confused, and point you in the direction of HR.

But as any good sales person knows, a sales meeting requires you to demonstrate that you have a clear understanding of the client and the problem they need solving and that you have a proven track record of solving such a problem.

It’s these that your profile needs.

If you want real results from LinkedIn, you need to write your profile with your prospect in mind. Not to insult recruiters, but they don’t read between the lines. They simply go with what the profile is selling. By contrast, I have never had recruiters approach me, but not because I am unhireable. It’s simply because my profile makes it clear what I am about, what I am up to, and what I want.

How about you? What is your profile promoting?

If you’re looking to get real results from LinkedIn and make meaningful connections, speak to us. We write LinkedIn profiles for solo entrepreneurs, SMEs, thought leaders, CEOs, and sales teams.