Hidden behind the ‘See More’ make sure the first two lines of your summary make an impact, so people want to keep reading.

Outline the problem you solve so prospects instantly understand the context of the conversation they are about to have with you.

It may sound harsh, but when it comes to LinkedIn, nobody cares about you until you become relevant to them. Without context, your prospect is unlikely to read your profile or consider that you have something they may want.

Instead they’ll click right past you and continue on with their day, not realising you had the solution to their problem.

As soon as someone lands on your profile they’ll need to instantly understand the business you are in and the problem you solve. The opening two lines of your summary and also the first two lines of your experience need to build upon the headline and outline the problem that you solve. Hidden behind ‘Read More’ our job is to not only have them opt to read more, but also to actually do so.

A clear well throughout opening paragraph that details the problem you solve and has your prospect sit up and say ‘That’s me!’ is guaranteed to spark their curiosity and have them read on.

Unfortunately, CV based profiles that talk all about you and your accomplishments won’t entice your prospect to read on. Instead, we need to convey key information about you, your skills, your philosophy and what makes you unique, all while keeping the context very much about your prospect.

Your profile summary needs to inform and educate. It needs to help your prospect go from not knowing they have a problem to need a solution, to realising they definitely have a problem and need to invest in a solution.

And when looking for this solution – they only want you to solve it for them!

Your profile needs to build rapport and create that vital ‘know, like and trust’. Some of the most powerful sentences you can write include ‘I believe’, ‘In my opinion’, and ‘In my experience’ (to list a few). Why? Because they replicate having a conversation and give a deeper insight into why you do what you do, creating understanding and loyalty.

As most of your connections won’t be your ideal prospect it is important to also write your summary so those who aren’t in your industry or ever likely to buy from you can understand what you do and tell other people.

If they understand the problem you solve there is a much higher chance they will spot people within their own network who need your solution, and thus mention your name.

Your profile then wants to tell your prospect what to do next with a compelling call-to-action that they can’t say no to.

PLEASE NOTE: This advice is not for job hunters, but those wishing to win new business using LinkedIn.

• How does your ideal prospect articulate their problem?
• How will someone, who is not your ideal prospect, recognise a connection between what you are offering and the symptoms of the problem they need you to fix?
• What will make a person say ‘that’s me!’ and want to read on?
• What is unique about your approach or knowledge? And why are you passionate about solving this problem?
• What action do you want your prospects to take as a result of coming to your LinkedIn Profile?
• How does your LinkedIn profile fit into your overall sales funnel?