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Create an effective sales profile on LinkedIn

7 easy tips to optimize your profile, attract clients and close sales.

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Why having an effective LinkedIn Profile for Sales Professionals matters

49%

49% of buyers research sales professionals on LinkedIn

92%

92% of B2B Buyers will engage with sellers known as industry thought leaders

50%

50% of buyers avoid sales professionals with incomplete sales profiles

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How to create a winning sales profile

A LinkedIn Sales Profile is more than a resumé. It's a proxy for the experience of doing business with you, and a way to add value to your brand in a few, easy steps.

Illustration of a laptop displaying a person's profile
icon of a magnifying glass

Step 1

Make your profile visible and easy to find

Searchable, public profiles on LinkedIn get far more views. Make sure your audience can get to know you. With a private profile, users can only see a snippet of your information.

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Making your profile public

  • Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage
  • Select Settings & Privacy
  • In the Privacy section, click Edit your public profile
  • Under Edit Visibility, turn On your profile’s public visibility

Personalize your URL

On the same page, create a custom URL. You can use your first and last name, or first initial and last name, so prospects can easily find you.

Pro Tip

Add your LinkedIn URL to your email signature so that potential customers can learn more about you in one click.

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Step 2

Upload professional photos

Think of how you dress and act when you meet a client in real life. Your profile photo should be representative of the way you’d appear in a face-to-face sales meeting.

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Tips for choosing the right Profile photo

  • High-resolution, 400x400 pixels is the perfect fit
  • Close-cropped headshot that shows your face clearly
  • Neutral background or work setting
  • Be the only person in the picture
  • Wear what you’d wear to work
  • Take the photo in soft, natural light
  • Use filters wisely

Upload an effective background photo

A carefully chosen image can tell potential customers who you are and what you’re about.

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Tips for choosing the right background photo

  • Cropped to 4000x4000 pixels to fit the space
  • Focus on authenticity and credibility
  • Important details aren't covered by your profile photo

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Step 3

Craft a compelling headline

A well-crafted headline works with your profile picture and background image to capture attention – and it’s often the difference between a prospect staying to find out more or clicking away.

Gif representing how to craft a compelling headline

Use your headline as a showcase

  • What you do and who you do it for
  • The value you offer buyers
  • What differentiates you
  • Proof that you can deliver on your promise

Highlight your value

Imagine telling a potential client how you can provide value for them, and write from there.

Include a personal summary

Your summary is your '30-second pitch'. Use this space to differentiate yourself from other sales professionals with what you do, how you help your clients, and how to get in touch with you.

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Fool-proof Summary structure

Passion Intro - A sentence about what motivates you professionally and what that means for customers.

Background - One or two sentences summing up your career to date.

Company - One or two paragraphs about what solutions you offer, and how they’ve solved industry or customer problems in the past.

Call to Action - How to best get in touch with you.

Summary style

  • Write in first-person
  • Avoid bullet points
  • Write in full sentences
  • Craft with passion and clarity
Pro Tip

Professional writing doesn't have to be boring. Let your passion shine through, and if a little humor fits your personality, go for it.

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Step 4

Add your work experience

Use this section to demonstrate what you can do for customers. Remember, this isn't a resume for an employer. Keep your work history relevant to potential clients.

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Tips for choosing the right background photo

  • Have you helped multiple customers achieve a significant business goal?
  • Do you help others come together to solve tough problems?
  • Do you have a trusted team to assist with the experience?
  • How do you give back to your community when you’re not helping buyers?
  • Do you remain involved with buyers at every stage?

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Step 5

Add rich media

An effective way to grab your prospect’s attention is by adding multimedia content to your profile, such as links to a portfolio, videos, presentations or infographics.

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Enhance your Summary

Add awareness-type content: C-level interviews about your company, videos dealing with industry issues, or campaign microsites.

Support your Experience

Add detail about specific solutions, including presentations or videos where you directly help customers achieve their goals.

The '2 and 5' rule

Limit yourself to around five pieces of media content for your summary and two for your experience.

Double your exposure

You should share these assets in your feed, as well as your summary.

Pro Tip

Source content from your marketing team, then use your insight to add assets that will resonate with your audience.

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Step 6

Include Skills and Endorsements

Adding specific skills on your Profile is a great way to showcase your abilities to potential buyers. Those skills can be validated by skill assessments, and by 1st-degree connections with "recommendations".

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Tips for choosing the right background photo

LinkedIn lets you take online tests to help demonstrate the level of your skills to your audience, and display a Verified Skills badge on your profile.

Pro Tip

Displaying the results of your skills assessments is entirely voluntary, and you can retake a test until you're happy with the result.

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Step 7

Gather recommendations

LinkedIn recommendations and endorsements from satisfied clients can give you immediate credibility. In just a few simple steps, you can gather them on your profile.

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How to request recommendations

  • Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage
  • Select your profile by clicking your Profile picture
  • Scroll down to the Recommendations section and click Ask for a recommendation
  • In the Who do you want to ask? field, type a name
  • Select the name from the dropdown that appears
  • Fill out the Relationship and Position at the time fields
  • Click Next
  • Personalize the text in the message, and then click Send
Pro Tip

Don't be shy. As you ask for recommendations, write a personalized message to accompany your request to get more specific write-ups.

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Great Profiles always stand out

Here's a side-by-side example of two LinkedIn Profiles

two laptops displaying comparisons of profile pages

The left-hand profile will be a lot more engaging for prospects and leads. She uses a professional photo, and a headline that clearly defines the value she brings to clients. Her summary further elaborates on the skills and personality she brings to her role and customers. Creating an effective LinkedIn Profile takes only minutes, but can make a world of difference.

Now that you've created an effective sales profile, find the right prospects and connect with your buyers with LinkedIn Sales Navigator

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