How to Leverage Your LinkedIn Summary for Sales (+Examples)
Contents
The LinkedIn profile summary is prime real estate that you can leverage to improve your effectiveness as a salesperson. It’s a window where prospective clients can peek in and see who you are, why you do what you do, and what you do best.
If you are doing any cold prospecting via email, LinkedIn, or even cold calling, then there is no doubt that people are screening your LinkedIn profile before they respond to you. The LinkedIn summary is above the fold, meaning it’s your first impression outside of your headline, and arguably the most important section of your profile.
Here’s how to maximize your summary section to get more engagement, more leads, and ultimately more sales.
Speak Plainly and Ditch the Jargon
Industry buzzwords and words like “synergy” are best left out of your summary. Jargon and technical speak can come off as salesy and be off-putting to potential clients.
Plain talk or a conversational tone, on the other hand, is refreshing and makes you seem approachable and human. One caveat is that it is still crucial to remain searchable. If specific terms are what customers would search for to find you, then don’t hesitate to cherry-pick those and place them where they make sense.
In Action:
WHAT I DO
I help companies achieve their full potential!
With my consulting services, I’ll evaluate your current software and technology, fine-tune your budget, put available resources to their best use, and negotiate better deals from all your vendors and suppliers. I’m all about saving you money and making your company an efficient goal-breaking machine.
HOW I CAN HELP
✓ IN-DEPTH RESEARCH so I can provide the absolute best recommendations
✓ CONNECT you with the right people in and adjacent to your industry to maximize resources
✓ TRACK AND ADJUST your metrics to boost performance and help you crush your goals
HOW I DO IT DIFFERENTLY
I take a brutally honest and refreshing approach to consulting. I’m always working to find you the right solution, even if that means I need to refer you elsewhere. I recommend only what you truly need and nothing more.
WHY CONNECT WITH ME
Because I offer no-risk free consultations in-person, via Skype, or over the phone. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by reaching out.
Blake Smith
Sales Consultant
515-236-8888
Blake.Smith@fakecompany.com
Why It Works:
There’s no chance of getting lost if you use a structure like Blake’s. He gets right to the point, uses plain language, and gives you the feeling he’s already on your team.
Be Brief But Specific
LinkedIn caps you at two thousand characters, which is more than enough for conveying what makes you great. Some best practices here are to stick to a few short paragraphs and break them up with white space. Creating easily-scannable sections with plenty of white space is important because prospective customers can easily skim your profile if they’re in a hurry. Beyond that, people are more inclined to read your profile if it consists of short, easily-digestible paragraphs versus a huge intimidating block of text.
Since you’re being brief, there’s no sense in beating around the bush. Get right down to business and be clear. Call out that you best serve small and medium-sized businesses if that’s the case. Sure, you may disqualify a few larger companies who may not return your messages, but you’ll get more qualified leads when people do respond.
In Action:
Hi – I’m Susie. Is your team in need of robust training tools so they can spend less time training clients and more time focusing on hitting your goals?
With my help, you can increase customer retention, create promoters, make your onboarding reps more efficient, and save money. If you’re ready to make that a reality, then email me to schedule a free 20-minute demo.
Susie Smith
Software Sales
515-236-8888
Susie.Smith@fakecompany.com
Why It Works:
Susie takes a refreshing approach that isn’t trying to position, convince, or overemphasize her value. She cuts right to the chase by being blunt, brief, and approachable.
Show Personality
Your LinkedIn summary should be professional, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be boring. People are attracted to passion, honesty, and positivity — and if some gentle humor or radical candor fits your personality, then by all means, go for it.
What does that look like?
- Write your summary in a conversational tone.
- Show energy in your tone or throw in a joke if that’s something that comes naturally to you.
- Write in the first person using “I” statements to make yourself seem more approachable.
In Action:
The marketing content and advertisements I create are unforgettable, immersive, and designed to dazzle your audience. My days are spent ensuring our clients have the support, skills, and sparkle they need to lead their industry.
My superpowers: Branding and brand management, idea generation, event planning, public speaking, content creation, and energizing teams of all sizes.
My favorite places to be: Dead center in a room helping people connect with their dream clients, behind a video camera, and writing thoughtful content in a blank space begging for some authentic energy, game-changing ideas, and a dash of pixie dust.
Emily Smith
Marketing Agency Sales
515-236-8888
Emily.Smith@fakecompany.com
Why It Works:
Emily does a fantastic job of exuding her bubbly personality while remaining professional and action-oriented. Her personal brand is enhanced by showing she’s passionate about what she does while also making her relatable and likable.
Tell a Story
In a world of generic LinkedIn summaries, adding some narrative flair to your profile can help you stand out from the crowd.
But storytelling doesn’t just make you more memorable – research shows that it can also help you plant ideas, thoughts, and emotions into the reader’s brain. That’s extremely useful when you’re trying to persuade people to buy from you.
However, you can’t just tell any old story. It needs to demonstrate the value of your product or service in an authentic, engaging way, so you’ll likely want to incorporate a customer success story.
In Action:
Imagine trying to build the Seattle Space Needle with only stone axes and hammers.
The sales team at Company X had the same problem. They found themselves working toward ambitious targets, but were stuck with outdated tools that just weren’t up to the job.
That’s when their Sales Director, Jane Smith, came to me. By automating their cold email outreach, I helped Company X reach more prospects, with better personalized messaging, and generate 10X more replies. In just three months, they made more than $100,000 in revenue, far surpassing their sales targets.
Want to find out how I did it, or interested in automating your own outreach process? Let’s start a conversation.
Zoey Smith
Software Sales Rep
515-236-8888
Zoey.Smith@fakecompany.com
Why It Works:
This approach clearly showcases the benefits of Zoey’s product and expertise, but in a more compelling way than the standard problem-solution-results format.
Focus on the Facts
The storytelling approach can be extremely effective in the right scenarios. It lets you add some personality to your LinkedIn summary and engage your prospects. But it’s not for everyone.
Prospects in more traditional industries – like finance, or law, or medicine – might not want to read your creative summary. Instead, they might prefer something more formal and factual.
This type of LinkedIn summary works best when it’s short and to-the-point, too. If these prospects don’t have time for creative language, they likely won’t want to wade through several paragraphs of copy to reach your CTA or find your contact details.
In Action:
As a legal sales professional working primarily with in-house teams in the construction industry, I help my clients drive efficiencies through technology and automation.
Over the past 10 years, I have worked with some of the strongest in-house legal teams in the country, including Company X, Company Y, and Company Z.
To find out about how automation can help you save time and money, please contact me at:
Blake Smith
Sales Consultant
515-236-8888
Blake.Smith@fakecompany.com
Why It Works:
This LinkedIn summary keeps things professional and concise, without skipping the key information that prospects will want to hear – like Blake’s specialism and experience.
Speak to What Drives You
It’s no secret that sales doesn’t always have the greatest reputation. In fact, only 3% of consumers consider salespeople to be trustworthy.
Making your intentions and motivations clear from the outset can go a long way to building up trust between you and your prospect. That level of openness will help you come across as more transparent and authentic.
However, there’s one potential downside to this approach – it can sound a little self-obsessed. Avoid this by referencing your product and why you love your role.
In Action:
Let’s be honest. You know I’m a salesperson. If you’re a good fit for our product, I want you to buy it – and I’ll be disappointed if you go elsewhere.
Why? Because I’m driven. I love sales, and I believe in our product, because I’ve seen the real benefits it’s brought to our customers. Like Company X, who saw a 150% year-on-year uplift in sales-qualified leads after implementing our solution.
I’ve been doing this a long time, and I have no interest in selling a bad product to people who don’t want it.
Want to find out how I can help your business generate more leads and make more money? Reach out to me here:
Blake Smith
Sales Consultant
515-236-8888
Blake.Smith@fakecompany.com
Why It Works
Here, Blake isn’t afraid to lay all her cards on the table. She’s upfront about the outcome she’s looking to drive, and she relates this back to the quality of her company’s product. That’s a believable and compelling combination.
Highlight Your Achievements
You sell your product every day. You might have been selling the same product for months or years. In that time, you might have spoken to dozens or hundreds of prospects. So it’s easy to forget that while any interaction with a prospect is “business as usual” for you, that’s likely not the case for your prospects.
Even if your prospect is the decision-maker with ultimate responsibility over whether or not to invest, this might be their first time dealing with a product like yours. They might have little concept of the market, or budgets, or what success should look like.
In that case, it’s reassuring to know they’re dealing with a salesperson who knows the industry – and product – like the back of their hand, and has the experience to guide them through each step of the buying process.
In Action:
As a Senior Business Development Representative, I help my clients drive revenue by automating their cold email outreach.
In the past five years, I have helped more than 100 SaaS businesses implement new systems and processes that make them more efficient, help them generate better leads, and empower them to close more deals.
To find out how I can help your SaaS business enjoy the benefits of sales automation, reach out to me:
Paul Smith
Senior BDR
515-236-8888
Paul.Smith@fakecompany.com
Why It Works:
It’s clear from Paul’s LinkedIn summary that he understands my industry and has dealt with a lot of companies with similar challenges and goals to mine. That makes it a lot easier to place my trust in him.
Focus On The Customer
There’s no problem with taking up a little space to add a brief summary of your work to date, your personal history, or even sharing the philosophy of your role as you see it.
However, you don’t want to just talk about yourself. Be sure to focus on what you can do for customers and why they would be interested in talking to you. To spark their curiosity, you can write about common problems your clients face and how you can solve them. Show them a better way, provoke a reaction, and show what sets you apart from other salespeople.
Lastly, an effective strategy is to make your LinkedIn summary an elevator pitch similar to what you’d say if you cold called them. On the phone, you only have 30-60 seconds to make an impression; your summary is no different.
In Action:
How often do you have to “whip up a quick quote or report before the end of the day”? Of course, you say yes and skulk back to your desk fully aware it will be anything but quick. Our team here at FakeCompany knows this problem all too well, so we created a tool that captures all your data in one place so you can build professional and unique-looking reports in 60 seconds or less.
If you’re ready to ditch the late hours building reports and look like a model employee simultaneously, then let’s start a conversation about what I can do for you.
Zoey Smith
Software Sales Rep
515-236-8888
Zoey.Smith@fakecompany.com
Why It Works:
Zoey grabs the reader’s attention right away with a question and reminds them of a common pain point they likely face. She demonstrates empathy for employees who have to do the task, and focuses on them and the problem the entire time. Lastly, she ends with not only solving the problem, but also outlining the benefits of solving the problem.
Stick The Landing
Now that you have their attention, you should direct their curiosity towards your call-to-action. Ask yourself, what would be the next logical step for a prospective customer after reading your LinkedIn summary?
If you sell high-dollar items or services, then the next step could be a product demonstration. If you sell a complicated service that is best explained with an hour-long meeting, then perhaps your call-to-action should be all about scheduling a face-to-face meeting.
No matter your desired result, you have to create a compelling call-to-action with extremely clear instructions. Be sure to include multiple ways to contact you, including a phone number, email address, social media profiles, and even your office address if you welcome visits from potential clients.
In Action:
My firm has two decades of accounting experience working with companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500s. If you’re looking to free up critical resources around tax season or during an audit, we have the brightest staff, the best tools, and boundless energy. Or if your company is ever in need of a few extra sets of hands, we would be thrilled to consult.
Let’s start a conversation about what Paul Smith & Associates can do for you.
You can reach me over email at paul@fakecompany.com
Text or call me at 515-236-8888
Or even tweet to me @paulsmith
Paul Smith
Accounting Firm Sales
Why It Works:
When your goal is to drive action, you’ve got to give readers multiple ways to reach you. Some people live in their inboxes, while others swear a phone call is most efficient. Paul here gives you both, plus a bonus social media profile for tech-savvy prospects. Most importantly, Paul isn’t ending his summary asking for a sale. He understands that the goal here is to aim for small commitments in the beginning. In this case, he’s simply asking to start a conversation.
As a sales professional, your LinkedIn summary section should act as a social bridge by which buyers can accept your inmail, connect with you, and most importantly, start a dialogue. Taking an hour to personalize your LinkedIn summary and make it direct, jargon-free, and customer-focused could be the best thing you’ve done all week.
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