3 Reasons Why LinkedIn Isn't Working For You - And How To Fix It

You've setup your LinkedIn Profile, you post an update every now and then and you send invitations to people you'd like to become your clients. Yet: no sales! Ugh!

Here's what you may be doing wrong, and how to fix it.

SENDING INVITES

Growing your network on LinkedIn is really important as it increases your chances of being seen by your ideal clients. However, there's a wrong and a right way to go about this.

The wrong way

The following are just a few examples of invitations I've received recently:

• an empty invitation without a personal message
• a 'personal' invitation asking me "Would you consider adding me to your network?"
• A link to an event for me to check out, without explanation of why the event would be of interest to me.
• Going straight for the sale: someone offered me their Facebook Ads services. They clearly hadn't read my LinkedIn Profile, as I offer this myself as well!

If you want to connect with people in order to find clients for your business, make sure to indeed CONNECT with people. If someone can't be bothered to read my profile or to send an invitation explaining exactly why they'd like to connect with me, to me this comes across as lazy or sales-y. Think about the impression an empty (literally or figuratively) gives the person receiving that invite, and make sure to make a great impression on them instead!

The right way

So how should you go about inviting people into your network?

• Make sure people are indeed a right fit by looking at their profile
• Interact with their content (status updates, articles) before you send an invitation to connect
• Always personalise your invitation message
• Clearly explain why you'd like to connect with this person (an no, this can not be 'I want to sell you my services!')
• Explore someone's profile and activity on LinkedIn (and maybe even on Facebook or other social media!) and see if there's anything you can help them with. Sharing a tip or useful article can be a great introduction!

PROFILE HIGHLIGHTS

Your LinkedIn Profile is absolutely crucial for your success on LinkedIn. Every strategy for getting clients on LinkedIn is aimed at getting people to look at your Profile.

When you're active around LinkedIn, for example when you're commenting on someone's status update. Two elements of your Profile are immediately visible for people: your Photo and your Headline. These need to be top notch in order to entice people to click through to see your full Profile.

Add a photo and make sure it's a professional one! It should be a head shot without sunglasses, sun hats, colleagues and kids :-) Profiles with photos are said to be getting 21x more profile views than those without. Also make sure you have your settings correct so the photo is indeed showing up. And of course a photo helps people to really connect with you, to see the person behind the profile. Having a photo on your Profile is even more important if you have a common name: when people search for your name it's much easier for them to identify which Profile is yours if you have a picture there.

Write a Professional Headline. Make sure to explain what it is you do and who it's for. Mention results if at all possible. And are you offering a freebie? Mention that as well! General statements like 'available for work' don't do the trick - be specific, so people know if you're the right fit for them. This also helps if you're asking others for referrals: if they know exactly what it is you do, they can send you the right people.

PASSIVE TO ACTIVE

Being successful on LinkedIn requires more than setting up a Profile and waiting for the clients to come in ;-)

It's all about finding the right people and getting in front of them.

Here are some to increase your visibility:

• Grow your network (see above on how to do this the right way)
• Regularly post status updates
• Write articles on LinkedIn showcasing your expertise
• Comment on other people's status updates and articles

BOOKED SOLID

Do you want to learn more about how to find clients and get your calendar fully booked? My course 'Booked Solid' opens March 23rd, 2020. Get on the waitlist now to be notified!