Sell socially
Outcomes
The first six lessons followed a single deal from first contact to signed order. These last three are different: they are the habits that make that cycle repeatable, so you are not starting from zero on every new prospect. This one is a standing habit — you can start it today, regardless of where any particular deal sits.
LinkedIn is your virtual business card, not your photo album
Treat your profile like the first thing a prospect sees about you, because it usually is. Five things matter more than the rest:
- A professional photo. Not the beach photo with your dog — save that for other platforms.
- A banner that matches your brand, or highlights a recent accomplishment.
- A headline that reads like a business card. "VP of Sales, Riverside Marketing" beats "Thinker. Change agent."
- A filled-in featured section linking to your best work.
- At least one recommendation from someone who has actually worked with you.
Most people skip the featured section. Do not be most people.
The score that tells you if you are actually doing this
LinkedIn's Social Selling Index is not a vanity number — treat it as a checklist. It scores four things:
- How complete and active your personal brand is
- How well you are finding the right people to connect with
- How often you engage with insight — actual comments and shares that add something, not just likes
- How strong your relationships are getting over time
If your score is low, it is not a mystery why. It is telling you which of those four you are skipping.
Write a headline and summary that make someone care
Two pieces of your profile do more work than people expect.
Your headline should say what you do and why someone should care, not just your title. "Helping local businesses fix the gaps in their online presence" tells a prospect more than "Account Executive" does.
Your summary should tell a short story, not list your resume. If writing is not your strength, this is worth getting help on — it is one of the highest-leverage 200 words on your whole profile.
Below that, your work experience is what a skeptical prospect checks first: how long you have been doing this, what you have actually done, whether they recognize the companies. And if you claim a skill, get it endorsed. A profile that says "SEO expert" with zero endorsements for SEO reads as a claim nobody was willing to back up.
Research them, because they are already researching you
Spend 10 minutes on LinkedIn before every meeting: check who you are meeting, what they post about, what you have in common. That is the habit most reps already know they should build.
Here is the half people forget: the prospect is very likely doing exactly the same thing to you, before the same meeting. A thin or outdated profile does not just fail to help you — it actively costs you credibility before you have said a word. Treat your own profile as part of your prep, not a setup task you finished two years ago.
Share content that makes you look like the expert, not the salesperson
Make LinkedIn part of your daily routine rather than a once-a-quarter chore: check connection requests, comment on a couple of posts, share one useful thing.
The content that performs best is the content that helps people learn — not another announcement about your product. One way to do this without writing from scratch every time: when you read something genuinely good from a source your network already trusts, share it with two or three sentences of your own take up front.
You do not need to be the original author to look like the person who finds and understands the good stuff first, and it is a far easier habit to sustain than always creating from a blank page.
Open your own LinkedIn profile and check three things: does your headline say what you do and why someone should care, is your featured section filled in, and do your top two claimed skills actually have endorsements? Fix whichever is weakest today.
What you now have
- A profile checklist: photo, banner, headline, summary, work experience, endorsements, featured content
- A practical reading of the Social Selling Index as a to-do list rather than a score to feel bad about
- The habit of 10 minutes of research before every meeting, knowing the prospect is doing the same to you
- A repeatable way to build authority without writing something new every single day
Knowledge Check
Four questions on making a profile work as a sales asset.