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by Samantha Mckenna
Here’s a rundown of the five frequent LinkedIn questions I receive from clients I work with, and how I suggest we tackle them. In my years of working in sales, I’ve tackled thousands of questions regarding the basics and the advanced art of using LinkedIn (many can be summed up with: “This is all so overwhelming…”) but, the truth is: LinkedIn and LinkedIn Navigator are unbelievably powerful tools in which data and algorithms can be leveraged for your professional gain – and even at the most basic levels, without being an expert, anyone can capitalize on its benefits.
Q – I worry about saying I’m in sales in my headline…what should I say instead?
A – First, here’s the advice – your headline is meant to state what you actually do at work, not what your title is. Your employment history should be what states your title. Now, here’s a great tip – make your headline about the distinct and tangible problem you solve for clients. Whenever anyone sees your profile or hovers over your name when they see you’ve commented on one of their connection’s posts, they’ll see what you do, which may prompt them to read your profile and reach out to you.
Q – I want to look at someone’s profile, but I don’t want them to know that I’m looking at it.
A – On LinkedIn.com, the free version of LinkedIn that we all have, you get what you give, so to speak. So, if you mark your privacy settings to be anonymous, no one will see that you’ve looked at their profile, but be warned that you also won’t see who is looking at your profile. You can also go into the middle ground of being partially anonymous, which means someone might see, “Someone in sales from XYZ Company has viewed your profile”, but without clarity of who you are otherwise. Again, you’ll receive the same in return.
That said, there’s a hack here that you should know about. If you are a LinkedIn Sales Navigator customer, you can set your privacy settings to be totally anonymous and still see everyone who is looking at your profile. In addition, you can “save” all of those profiles, which sends you updates any time those individuals post or are mentioned in the press, all without their knowledge.
Q – I see many posts where the name of individuals and companies are in blue. How do I do that and why does it matter?
A – This is called “tagging” someone or a company. How to do it? Simply type in the symbol “@” and then begin typing the person or company’s name. You do not need to be connected with someone or following a company to be able to do this. Why it’s important? Tagging a company alerts the company of you and your post. Tagging an individual, however, alerts them and their entire network that they’ve been tagged in a post, and gets you and your post visibility to their network, without them doing a thing. Now, there are some basic etiquette rules around this, but let me give you two examples of me using this –
I run a campaign each time I visit a city and that’s to use my saved Starbucks points to purchase protein boxes for the homeless of that city. I post about it from time to time and always tag Starbucks. I want them to know that there’s good being done with their program and food, and frankly, I have high hopes that someone at Starbucks will see it, re-share it, and inspire others.
I recently created a post to thank five (of the MANY) people in my life that have been longstanding mentors of mine or have done a large favor for me that has had significant positive impact on my career. The post created a snowball effect of gratitude that not only lifted spirits far and wide but got me unprecedented visibility, netting nearly 17,000 views of my single post.
Q – While we’re on the topic of “views”, why do I care about getting views to my profile?
A – Views to your profile are only meaningful if you have a great profile. Let’s say you’re in sales, you are hoping to organically attract individuals who will do business with you. Each view of your post + profile means your name is staying top of mind for your buyers and then they’re reviewing your profile to see your expertise and points of view. It’s a unique space for you to showcase how you can help buyers, what your clients think of you (via the recommendations tab), and for anyone to see what you’ve recently posted.
Q – If I only change three things today so that my LinkedIn profile stands out and is up to date, what should they be?
A – Headline – tell everyone what you do. Don’t be afraid to add a personal flair to it as well. Perhaps yours reads, “Teaching marketers how to utilize webinar data effectively; Philanthropist with a passion for financial literacy”. Give your viewers a chance to see who you truly are.
“About” section. If you’re not sure where to go here, use this framework:
What you specialize in
State some of your experience or proud wins that are available to share publicly
Something personal – why you’re passionate about your work (508) 282 9224, what you invest in outside the office in terms of hobbies or philanthropy, etc.
Recommendations – Are you cringing at the thought already? Don’t worry, I have you covered and wrote all about how to do it, what to say when you ask for them, and even in what cadence to space them out.
About the author
Samantha McKenna is an award-winning sales leader and highly sought-after speaker who has spent her career doing two things – breaking records for herself, her employers and now her clients, and putting others first to ensure every client engagement she has delivers an exceptional client experience.
Since 2008, Sam has worked for some of the most notable names in the Bay Area, including ON24 and LinkedIn, and spent years as an individual contributor in net new Enterprise sales before moving to scaling teams and revenue in executive leadership. She is the creator of #samsales, which has a significant following on LinkedIn for her tangible sales tips and actionable advice for sales executives and teams. In addition, #samsales has led to Sam being the highest-attended speaker at dozens of conferences, including Outreach’s “Unleash 2020,” that netted over 8,000 registrants. She has been named a Top 50 Woman in Revenue, consistently ranks as the most read author for countless publications, is proud to be one of the faces of LinkedIn Sales Navigator’s marketing campaigns, and was named a Top Ten LinkedIn Sales Star 2020.