Are You Calling Yourself an Expert on Your LinkedIn Profile? Then Prove It!

Are You Calling Yourself an Expert on Your LinkedIn Profile? Then Prove It!:. by Kristina Jaramillo
Right now, I’m working on giving a LinkedIn profile makeover to the head legal counsel at a prominent law firm in Florida. I spent 90 minutes trying to uncover what makes this attorney any different from the thousands of other foreclosure attorneys that can be found on LinkedIn.
Every time I asked him what makes him different and unique, he’d bring up his 40 years of experience and say that he’s leading edge.
When I told him, I don’t care about how many years of experience a person has (and that no one else cares either), I shocked him. He even said, “How can you tell me that?”
I explained that people care about results and what’s in it for them. I also explained that everyone says they’re “leading edge,” but no one’s proving it. You can say that you are on the leading edge until your face turns blue—but no one is going to believe you until you show how.
In the book How to Persuade People Who Don’t Want to Be Persuaded, authors Joel Bauer and Mark Levy use this example.
Which of these two statements sound more credible?
A.) Send your child to our high school. We have high academic standards.
B.) Send your child to our high school. For the past three years, Board of Education has ranked us in the nation’s top 15 in terms of SAT scores.
Now, I know you picked choice B because the language in choice B is specific and tangible. It creates a picture in people’s minds and has facts that can be corroborated. Choice A sounds like the language on most law firms and professional service firms’ websites and LinkedIn profiles. “We are leading edge” or “We are cutting edge” is one of the most over-used phrases… and audiences are saying, “And, so is everyone else!”
Also, firms are using generic benefits. For example, on many financial planners’ LinkedIn profiles, you’ll see: “My financial planning service can grow your money.” Isn’t that what every financial planning service should be able to do? How does this make them “leading edge”? However, if someone told me on their LinkedIn profile (or on their website) that their financial planning service gives their clients an average yearly return on their money of 17%, I’d be more than willing to connect and see how the financial planner can help me.
Do you see the difference?

Two Examples of Proving One’s Expertise

Example #1
If you look at Adam Hommey’s LinkedIn profile, you’ll notice his profile headline: Website Consultant Shares 14 Costly Web Conversion Mistakes That Trump, Hilton, AFLAC, IBM, Dan Kennedy & YOU Are Making!
The companies Adam mentions in his LinkedIn profile spend millions of dollars on their advertising, marketing, and PR efforts. In his special report that he discusses in his LinkedIn profile, Adam uncovers the mistakes and explains in detail why they are mistakes.
You also find throughout Adam’s LinkedIn profile results he is achieving. For example, we included on Adam’s profile that his Live on Video Website Review Service increased JadaMichaels.com sales by 65% and that he helped a number of professional service firms increase leads by 20% in 30 days.
As Jeffrey Gitomer states in his book Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, you have to be a person of influence if you want to get your way. According to Gitomer, being a person of influence means that you have a reputation, character, credibility, and stature enough that people will take your message seriously. He says this comes from your track record and your success record combined with your perceived expertise. That’s why we get very specific with the results Adam achieves for his clients.
Example #2
During our weekly strategy call with Fernando Leon, vice president of Single Point of Contact, we were brainstorming ways to differentiate his company from other IT firms offering managed services through their content. Other firms explain why companies need to outsource their IT and discuss results. They provide thought leadership results just like Single Point of Contact offers their prospects. But, other firms do not explain how their processes work. For example, they do not describe how they monitor their client organization’s IT efforts.
Your prospects start out skeptical. They want to know what exactly you are offering, how it works, why your solutions work, how your solutions work, why do you want them to take your suggested actions, and how will it affect them. By offering content that answers these questions and explaining in processes in detail, Single Point of Contact will automatically be seen as leading edge even if other companies have the same processes.

What About Your LinkedIn Profile?

Now, look at your LinkedIn profile and the content that you are adding to your blog and distributing through your social media circles. Are you mentioning how your company is leading edge—or are you proving it?
LinkedIn marketing expert Kristina Jaramillo has completed hundreds of LinkedIn profile makeovers for law firms, professional service firms, and business leaders around the world. Take her free “Do You Need a Profile Makeover Quiz” to see what mistakes you are making.