How to Craft a LinkedIn Profile Opener That Converts
When your LinkedIn profile is optimized to attract new business, you'll notice an uptick in perfect prospects who begin finding YOU! Every business needs a healthy balance of inbound leads and outbound prospecting.
It's all about finding your sweet spot, and that's where your LinkedIn profile can be put to work for you on the inbound front.
Imagine if all you needed to do to get it humming along was to change one itty bitty section on your LinkedIn profile -- likely just 2-3 lines of text.
Even if you're not a copywriter by trade, anyone can nail a few lines with a proven formula!
In this episode of Mondays with Mindi, we delved into the LinkedIn profile opener that will help you instantly connect with your perfect prospects -- those who are already searching for you.
I shared my favorite formula for the opener, a few variations you can use based on your industry/niche, and how this strategy can also help your outbound outreach.
Profile Viewer —> LinkedIn Connection
Getting THE RIGHT people to pay attention to your LinkedIn profile seems easy enough on the surface, but why is it that everyone else seems to be getting all these leads?
And, your LinkedIn profile seems to be getting only double-digit views - and you’re not sure if they’re even the people you want to do business with.
You’re doing “all the things” on LinkedIn, like posting and commenting, but something must be a little off.
Could it be your LinkedIn profile opener? What do people see when they click on your LinkedIn profile and scroll to your About section? They look at those first couple lines and make a determination.
Should they click “see more” or click on someone else’s profile? It all depends on what they see right under ABOUT...
Is it the dreaded sales pitch?
How about a very dry and boring executive summary from your resume
Maybe it’s a description extracted from your company’s home page
Or what about a couple of lines about how you’re the next big thing that nobody knows about yet?
I’ve seen it all, and I’m guessing you have, too. You may not have stopped to think about why you click “see more” on someone’s LinkedIn profile or why you instinctively click away.
There’s a bit of psychology behind what’s happening here, and it’s up to you to figure out how to get people from profile viewer to “I want to connect with you.”
That opener can make or break their next impression of you.
Is your LinkedIn headline enough?
A mistake I see a number of people make is ONLY focusing on creating a LinkedIn profile headline that gets people to view their profile.
They make an assumption that the headline will be enough to pique interest and get people to accept or send them a connection invitation on LinkedIn.
YES, I do think the headline is one of the most important parts of your LinkedIn profile because it cracks open the door ever so slightly and teases the idea of who you are.
Problem is, you cannot stop there.
If someone loves your headline and clicks on your profile, they’re likely expecting you to deliver on the promise of that headline.
What do they want to see?
A great-looking profile that will help them instantly decide if they want to get to know, like, and trust you.
So, you cannot stop at a great headline.
You’ve got to move them past that first impression and transition them to reading a great opener in your About section.
If your LinkedIn headline is the first impression, then the About section opener is second.
You’ve gotten them this far, and it’s up to you to give them something worth reading.
Why does your About section matter?
Your About section is critical to the success of your LinkedIn efforts.
If you’re like many of my students and clients who are using LinkedIn for Business, your profile is the foundation for everything you do on LinkedIn.
Any new connection, potential prospect, influencer, or business collaborator is going to check out your profile.
If their expectations are met when they land on your profile, they’ll be more open to taking the communication with you further.
If not, you’ve lost them already.
Treat your About section opener with the care it deserves. This is the place to make a point, share your unique perspective, ask a poignant question, get people curious.
Who doesn’t like to be teased just a little now and then?
Your LinkedIn opener is meant to spark curiosity in those you want to attract and immediately repel those who are not a fit.
Going for lukewarm here is a very bad idea.
It’s all about making a statement about who you are, what you stand for, the questions and problems you’re helping solve, and why they should want to get to know you better.
Deliver on that promise, and you’ll start attracting the right people without having to work harder than the time it takes to craft a two-liner opening to this section.
So, what should you actually put in this section? I’m glad you asked.
3 Proven Formulas for Your About Opener
You have 330 characters on desktop and even fewer on mobile to get people’s attention. Remember: these first few sentences are critical to engaging them.
Let's talk about what an irresistible opener to your LinkedIn About section looks like.
You need to know your prospect’s pain points and what questions they're struggling to answer. You need to know what your audience wants and needs from you.
You want your potential superfans to say "Wow, they know EXACTLY what I'm struggling with. I wonder if they have a good solution?"
Now, you may not craft the perfect opener straight away, but the more you ask questions, have conversations, pay attention, listen and understand your perfect prospects, you can easily improve your About opener over time.
Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t feel perfect at the start, choose something and then come back to it later.
"What do your superfans and perfect prospects find absolutely overwhelming or challenging, and you know your paid program, book, product or service could really help them?"
Do they have issues with their mindset and want inspiration?
Is it a technology problem that one of your processes could solve?
Are they looking for a framework to tackle a business problem?
That’s all background information to get your creative juices flowing.
Let’s talk about the different kinds of About openings you can create.
#1 - Ask a compelling question.
What are the questions they are asking themselves? What's top of mind?
What's trending in the industry? Is there a pesky problem that none of your competitors can solve, but you can? Have you written a book on a topic with a unique spin?
Here's an example of a compelling question opener from a sales technology CEO:
Notice that it’s really simple. He basically calls out the poor performance of the sales industry, and you’re expecting to read his solution to what he’s doing to solve the problem.
Good opener, because he actually provides one solution if you read on.
#2 - Make a profound statement.
It doesn't have to be "completely profound," but it needs to get across what you're all about.
What's your motto? How do you see your area of expertise? How are you different?
What statement will get people to resonate with you because it speaks to them? They feel like you just get them somehow.
Here's an example of a profound statement from yours truly:
This resonates with my target audience because I immediately disarm them by saying “I’m not here just to sell you something you don’t want or need… I’m here to have conversations, let’s chat business!”
And, is it a wonder that I spend a LOT of time in my LinkedIn DMs? Not at all. I invite people to have a conversation, and I look for synergy. At the least, I want people to be happy we crossed paths even if we never cross paths again.
#3 - Start telling a story.
This one is especially useful if you're a writer or enjoy telling a good story. Think about an opening line from a story you've told in a webinar, in a presentation, in a keynote. Is there a line or two or three that captured the attention of the audience? How can you use that opener here on your LinkedIn profile.
Here's an example from author, creative, and keynote speaker, Chris Edwards, also one of my LinkedIn Rebooters:
You almost have to laugh out loud, because most of you know EXACTLY what he’s talking about here! Even if you’re not a creative or looking to hire a creative, you’re curious to read more.
He’s a storyteller by nature, and there’s no better way to open this section than with a little jingle.
Okay, this is NOT that hard, right?!
All you need to do is get a little creative and think about what would get YOU or YOUR PERFECT PROSPECTS to click “see more.”
Now, I know a lot of you are asking, what about the remaining 2,270 characters we have left to worry about?! Stay tuned to future installments, where we'll tackle other sections on your profile.
Before you start actively growing your LinkedIn network, make sure to optimize your LinkedIn profile to increase your chances of getting that connection invitation accepted.
I just released a free three-part mini-training How to Reboot Your LinkedIn Profile to Grow Your Online Business to help!
It’s jam-packed with templates and examples and a step-by-step approach to optimizing your headline, the two most important parts of your About section to get more inbound connections and build your list, along with what to do with your Experience sections!
Click HERE to get instant access!
