4 Essential LinkedIn Ingredients for the Technology Sales Profile
If you are a technology sales professional, you will likely be doing a lot of networking.
You might have a few social networks, chat groups and industry gatherings that you frequent on a regular basis, but it is clear that LinkedIn should be part of that mix.
However, in devising your profile, there is a tricky balance to strike.
From your employer’s perspective, your LinkedIn profile should be about them and whatever product or service you are selling. However, if you then start job hunting and make it all about you, it is not hard for them to guess your intentions.
Therefore, creating a profile that works for both potential clients and employers is key.
1) Demonstrate your Industry expertise
The first ingredient of any salesperson’s LinkedIn profile is industry expertise. There is a dynamic area at the top of a LinkedIn profile that shows someone’s latest activity, and if the updates show that you are engaging in industry debates and sharing your thoughts on the latest developments, then the viewer will consider you an expert. It may be a big ask, but writing a few thoughtful blogs on interesting topics is a superb way of highlighting your opinions on the matters of the day. Your latest blog sits at the top of your profile.
2) Differentiate yourself
Secondly, you simply have to highlight your difference. Regurgitating company sales figures might seem like a good idea, but they are common knowledge. However, if you share exactly what you have achieved in the key projects at each employer, both potential clients and employers will see what you can bring to the relationship. A few sentences about how you go about doing things as well as what you have achieved will add that little extra edge.
3) Add presentations, videos or marketing docs
A vastly underused aspect of a sales professional’s LinkedIn profile is the ability to add multimedia. You can add promotional videos or presentations for any number of products or services, and there is no reason why you shouldn’t leave your old ones on there too. You want to leave an impression of a rounded industry expert, and the more involved your profile, the more time people will spend investigating. If they watch a fascinating video, they will remember where they saw it.
4) Have a keyword rich profile
Lastly, in any technology industry, it is vital to ensure that you have a plethora of industry keywords in your profile. You might think that brevity is best, but with in-house recruiting departments and executive recruitment agencies conducting searches for ever more specific jobs, would you really want your profile to be overlooked (by an AI bot) just because it doesn’t include suitable keywords? I am not suggesting that your profile should be stuffed with them, but it might make sense to stuff your older jobs with them as they are further down the profile. Every little matters, and if you want to be found, then the language that you choose to use is critical.
It is important to do all of these things, but it is also crucial to stay close to who you are. The last thing that you want to do is paint a picture of something that you are not. Stay authentic and visitors to your profile won’t fail to be impressed.
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Alan Anwar is the Managing Director at Datasearch Consulting, a leading executive recruitment firm specialising in the Financial Technology & Data sectors.
You can download their FREE comprehensive guide on “The Complete Guide to Hiring Fintech & Data Talent - 5 Proven Steps to Secure the Best Candidates Possible” here. Alternatively you can view the Datasearch Consulting website or contact them directly on info@datasearchconsulting.com for a more detailed discussion.