Although I am sure there are many more than seven, we have identified these sins as the ones too many sales professionals are committing that hurt their reputation and ability to leverage LinkedIn and social selling successfully. Ask yourself, are any of these sins yours?

I invite you to share in comments the LinkedIn sins either you have done or seen.

1. Your LinkedIn profile is your resume – I am sorry, but your prospects don’t buy from you because you have 21 years experience in… your profile should not be about you, it should be about how you can help them. That’s what they care about! Talk about your value proposition and even offer insights or relevant case studies that will engage and inspire your reader to want to talk with you. Don’t list your job responsibilities. Oh, and please have a professional photo and contact information listed!
2. You are anonymous – I am certainly not saying that “stalker mode” doesn’t have it’s place, but if you are in sales, you want them to know you are checking them out. How you are seen when you view another’s profile actually matters. This is caller ID for LinkedIn. Let them know that you are looking, they just might want to talk with you. CLICK HERE to Select what others see when you’ve viewed their profile
3. Your connections are closed – If you are in sales, you want to use it’s most amazing feature – identifying who you know that knows who you want to know. If you shut down your connections so that others can’t see who you know, they certainly aren’t going to want to help you out! LinkedIn is a 2-Way Street.
4. You don’t use LinkedIn productively for networking– This is really a follow-up to #3. If you have the ability to search who you know that knows who we want to know…then why aren’t you looking. Look up your clients’ and strategic partners’ connections and ask for introductions. CLICK HERE to learn how.
5. You ignore your connections – LinkedIn gives us opportunities to engage your connections every day. Whether it is a happy birthday or congratulations message or a publication that shows up in their notifications, you can reach your connections on a consistent basis. Even a bigger sin, you don’t engage your new connections – you just connect and forget. CLICK HERE for ideas on what to do with your new connections.
6. You don’t connect with your clients – I had a class participant that said, “I won’t connect with my clients because my competition might see who I know and poach my business.” I said, “If you can lose a client because someone knows your connected, there are many more issues we need to work on.” The benefits of connecting with your clients are many fold including the fact that you can see who they know and ask for referrals and they can post recommendations that bring a ton of credibility. The risk/reward is in your favor!
7. You sell on LinkedIn – I know, sales people want to sell, but honestly – the pitch just turns your prospects away. Stopping selling and start educating. Offer insights, tips, strategies and relevant content that brings value to your prospect. Social selling is a shift in the way people buy, it is time to shift the way you sell.