Episode 188: Write Your Powerful LinkedIn About Summary to Boost Your Sales

Bob Woods  00:00

There we are, and Welcome Everyone to Making Sales Social Live brought to you by Social Sales Link. I’m Bob Woods, the LinkedIn Sherpa, and I’m joined by fellow LinkedIn and social selling professional who is also known throughout the universe as the LinkedIn whisperer, Brynne Tillman.

Brynne Tillman  00:19

The whole universe? 

Bob Woods  00:21

Everywhere you can think of. 

Brynne Tillman  00:19

Oh my gosh, How cool is that? Yeah. Hi, Bob. How are you on this fabulous day?

Bob Woods  00:29

I’m doing well. How about yourself?

Brynne Tillman  00:32

Excellent. Especially since I’m all over the universe.

Bob Woods  00:35

You are here everywhere.

Intro  00:38

Welcome to making sales social live, as we share LinkedIn, and social selling training strategies and tips that will have an immediate impact on your business. Join Brynne Tillman, and me Bob Woods every week, making sales social life. This is the recorded version of our weekly Making Sales Social Live show.

Brynne Tillman  01:01

I know you handle most of our LinkedIn makeovers, and you’re working this section that we’re about to talk about all the time. So I’m really excited to discuss it.

Bob Woods  01:12

Yeah, It’s so important. So your about section is sometimes called (it used to be called) the summary. Now, it’s “About.” We just kind of call it your Summary Section, but it’s called About and is one of the first sections your audience of prospects sees when they land on your profile, and its specific job, for us in sales and social sellers, is for us is to attract and engage viewers, so they’ll be excited to schedule a call and have a conversation with you. And it’s also – and I think you’d agree with this brand – it’s one of our first opportunities to really talk to people. Yeah, to bring value to them.

Brynne Tillman  01:57

Yeah, you know, and it depends, if you’re in creator mode, your featured section is above in your activities, or above. But if you’re in traditional mode, this is one of the very first sections that folks will get to. And you know, one of the mistakes we see all the time is that people position their about section to be about them. 

And I get it. Right? Like this was initially a resume. That’s what profiles were originally designed to do. But if you’re looking to use your profile, or LinkedIn, generally, in a social selling perspective, we need to rethink the way that we do this. So, why don’t we get started with there’s sort of a little bit of a formula that we use?

Bob Woods  02:39

Yep, it’s definitely yeah, as I would call it a formula, although implementation it because everybody’s different. You know, there are so many different things that you can look at three, or four or five in a row that we’ve done, they’re all going to read, they’re all going to read incredibly different yet, they all follow this format. 

But before you change anything, though, you need to download your current profile as a PDF. So you can save what you already have there. So to do this, on your profile, you’ll click More, which is next to the Add profile section button below your headline, and then select Save to PDF and it will download almost immediately. It takes like maybe five seconds to do that.

Brynne Tillman  03:22

So can I say two things on this real quick? So the first big advice, do not print it. LinkedIn does this stupid thing with a big black left hand column. Yeah, learn from me, I went through all my black ink with one print. This is really about you having this because LinkedIn does not have undo once you save whatever you had is gone. 

So it’s Murphy’s Law. If you don’t PDF it, you’ll need it. If you do PDF it you won’t, but I know I PDF almost every single time before I make any change. And I just have a BT profile on the date. And I probably have 150 of them. But it’s kind of neat anyway to go back three years ago, four years ago, gosh, I had that on my profile. So yeah, follow Bob’s instructions in PDF away.

Bob Woods  04:21

The evolution of your profile, I think, is always interesting to see as it goes and everything else and especially as thoughts change about what things are all about on LinkedIn. So from here on out, it’s all about the content in the about section because that is what you are focused on. So the first thing is you need to open up by writing about your audience of prospects’ challenges or challenges first. 

So again, like Brynne said, beginning this isn’t about you, this is about them. You’re looking to draw them in, because you want to create curiosity with your audience and begin to kind of get them thinking a little bit differently about their situation and hopefully thinking just in this little part that, hey, maybe this is the person who can help me with my problem. 

Brynne Tillman  05:13

So I love that and I think the concept there, which we talk about all the time, is, instead of leading with your solution, we’re leading to your solution. So when we talk about the challenge, first, we’re resonating with them, they’re saying, Oh, my gosh, he gets me she gets me, Right? And I fit this. So take a look, go high level, on the challenge, that kind of that common denominator challenge that your prospects face that you solve? 

Now don’t talk about your solution yet, I’m going to push it to Bob for the next I guess, element in the formula. Just remember, if you lead with your solution, you are saying we help companies do this. If I do this, we will get there. But we have to earn the right for them to care about us helping them. So Bob, what is section number two in the about section.

Bob Woods  06:14

And they will start caring about what you do when you teach them something new? Oh…

Brynne Tillman  06:23

Oh! That’s a big mic drop moment.

Bob Woods  06:27

Oh, my. And I was just thinking about the fact that it rhymed to be honest with you. But…. 

Brynne Tillman  06:35

So this is recorded.

Bob Woods  06:36

Yeah, I know, it’s another t-shirt, I’m going to be cranking out on my Etsy store. Yeah, seriously, teach them something new. Teach them something about what you do and what you can do for them. That is because they know about it, they probably don’t know about it. 

So use this opportunity to genuinely teach them something new. Add to add to immediately start adding value. Because when Brynne talks about it, we need to gain that Right? We do that through adding value, and then we can start talking about ourselves, but we’re still teaching them something new, Brynne.

Brynne Tillman  07:14

Yeah. And you know, this is often five things, you know, a person needs to do in order to x whatever. Right? So in order to ensure I’ve been working with our cybersecurity clients, that’s in my head, right. So there are five areas CTOs, Chief Technology Officers need to focus on in order to ensure they don’t have a breach with a new virus. 

Okay, now, I know that sounds like but Right? If I’m a CTO, and I’m like, “Oh, well, there are new viruses out there all the time”. I’m interested in learning. The key here and Bob, you said this, and I’m just gonna kind of rephrase it. The key here is that we are not saying we help chief technology officers do this, we do this with people, we have to reframe that and teach them otherwise, it feels like a bait and switch, it feels like a pitch. 

So, that is reframing it so instead of saying we have a monitoring system, for all new viruses, switch that and say CTOs need to make sure they have access to the latest technology to identify when new viruses come out. Okay, so I want you to think in terms of, I’m teaching you, this is what you need. If they go oh my gosh, I need that I don’t have that. It’s leading to your solution. So I think that’s really, really important.

Bob Woods  08:55

So the next one is, now that you’ve kind of built that trust, because you’re teaching them something new. Now is the time when you can start to talk a little bit about yourself, and especially linking their challenge with your solution. And then just talking a little bit about how you can help them with your solution back to their challenge. 

So it all does need to flow. It can’t be choppy for whatever challenge you’ve identified in that very top section to your audience of prospects, which by the way, the one thing that I forgot to mention is that when you’re in that paragraph, you should also try to address exactly who you are talking to as well. 

So, Brynne said CTOs. So you know, say CTOs, if that’s who you’re going after CEOs if you’re going after business owners really do include that in that top paragraph so that they know that you’re talking to them, but now we’re back after teaching them something new part. 

Everything that you have done leads to this point, link the challenge with your solution and and tell how you can help them with that with your product or solution or your consulting or whatever it is that you do.

Brynne Tillman  10:07

Yeah. And so I’m gonna go back to our lead to the solution, the education leads to the solution. 

Bob Woods  10:15

Yes.

Brynne Tillman  10:16

We have them thinking differently about the way that they’re currently doing things. And maybe even a little concerned that there’s a gap, or that there’s an opportunity being missed. And that’s where we can talk about how at that point, we’ve earned the right to talk about how we can help them keep it short, keep it real, do not make this the primary message. This is the bridge. 

Bob Woods  10:45

Right. 

Brynne Tillman  10:46

This is the bridge. Awesome.

Bob Woods  10:46

And we are bridging to the call to action. So. 

Brynne Tillman  10:53

So important.

Bob Woods  10:54

So important. So we actually have verbiage that we like to use as often as we can obviously adapt to whomever we’re doing a profile makeover for. But essentially, it sounds something like this. So if you’ve resonated with this, and you’re looking to explore new ways to do X, whatever it is, you’ve been talking about this entire time, let’s chat, whether or not we decide to work together.

I’m confident that our talk can bring some insights and value to you larger than those lines. Yeah. So actually, if you want to see that paragraph, and actually the entire about section in action, both Brynne. And my profiles on LinkedIn are exactly in this format. So, please visit them and you know, obviously, give us a follow and ring our bells while you’re there, too. 

But this is where I mean, we really have it dialed in to where the rubber meets the road in terms of putting this into action. That’s your call to action, you are reaching out to these people. So that you know, you can say, hey, I’m available, use me as a resource.

Brynne Tillman  12:03

Yeah, and let’s talk about that, because you just brought up something interesting, Right? We’re reaching out, maybe we’re asking them to connect, maybe we’ve engaged on their content, they’re going to check us out, and they’re going to do their due diligence, they will actually opt into this if you’ve brought enough value. 

And there’s lots of other areas on your profile where you can bring value, but this is really, you know, if they are going to go read and their concept is I’m going to read about this person, Right? That’s what they expect. And by the way that can all go in your experience. Yeah, that’ll be another podcast for another day.

Bob Woods  12:39

Maybe next week.

Brynne Tillman  12:40

Maybe next week. Let’s do that. Right? So yeah. So you know, this is their vetting of you. And I find this so interesting on so many levels, because they’re gonna get here and it’s a very different experience than they have with other people that are out pitching them. So you’re going to really stand out for sure. So Hi, Jack Hubbard. 

So in writing your about section, what value does ChatGPT bring to the table? That is a wonderful question. We actually have our little formula that we’re talking about in a ChatGPT Chrome So I think that’s great. And ChatGPT could do a pretty good job, but it still doesn’t always sound like you. 

So we’re incorporating your voice in doing these makeovers. Right? And so you can use ChatGPT, but you’ve really got to edit it. So it sounds like you, it’s your conversation. And b I mean, we’re all about we’re I’m trying to use the hashtag keep AI authentic hasn’t kicked in yet. But this is such a good question, Right? So we can even use that to get started. 

But at the end of the day, you know, someone can actually copy your about to stick it in another program, and it’ll say 97% ChatGPT, and it kind of loses a little bit of credibility there. So I don’t say yes, you can do it. But if you really want your voice and connection, make sure you’re highly editing it.

Bob Woods  14:21

Yep. So just really quick. And I’ve talked about this before, and I think you’ve been on this podcast, how do you put it in your voice? Really simple with the ChatGPT output? Read it out loud, when you’re reading it out loud. 

If it doesn’t sound like you, guess what you got to do? You have to rewrite it, then rewrite it and then read it out loud again, this time is probably going to sound more like you but if there’s any inconsistencies or anything like that, you’ll pick up on it at that point. 

ChatGPT in this case can really get you beyond that what I call a blank sheet of paper syndrome or whatever you want to say because nobody knows what They’re doing when they first start out ChatGPT can take you so far, but it can only take you so far, you really need to make sure that it’s in your voice.

Brynne Tillman  15:08

Great. What if it sounds better than me? So I have to do this. You opened yourself up to Scaff? What if it sounds better than I? Actually grammatically what? Because what if it sounds better than I do? So I might, even from a grammar perspective, however, I’m sorry, I had. I’m the daughter of an English teacher.

Bob Woods  15:34

So, actually, in that case, you put it through ChatGPT. And then you put it through Grammarly. If you really want to, like, you know, take it to the next level.

Brynne Tillman  15:42

I think Jack Jack’s question is a great starting point. I will tell you about your experience, great, you can take the URL to your website and ask it to write, ask ChatGPT to write your experience. We’ll talk about that next week, you can definitely do with the about, I have the formula that we’ve put together for that prompt. So if anyone wants to reach out to me on LinkedIn, I will get them that prompt to do that.

Bob Woods  16:11

So as we go on, we actually have a bonus tip too. And this is something that’s brand new, that LinkedIn is giving us that I think is excellent. So you can now and this is on a slow rollout. So you may not have this yet. So you can do your skills, your skills that are normally like way down at the bottom of the profile, LinkedIn is now giving you the opportunity to put five of those skills in your about section, which I think is huge. 

One little caveat, though, I would say make sure that again, these are the skills that people who are coming to your profile are going to want to know about you. So in other words, you know, you may have Microsoft Excel as a skill down below somewhere or whatever, I would suggest not putting that in there. 

If you’re in sales you are selling Yeah, If you’re in sales, I mean, unless you are selling Microsoft Excel Services don’t put in Microsoft. Exactly. 

Brynne Tillman  17:09

Right. 

Bob Woods  17:10

Yeah, exactly. So you know, for us, it’s like social selling in and LinkedIn training. And you know, like those types of things. So make sure it’s those types of skills that you’re listing in that section.

Brynne Tillman  17:21

Yeah, and it really highlights it’s got a little stars and yeah, top skills and I think it really does make an impact. So I like this new addition.

Bob Woods  17:32

I’m new to this, this one’s really good. Sometimes LinkedIn, you know, using the old baseball analogy, hits first base, hits second base, you know, third base, this one’s a home run. I really, really liked it.

Brynne Tillman  17:45

I agree, I agree. And skip as does experience in your Canada’s skills. So I will tell you, people may hire you because of your experience, but they don’t take your call. And LinkedIn, when we’re really using LinkedIn, it’s about getting the first conversation after that. It’s your normal process. 

So typically, experience and tenure is not the skill that people who say, “Oh, I got to talk to him, I got to talk to her, because she has experience”. But it’s important to have that experience in a lot of positions and especially yours, scan to make sure that you are really creating the new conversation, not making the sale. That’s probably the best way to say that.

Bob Woods  18:37

So I think we’re gonna go ahead and wrap up a really, really good one. Honestly, I knew this was gonna be good. I didn’t know it was gonna be this good. That’s this one worked out really, really well. And especially about such an important section in the profile too. 

Brynne Tillman  18:52

Yay. 

Bob Woods  18:53

Yay. Thanks again for joining us and making sales social live. If you’re with us live on LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook or Twitter right now, we do this every week, and we will do it until the end of time. So keep an eye out for our live sessions. If you’re listening to us on our podcast and you haven’t subscribed yet, why not go ahead and hit that subscribe or follow button to access all of our previous shows and be alerted when new ones drop. 

More info on our podcast is available at socialsaleslink.com/podcast. We do two shows weekly, this one and our making sales social interview series where we talk with leaders and experts in sales, marketing business and so so many more areas. So, when you are out and about this week, be sure to make your sales.

Brynne Tillman  19:43

Social.

Bob Woods  19:45

Thanks,everyone for joining us. Have a great week. 

Outro  19:45

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