What Does Your LinkedIn Profile Tell Others About Your Sales Skills?

People judge. Whether we like it or not, everyone does it.

On a professional level, right or wrong, I judge people by how effectively they network.

Is it just me or if you find someone on Linkedin with only 5 contacts and no profile information, you wonder how effective they really are in their jobs?

A person lays claim to a world-class Rolodex yet they can not be found by Google or any of the social networking sites? Hmmmm?

A person brags about how they are on the leading edge because they own an iPhone, but don’t understand the power of specialty networks such as Inquisix or Naymz.

Networks, especially professional networks, are evolving into filters. Linkedin was my first and still is my primary network. Its more open in nature in that the standards for joining another members network are pretty low. I’ll be honest, of my 200+ contacts, I really know about half. However others sites are becoming more strict, and thus stronger filters, for networking.

Notice with Inquisix that you have to establish your online identity via your profile, state why you want to connect with another person, and then that other person has to want to connect with you. This eliminates the “network trolls” you will find on other sites, and adds to the overall strength and trust in the network.

In Naymz, they explicitly ask “Do You Know This Person?”, “Are they trustworthy?”. It’s very powerful.

Until then, treat your online profile like your “brand”. Keep it fresh and relevant. Assume that your prospective clients and employers will be reading it.