Learn how to use LinkedIn for construction industry professionals.
LinkedIn is often recognized as being the “Facebook for professionals”. It provides one of the greatest opportunities for professionals to network and share their expertise with potential customers. Among current statistics there are 500 million total LinkedIn users reported in 2019.
Many contractors and construction employees hear the word professional and back off. They assume that LinkedIn is not for them. They shy away from setting up a profile or participating in the network.
On a monthly basis, LinkedIn has approximately 260 million unique visitors to the site. As a B2B (business-to-business) site, LinkedIn attracts business people. These business people may include employers looking for new employees or commercial and industrial construction customers looking for providers for services. They are looking for individuals who are capable of helping them solve their problems.
How To Land Commercial Clients Using LinkedIn
Differentiation is key when it comes to this crowded market. You need to demonstrate through your brand, network and knowledge that you can provide a unique level of service. This course will help you learn how to use LinkedIn to build a commercial sales machine.
Why should construction pros use LinkedIn?
Do you prospect for new leads and opportunities? One of the best ways to grow your business is to be proactive in developing leads and opportunities. This may involve cold calling.
When you place a call to a new prospect they don’t know who you are. You may get a chance to leave a voicemail and quickly explain who you are and what problems you are able to solve. What does a prospect do with that information?
A lot of busy professionals will take your name and look up your name on LinkedIn. They want to be able to understand who you are and the skills that you have. What is your background and history? Does it support your claims in your voicemail?
LinkedIn becomes a virtual gatekeeper. If you don’t have a profile you may not be getting return calls even though you are very capable of helping the prospect solve their problems.
Whether you are an owner, a construction sales professional or a member of a crew, building your profile on LinkedIn can help open up new opportunities for you and your company. It can help build new connections with customers and industry peers.
Following, are suggestions for members of the construction industry on optimizing their LinkedIn profiles.
Before you can implement these suggestions, you must have a profile! Signing up is simple. Go to LinkedIn and follow the prompts to get started.
Once you have an account, here are a few suggestions for improving your profile and getting more views.
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5 Tips to Build or Improve Your LinkedIn Profile
- Upload a current picture – as mentioned above, prospects may want to look at your profile before they return your call. People like to know who they will be talking with. A picture gives assurance to someone viewing your profile that you are trustworthy and that you are someone they would like to talk to. Make sure that the picture is professional, in focus and clean. Avoid the beach picture or the one with you holding a fishing pole.
- Place a banner picture in your header – banner pictures can be used to showcase who you are and tell something about your skills. If you are a master plumber, upload a banner of some pipes or a rough out of a tenant space. If you are an excavator, showcase your latest piece of excavating equipment. There are online banner programs that you can use to make banners for your site that you can find through a quick Google search.
- Create a summary of your background – here is your opportunity to provide a resume of your experience. List your knowledge, skills, and abilities for which you want to be known. Remain focused on your professional skills related to the type of job you do or aim to do.
- List your professional experience – provide a list of your prior employers. Describe your experience working for that employer. What skills and knowledge did you use in order to fulfill your job responsibilities? If possible, link your profile to previous employers. As always, be respectful—this is not an opportunity to bash prior employers, but to showcase your abilities and what you have learned.
- Choose skills you possess that you are looking to be recognized and endorsed for – These skills should match the type of problems that that you have skills and history of solving. Construction industry members should choose skills such as construction, management, or abilities that pertain to their specific industry segment.
As you build your profile, continue to reach out and share it with your network. Ask for referrals from past and present employers and customers. The LinkedIn profile can become your online resume for sharing your skills and abilities with future customers and employers.
Do you own a construction company?
If you answered yes and your company does not have a company page on LinkedIn, it is highly recommended that you create one. This is your opportunity to showcase your company’s abilities for your customers and prospects.
We will cover recommendations for developing a company page in a later post.
The biggest mistake that you can make with LinkedIn is not having a profile on the site. The LinkedIn network gives you access to an extensive network of prospects. It allows you to showcase your skills, knowledge and abilities. You are able to build rapport and credibility with customers so that they will look to you when they have problems that you are able to solve.
