This 4,000-year-old Trick still works

A year ago, a Sales Rep from P&G approached us to write her LinkedIn profile.

Her dream job was landing a Project Management position in the IT sector.

A great choice, but there was one teeny-weeny problem – she had ZERO relevant experience.

What happened next, blew her away.

Story time 👇🏽

Ok, so let’s call her Maja (because that’s her real name). Maja was a kick-ass sales rep. Years of experience, countless results she could brag about, and a good paycheck she could rely on every month. She’d drive to the office, chit-chat with her team, open up her MacBook Air, and dig into work.

It was just another Monday. Except today, the drive felt a bit longer, the chit-chat felt dull, and her tasks dragged on… Maja was bored. Despite the good money she was making, and a supportive team having her back, she realized one thing… she’s been in her comfort zone for too long.

Ready to step out, and embark on a new adventure, she gave us a call.

Maja knew that one of the first things her Target Employers would check out, is her LinkedIn Profile.

And with no experience in the industry she was aiming for, we had to come up with a battle plan.

This is how we approached the problem.

We needed to shift the focus away from her, and onto her Target Employer’s problems.

A proven approach that works every time, with every profile.

But before writing a single word, Maja had to answer some questions;

1. What is the dominant emotion your target employer is experiencing?
2. What is the biggest perceived pain your target employer is experiencing at the moment?
3. What could happen if your target employer keeps ignoring the pain/doesn’t solve the problem? What’s the worst-case scenario?
4. What is the biggest perceived fear your target employer is experiencing at the moment (the fear that keeps them awake at night)?
5. What does your target employer truly want (more than anything else)?

With that done, we could easily craft a problem-oriented strapline for Maja’s Banner, a solution-oriented Headline, and an About section systematically targeting all the challenges her Future Employer was facing.

Next, we had to link each of her past experiences to the job role she was applying for, even though those positions had nothing to do with Project Management.

Meaning, more questions needed answering to write an Experience section, convincing the IT guys she’s the one they’ve been looking for. Questions like:

1. What were the results you had in your previous positions?
2. Why should your employers care about it today?
3. How did this position make you a better expert you are today?

Finally, following the writing process outlined in our 15 Steps to Writing a Killer LinkedIn Profile guide, we crafted a profile that could persuade almost every single IT company on the planet Maja’s worth their time.

Here’s what happened next.

“Damn, you applying there?!”, I asked.

“Why not? Worst-case scenario – they ignore my application.”

Maja had decided to shoot for the moon.

So she applied for Infinum, an IT company that employs only serious talent. I when I say serious, I mean serious. Their clients are giants like Nike, Samsung, and Philips. I know a designer who works there, and happens to be one of the best designers I’ve ever met (and I’ve met A LOT of them).

But fair enough. She’ll email them, and when they realise her greatest IT knowledge is how to turn on her laptop, they’ll just say “nope”, and move on. Or at least I thought so…

“Hey Stevan, they replied! They’re inviting me to an interview this Friday at 12 pm!”

What?! I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had to read that twice.

Maja showed up there all buttoned-up on Friday, 11:50 am, walked out at 12:30 pm, and passed the first interview. Bam.

The second one came along ten days later. Guess what? She passed that one, too.

Then the third one. I was on edge. She hadn’t heard back from them for days.

Finally, after a long week they replied, inviting her to the last round of interviews, along with two more people. Hell YEAH.

“This is it. Listen to me, you got this. That job is yours.”, I was encouraging her, while looking at Dina nodding along.

All of us were super hyped.

So three days after the final interview, Maja received an email…This was the moment of truth.

She clicked on the email, only to read “unfortunately, we’d like to inform you…”

…They chose somebody else.

Although this is not a common success story that marketers will tell you about, here’s why it still counts:

• She made it all the way to the final round with freakin Infinum, which gave her a MASSIVE confidence boost.
• She still has a killer LinkedIn profile that ain’t going nowhere.
• We proved yet again that our copywriting process works, even in the most unlikely, and difficult of circumstances.

And it could all be yours. A process that sets you miles apart from your competitors, and turns your everyday LinkedIn profile into a sales machine.

Because let’s be fair; if an industry newbie with NO experience can be taken seriously from a company like Infinum…
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…what will applying copywriting principles in your LinkedIn profile do for you?

Let’s recap the principles.

Your LinkedIn profile is a sales machine in disguise. But only if you use it right. Copywriting principles have been used since ancient Babylon. There must be a damn good reason why the’ve stuck around for so long.

Here’s how you use them in your profile:

1. Kick yourself out. Otherwise you’ll lose attention fast.
2. Focus solely on your Target Employer/Client & go really deep.
3. Identify their biggest perceived pain.
4. Understand where they want to be.
5. Identify the gap between 3 & 4, then offer your solution.
6. If they have objections to hire you/buy from you – put them in the forefront.
7. Sell the holiday, not the flight. Meaning – talk about the benefits & end results instead of the features.
8. Link every past experience to your current expertise. Even if it’s not directly related to your current profession.
9. Show, Don’t Tell. Real-life situations have more power than writing “I’m results-driven”.
10. End with a CTA. (Tell them where to contact you, or what to do next.)

And if you wonder how to nail down each of these 10 principles, here’s the step-by-step Guide with Formulas, Frameworks & Examples – take a peek.

(You’ll also find Maja’s entire profile with applied copywriting techniques, along with three other Bonuses.)

See you inside,

Stevan