6 Mistakes Coaches Make with LinkedIn!

While working on LinkedIn for my clients and my own purposes, I’ve noticed that there are a lot of coaches out there these days.

(Some wiseguy is now riffing that’s like saying you’ve noticed the forest has a lot of trees, but I digress.)

Coaching is a solid profession, adding value, delivering satisfaction to both coaches and clients, and a good way to make a living.

Coaches can be in very specific niches or be broader in terms of scope of services naturally attracting more competitors the broader they get.

One thing I’ve noticed is that many coaches don’t use LinkedIn very well.

Let’s discuss that!

I’ve noticed six (6) basic mistakes made by coaches on LinkedIn, here they are:

(For purposes of this article, I’m only talking about coaches who are at least on LinkedIn. Those who aren’t have a whole other set of problems!)

1. A poor LinkedIn profile: Here, the basics aren’t even done. The best thing to do is to start over and earn an All Star rating for your profile. (Don’t know what an All Star rating is? Call me!)
2. Lack of clarity around the services provided: I love these ones! Essentially, they say, “I coach!” To which I reply, “So what?” Your profile has to say how you are relevant to the needs of your prospective clients.
3. No explanation of the value provided: Here, I suspect the guilty coaches, while doing a reasonable job of describing what they do, don’t go one step further and talk about the value that they deliver with these services. Better yet, cite examples or include case studies!
4. Not demonstrating what you know: This is all about social selling! Adding value with your content and engagement on LinkedIn. Don’t keep what you know a secret! Always have people walk away from your work saying that they learned something.
5. Failing to share the content of others: Speaking of content above, show that you know what’s going on in your specialty by sharing the work of thought leaders and influencers in your discipline and that you have an opinion on it.
6. Not engaging: Go out and connect with others (the right others) on LinkedIn, selectively use Groups, comment and share the work of others (Yes, I’m repeating that last one for emphasis!) Also, remember your Call to Action (CTA)! Don’t forget to ask your connections to reach out to you to take the conversation offline!
7. Bonus Mistake! Forgetting to ask for recommendations and endorsements: There’s nothing like social proof from your clients and colleagues to validate who and what you are! Don’t forget to ask for these very important parts of your LinkedIn profile.

Coaching is not just about hanging out a shingle anymore. (If it ever was that simple!)

LinkedIn delivers you to the front door of your future clients.

It’s a force multiplier that no coach can afford to overlook.

Don’t be one of those coaches who do!

That’s it for now!

Please check-out my 8 step approach for developing a social media program to get some more ideas on how to use social media.

Also, never forget to reach out to either ask questions or to ask for help from someone like myself!

In the meantime, thank you for following and reading my blog!

I look forward to any and all comments that you may have. I will reply to any comments made to this blog post as promptly as I can.