LinkedIn Isn’t Your Resume, It’s Your Trust Builder

May 08, 2025

Most people treat LinkedIn like a digital filing cabinet:

Title. Experience. Skills. Endorsements.

It’s professional, sure. But is it compelling? Is it earning trust?

Not likely.

In today’s sales landscape, your LinkedIn presence isn’t just a summary of where you’ve worked, it’s a living trust-builder. If you’re in sales, consulting, leadership, or client-facing roles, your profile isn’t just about who you are, it’s about how you help.

This shift is at the heart of the BeUseful philosophy found in Conversations Made Easy by Chris Jennings. The goal? Make every interaction valuable to the people you’re trying to reach.

Let’s break down how to turn your LinkedIn profile into a trust-building tool that works for you, not just during job searches, but every single day.

Step 1: Rewrite Your Headline with Them in Mind

Instead of:

“Account Executive at XYZ Company”

Try:

“Helping small businesses simplify operations through custom software solutions”

Your headline shouldn’t just say what you do, it should speak to the problem you solve or the outcome you deliver. Think of it as your opening line in a conversation. Taught in our book Conversations Made Easy, people engage when they feel you’re being helpful, not when you’re leading with credentials.

Step 2: Use Your ‘About’ Section to Share Your “Why”

This is where most people copy and paste their resume or toss in buzzwords. But real trust is built through authenticity, not polish.

Use your “About” section to tell a short, story-driven summary of who you help, why you do it, and how. This is the space where you can show your tone, your values, and your human side, all key to relationship-building.

Take it from The Client Retention Matrix: long-term clients stick around not just for results, but because they trust the person delivering them. This is your chance to reinforce that trust before the first call even happens.

Step 3: Post Content That Serves, Not Sells

Posting on LinkedIn feels awkward for a lot of people. But that’s usually because they’re not sure what to post. Here’s a simple framework inspired by Conversations Made Easy:

Teach something small (a tip, a tactic, a tool)
Share a quick win (from a client or your own work)
Ask a thoughtful question (that shows curiosity, not clickbait)

This keeps your presence active, relevant, and useful. You’re not just posting for engagement, you’re establishing credibility and staying top-of-mind.

Step 4: Treat Your Recommendations as Social Proof, Not Favors

Recommendations are powerful, but only when they’re specific and aligned with how you help.

Reach out to former clients, colleagues, or partners and ask for a recommendation that speaks to the impact you had. Frame the ask around outcomes, not personality:

“Would you be open to writing a short note about how our work together helped you simplify your outreach process?”

Again, it’s about trust. Prospects want to see that others have gotten results from you.

The Client Retention Matrix emphasizes that retention often begins before the sale, with clarity and consistency. Recommendations reinforce both.

Step 5: Audit Your Presence Like a Client Would

Scroll through your own profile as if you were a potential buyer.

Do you immediately understand what you offer and who it’s for?
Is there any jargon or fluff that could be simplified?
Would you trust this person if you didn’t already know them?

Being useful isn’t just about what you say, it’s about how you make people feel. That includes the digital impression you leave behind.

Your LinkedIn Profile Is a Conversation Starter

The most powerful sales tools aren’t scripts or systems, they’re conversations.

Your LinkedIn profile is often where that conversation starts.

If you want to learn how to turn your conversations into conversions—on LinkedIn, in the inbox, and on every sales call—you need a playbook that works.

That’s exactly what we built inside Conversations Made Easy.

In the course, you’ll discover:

The full BeUseful framework
Scripts and prompts to use online and offline
Real strategies for building trust in every interaction
A repeatable system for more confident, authentic conversations

Turn your profile into a powerful tool. Turn your conversations into results.