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LinkedIn is a virtual networking tool that is currently being used by over 400 million business professionals around the globe. It allows business professionals such as plumbers and contractors to find and be found by other professionals in the plumbing trade. This networking tool is free and can be effective, even in the plumbing industry when used properly. In order to take advantage of the value found on LinkedIn, I will show you how to set it up and use it.

To get started, you will need to create a profile that displays your professional and educational experience, and then you can begin connecting with the people you know. A profile can be as simple as your name. However, if you choose to list little but your name, you will be missing a tremendous opportunity to avail yourself of the two major benefits of a LinkedIn profile—the ability to be found and the opportunity to tell your story.

Plain and simple, profiles should be beefy. For those readers who are old enough, think of the Wendy’s commercial from the ’80s in which the elderly ladies asked “Where’s the beef?” as they looked at a tiny hamburger patty dwarfed by a massive bun. For those of you who are not familiar with the commercial, check it out on YouTube. You’ll find it quite entertaining.

There are four reasons you want your profile to be beefy:

1.Your LinkedIn profile is a place where you can tell your story completely and fully, so that when people are looking at your profile, they will be encouraged to do business with you over your competitors.

They will see the depth and breadth of your experience, your professional recommendations, and the brands you carry, plus your certifications, educational experience, and all the other qualifications you possess that make you the obvious professional to do business with in the marketplace you serve.

I like to refer to a LinkedIn profile as a “resume on steroids.”

In contrast to a traditional resume, which is typically a listing of facts and dates, your LinkedIn profile allows you the opportunity to tell your story.

It should be a narrative of sorts, where you emphasize your experience and high level of credibility. This “resume on steroids” should shout out “I’m the best at this in my market!”

To help tell your story, you can include details about your- self that, while perhaps bordering on personal information, will get across to the viewer who you are as a unique individual. For example, one of my class attendees told me that through the LinkedIn profile of a prospective client, he learned the guy collected wines—and he also found out which one was his favorite. On the day following his proposal presentation, he followed up with a thank you note and included a bottle of—you guessed it—his prospective client’s favorite wine, and the rest is history. He got the order.

2.Every word in your profile is keyword searchable. Thus, having a beefy profile will increase your chances of being found.

As you know from using Google, keyword searching on the Internet is an extremely powerful tool for finding people. Similarly, searching on LinkedIn can produce extremely valuable results. The search function enables you to find people who have certain types of experience, classifications, and/or brands.

In a recent search, I was looking for a person interested in bicycling to join a group of cyclists for a charity event my company was sponsoring.

Discovering a bicycling enthusiast who happens to be an architect or builder would be a home run. I would then be able to advance a professional relationship, help a charitable organization, and enjoy a day of bicycling.

Therefore, I searched the words builder, architect, cycling, and bicycling and instantly had my choice of architects and builders with whom to spend the day. Without those keywords in their profiles, none of these people would have been found.

3. A beefy profile shows that you are not a dinosaur. What do I mean by this? For those of us in the Baby Boomer genera- tion, people tend to appreciate the experience we possess, but they are also interested in knowing whether we are keeping abreast of the latest trends in the business world, including social media.

A beefy profile will demonstrate that you are on top of cur- rent trends in your profession or occupation and that you embrace technology. You are not a dinosaur.

4.You should expect your profile to regularly be compared with those of your competitors. Therefore, in order to gain a competitive advantage, you will want your profile to include a plethora of information, keywords, and details about who you are, what you hope to accomplish, and how you might be able to assist others.

Many savvy LinkedIn users will review a person’s profile before meeting with him or her for the first time. Personally, I always look for common interests or discussion points before I jump into, “So, I hear you are looking for a social media consultant.”

Business professionals use their LinkedIn profiles to tell their stories. As a result, it can be extremely beneficial to review the profile of the potential customer, prospective employee, vendor, or other person with whom you desire a business relationship.

Because of the vast amount of information available on the Internet in general and on LinkedIn in particular, it has become commonplace to “shop” several vendors online before engaging in direct communication.

Do yourself a favor and take a look at the profiles of some of your competitors. Observe what they are saying about themselves—awards they have won, certifications they hold, types of projects they have worked on, etc.—because this may jog your memory and remind you of similar information you could include in your profile.

Based on the information contained in the profiles, would a potential customer be encouraged to do business with you as opposed to one of your competitors? If you think your competitor would get the nod, then start beefing up your profile.

Armed with this information, you can begin to create an effective profile—a great first step in maximizing your LinkedIn experience, which can lead to new business opportunities.

About the Author

Wayne Breitbarth

Wayne Breitbarth is the CEO of Power Formula LLC. He is an experienced businessman, speaker, and author and an internationally recognized industry leader in LinkedIn training, marketing, and consulting.

Wayne has shared his expertise with more than 80,000 business professionals through private business consulting, dynamic presentations to worldwide audiences, and his critically acclaimed book The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success (now in its third edition). He has been featured in Forbes, Inc., Wired, and American Express Open Forum and seen on NBC and Fox Business.

Wayne works with companies to develop a comprehensive strategy for using LinkedIn to increase sales, raise brand awareness, recruit employees and reduce recruiting fees, and discover new markets for products and services. He shares his proven five-step process for LinkedIn results with individuals through his online course Explode Your Revenues Using LinkedIn.

He is a CPA, received an accounting degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and an MBA from Marquette University, and has received recognition for his public service in the Milwaukee community, where he resides with his wife of 35 years.

Danze, Inc. has added the South Shore™ Collection to its array of bath offerings.

The new collection provides a sleek and unique design – a perfect complement to today’s modern bathroom. Introduced in Chrome and Brushed Nickel, South Shore products offer beautiful style at a very attainable price.

“The geometric architecture of this collection provides a space-conscious scale with clean, simple lines,” says Katherine Riley, Danze® director of marketing. “Due to its thoughtful scale and height, many design professionals and homeowners are gravitating toward South Shore for smaller bathrooms.”

The collection includes a single handle lavatory faucet, widespread faucet and tub/shower products. Both lavatory faucets include ceramic disc valves to ensure quality and longevity, as well as a 50/50 touch down drain.

One of the highlights of the South Shore collection is its water-conserving (yet high performance) flow rate. At 1.2 gallons per minute (4.5 liters per minute) the products meet the California Energy Commission (CEC) requirements.

For more information on the South Shore product line or the entire Danze Collection, visit www.danze.com.

The new A. O. Smith Commercial Rack System, with a wide variety of framework configurations, links as many as 20 high-efficiency, 199,000 BTU condensing tankless heaters and provides commercial contractors multiple installation options including wall-mount, free-standing and back-to-back.

A single A. O. Smith Commercial Rack system can deliver up to 1,592,000 BTUs and can also be paired with a hot water storage unit, giving contractors the most flexibility in designing systems for a variety of applications.

Easy Installation

The A. O. Smith Commercial Rack and Common Venting system simplifies commercial installations by providing contractors prefabricated gas and water lines that link units together. Furthermore, installations using the A. O. Smith common venting system require fewer wall penetrations and less field piping fabrication, according to David Chisolm, vice president marketing for A. O. Smith.

“In addition to giving commercial contractors a hot water solution that saves time and is easy to install, the A. O. Smith Commercial Rack and Common Venting system can integrate seamlessly with a storage tank — making the A. O. Smith rack the most versatile product in its category,” Chisolm said. “With this enhanced flexibility, engineers and contractors can confidently recommend an A. O. Smith rack, powered by energy efficient tankless heaters, for a wide range of commercial and light industrial applications.”

Once bolted in place, the A. O. Smith commercial rack ensures a continuous, reliable supply of hot water. Even during heater maintenance, each unit can be easily isolated while other heaters continue with normal operation.

The A. O. Smith rack is built on a durable, lightweight anodized aluminum frame and connects to schedule 40 PVC pipe for intake and exhaust. The tankless rack works with the industry’s lightest condensing tankless heaters, an A. O. Smith ENERGY STAR® qualified model that achieves an Energy Factor of 0.95.

For more information on A. O. Smith, please visit www.hotwater.com.

Sloan’s new ST-2459 top spud wall-hung water closet is designed to maximize flushing performance in lower flushing volume applications. The universal flushing volume of the ST-2459 can accommodate any high efficiency flush volume including the newest maximum efficiency of just 1.1 gpf.

“The ability of a commercial water closet to provide peak performance lies in how well the flushometer and water closet work together as a system especially in extremely low flush volume applications that leave very little margin for error,” says Mark Lawinger, product line manager — Fixtures for Sloan. “The ST-2459 hydraulics are optimized to match Sloan’s top-performing family of flushometers. Each model scores 1,000 g MaP on nearly every one of Sloan’s flushometers to meet these low flow challenges.”

This new model has an all-new look that is desired by leading architects today. It also features an increased backplate strength and higher static load capability that engineers and customers are looking for. It also features a larger water spot to minimize streaking and stains.

This model is GREEN certified by IAPMO and meets ASME 112.19.2-2013/CSA B45.1-13 standards, is Buy American Act (BAA) compliant when purchased as a combination package, meets the American with Disabilities Act Guidelines (ADA) and is compatible and Texas Accessibility Standards (TAS) compatible for all ages.

More information on the Sloan ST-2459 water closet can be found at www.sloanvalve.com/Our_Products/Sloan_Wall_Hung_Toilet_Fixtures.aspx