How to write a profile clients recognise themselves in

Most of our experts have done remarkable things. Far fewer have profiles that say so. The usual reason is that a profile gets written like a CV, or like a LinkedIn summary, and neither is what a client is reading for.

A client arrives on your page with a problem on their mind. They're scanning for one thing: has this person already been where I am? Everything below is about answering that question quickly, in words they recognise.

Your headline

It sits in large type straight under your name, so it does more work than anything else on the page. Say what you've done and who you help. Leave out your personality: "considerate", "passionate" and "results-driven" are things a client finds out on the call, not reasons to book it.

A simple shape: the thing you did, built or ran, then the moment you help people through.

• "Former CFO of a listed retailer · now helps founders get ready to raise"
• "Built and sold a marketing agency · helps owners think through a sale"
• "Ran product at three scale-ups · helps first-time CPOs find their feet"

Under 80 characters reads best. A long line of job titles separated by bars wraps across several lines and gets skimmed.

Your bio, in four short paragraphs

Leave a blank line between paragraphs and they show as paragraphs on your profile. Between 120 and 220 words is plenty.

1. Who you help, and the moment they're in. Start with the client, not with yourself. "If you're about to hire your first sales lead, or wondering why the pipeline dried up when you stepped back from selling, this is the conversation I'm good for." A client should read your first sentence and think: that's me.

2. What you've actually done. Two or three things, specifically. Numbers, sectors, outcomes: "grew it from 6 people to 150 over ten years and sold it after a dozen offers" says more than "extensive leadership experience". If something went wrong and taught you a lot, say so in a line. Hard-won is exactly what people book you for.

3. The questions people bring you. Write three of them the way a client would actually say them. "Should I sell now or wait a year?" "Is this the right first hire?" "Why does every agency we use disappoint us?" This is the most relatable part of any profile, because clients see their own question written down.

4. What a call with you is like. How you run the hour, and what you'd like to see in the brief beforehand. "Send me your numbers and the decision in front of you, and I'll come with questions and a view." It tells the client what to expect, and it gets you better briefs.

A human detail is welcome as a last line. It just shouldn't be the first thing a client reads.

Put your best material where clients can see it

When you applied, you told us about your track record. That part of the application is for us, and it doesn't appear on your profile. If you wrote something there you're proud of, the agency you built, the turnaround, the award, move it into your bio. Clients can only weigh what they can read.

Skills and industries

When clients search, we rank the skills, functions and industries you choose above words that only appear in your bio. Choose the ones you most want to be booked for, not every one you could cover. Six well-chosen skills beat six that are nearly right.

Read it as a stranger would

Read your profile aloud. If a sentence sounds like a job application, rewrite it the way you'd say it across a table. Then ask the honest question: if you were the client, with that problem, would you book you?