How Parm, a leadership coach, went from overthinking outreach to turning LinkedIn engagement into calls and opportunities

If you’re already active on LinkedIn and have spent time improving your profile, you may have wondered whether making more changes would actually make a difference.

Most sections on your profile are filled out. You post content regularly, or at least from time to time. You have a decent-sized network. LinkedIn brings you the occasional conversation, opportunity, and client.

So is there really enough room to improve your LinkedIn strategy to justify getting help with it?

That is what Parm Chohan, Founder of Conquer Leadership, was wondering when we started working together.

When Parm first learned about me and my LinkedIn Profile Optimization service, he wasn’t new to LinkedIn. He already had what he described as a “solid LinkedIn foundation.” He had a strong profile, posted consistently, and had a strategy for using the platform to grow his business.

Parm wasn’t actively looking for someone to teach him how to use LinkedIn. He already knew the basics. But after hearing me speak about a more relationship-oriented approach to the platform and then talking with me directly, he saw many ways to sharpen what he was already doing.

Parm started with my LinkedIn Profile Optimization service, and then continued into personalized LinkedIn coaching through my program Leads on LinkedIn.

Across those two stages, we didn’t reinvent his LinkedIn strategy. We refined it.

In this case study, I’ll show you how Parm:

• Made the value of his work and what makes his approach different much clearer on his profile

• Improved a LinkedIn strategy that was already in place instead of starting over

• Went from overthinking outreach messages to starting genuine conversations more easily and moving the right ones toward calls and business opportunities

Here’s what changed.

We made the value of his work easier to understand

Parm explained the issue he was facing prior to working with us this way:

“My profile communicated what I did, but it wasn't as clear or direct about the value I bring or what makes my approach different.”

During the Profile Optimization process, we looked at his business from the perspective of the person reading the profile: Who is this for? What should they understand about the value of Parm’s work? And what should make his approach stand out from all the other leadership coaches and consultants they could hire?

Then we simplified the messaging and made those answers much more explicit.

This is how Parm described the difference this made:

“Sara’s team helped me simplify my messaging, be more specific, and communicate my work in a way that was much easier for people to understand.”

That’s exactly what we’re looking for during our LinkedIn Profile Optimization process. We help you get more specific and clear in how you describe your work so the right client can quickly understand what you do, why it’s relevant to them, and what makes your approach worth paying attention to.

If your profile looks complete but still isn’t bringing in clients, I break down three common reasons why in my blog post 3 ways your LinkedIn profile isn’t optimized (even though you think it is).

Parm was skeptical about hiring a LinkedIn coach 

Once Parm’s profile was optimized, the next step, if he wanted more support, was Leads on LinkedIn, my personalized coaching program where we work on how to use LinkedIn more intentionally to build relationships and create business opportunities.

But coaching came with some hesitation. Parm had had less-than-ideal coaching experiences in the past, and he knew there were a lot of people selling LinkedIn advice.

He had originally found me after hearing me speak on Nikki Rausch’s podcast, Sales Maven (check out the episode here).

A few things I said about using LinkedIn in a relationship-oriented way caught his attention, so he looked at my own LinkedIn profile and eventually booked a discovery call.

Parm put his initial hesitation this way:

“My biggest hesitation was that there are a lot of LinkedIn coaches out there, and at first, Sara was simply one of many. I wasn't sure how different her approach would be or whether she could really add value beyond what I was already doing.”

What helped Parm see that this would be different was the practical value he was getting from our conversations. During our original discovery call, I was able to point out several things he could improve before he had paid me anything. And through the profile work, he saw that I wasn’t interested in throwing away a strategy that was already working.

As he put it:

“Sara didn't reinvent my strategy. She refined it and helped me become much more intentional in how I use LinkedIn.”

That became the theme of the work we did together.

Parm was already sending outreach messages. We refined how he approached them. 

During the Leads on LinkedIn coaching program, one of our 1:1 coaching sessions focused on direct messaging. 

Before we worked together, Parm says he “probably spent too much time thinking about the ‘perfect’ message.”

If you’re a consultant who has ever opened a LinkedIn message, typed three sentences, deleted them, tried a warmer opening, worried it sounded salesy, rewritten it again, and then decided to deal with it tomorrow… you probably know exactly what he means.

The solution wasn’t a better copy-and-paste script. It was changing the goal.

With my support, Parm stopped treating the outreach message itself as the thing that had to do all the work.

Instead, his goal became getting into a real conversation.

During our coaching sessions, we worked with actual situations from his business. He shared his screen with me and we sent messages “live” during our call. We talked through what he could say depending on the relationship, context, and reason for reaching out.

As a result, his approach to outreach changed.

“Today, my goal is to start genuine conversations as quickly as possible. My messages are shorter, more intentional, and respectful of people's time.”

He also stopped assuming every conversation needed to live inside a LinkedIn message thread.

“Rather than having long back-and-forth exchanges on LinkedIn, I focus on understanding what's happening in their world and, if it makes sense, getting on a phone call sooner.”

That’s how you get more ROI for the time you spend on LinkedIn, and it’s a much more useful business-development skill than memorizing the “right” direct message template.

Because there is no single perfect message for every person in your network.

If you want a framework for writing messages that start conversations instead of stalling them, read my blog post, Why you dread sending LinkedIn messages (even though you want to send them!).

A prospect commented on one of his posts

Someone engaged with one of Parm’s LinkedIn posts. It would have been completely normal to reply to the comment, thank them for engaging, and leave it there.

But because of what Parm had learned and practiced in Leads on LinkedIn, he recognized that this was a natural opening to continue the conversation privately. So he reached out.

As they talked, they discovered several mutual connections, which gave them more to talk about and made it natural to continue the conversation on a call.

That call opened the door to a larger conversation about how Parm might support this prospect’s organization through his coaching practice.

Parm explained:

“It's a great example of how becoming more intentional with my outreach and relationship-building has led to stronger conversations and new business opportunities. Along with being consistent with follow-ups.”

Parm didn’t have to rely on a viral post or clever cold pitch.

Instead, someone engaged with Parm’s content, he noticed the opening, continued the conversation, and got on a call.

The big-picture change: Parm now knows how to turn LinkedIn activity into actual conversations

Because of what Parm learned and practiced in Leads on LinkedIn, it became easier for him to recognize the openings that come from everyday LinkedIn activity and know what to do with them.

Now, when someone engages with one of his LinkedIn posts, he can easily see a natural way to continue the conversation.

When he wants to reach out to someone, he doesn’t need to spend so much time trying to engineer the perfect opening line.

When a direct message conversation has enough momentum, he is more comfortable moving it to a phone call rather than letting it drag on inside LinkedIn.

And because he understands what each part of his LinkedIn activity is doing, he feels more confident and consistent using it.

In Parm’s words:

“Rather than simply posting content, I'm much more intentional about how I build relationships, start conversations, and nurture opportunities.”

And:

“I know why I'm doing what I'm doing, and that clarity has made me much more consistent in how I show up on LinkedIn. Sara helped me refine my thinking, strengthen my strategy, and see opportunities I wouldn't have identified on my own.”

Parm already knew how to post, network, and message people. What changed was his ability to recognize when one of those interactions could lead to a business opportunity — and know what to do next. 

If Parm’s story sounds familiar, here’s how to improve your LinkedIn profile and turn your conversations into calls and opportunities

The last thing I want to leave you with is an invitation to work together, and the steps needed to develop a practical, repeatable LinkedIn system that gets you results, just like Parm did.

Step 1: When my team and I start working with a coach or consultant, we always start with a LinkedIn Profile Optimization so that you clearly explain your credibility, who you serve, how you serve them, and what action the profile viewer should take.

This process takes 7 days from your finalized intake, and provides you a profile that captures the attention of your ideal clients and gets them to take action.

Step 2: Once your profile is optimized, we then create your LinkedIn strategy so you can get visible to the right audience and attract more interest in your offerings through my coaching program Leads on LinkedIn.

This program is two months. We focus on two main skills: LinkedIn posting and direct messaging. These skills bring the right clients into your orbit so you can consistently grow your business without relying on time-consuming strategies like video and expensive strategies like ads.

Within just a month, you’ll have identified and contacted 30 prospects for your business. You’ll have the skills and systems to do it again whenever you want an influx of leads. And this rinse-and-repeat process gets more effective every time you do it.

Learn more and enroll here.