LinkedIn Lead Engine: 5 Reasons You Aren’t Getting Clients From LinkedIn

Josh Hannen is the go-to LinkedIn coach for fractional executives. Backed by a decade spent growing global audiences for celebrities and brands, he teaches fractionals how to consistently attract clients from LinkedIn. His LinkedIn Lead Engine program recently helped a fractional COO drive 11 qualified leads after just 5 weeks in the program.

If you want help building your own LinkedIn Lead Engine, book a free strategy call this month & he’ll walk you through how it works.

Last month, I spoke with over 50 fractional execs from all over the world. On 80% of the calls, they told me the same thing…

“I’m posting every week on LinkedIn… but it’s not turning into clients.”

These are smart operators who’ve scaled companies, led launches, and built teams.

But on LinkedIn, they’re invisible.

Nearly every time, it’s because there’s a missing link between their positioning, content, and audience.

In this blog, I’ll break down the 5 reasons your LinkedIn isn’t driving pipeline (and how to fix each one).

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1. You’re speaking to everyone, not your dream client

Most fractionals post decent content, but a much smaller percentage share relevant content.

• They write to impress peers, not prospects.
• They post what gets likes, not what builds trust.
• They chase reach, rather than connection.

A Fractional CMO I coached this year reached out to me, despite enjoying relative virality with her posts. On the surface, her performance looked good, but she was getting very little pipeline from it.  

The fix: strategic positioning

Build a highly-targeted Ideal Client Persona (ICP) and speak directly to them in every post. 

I always say to my clients that they should imagine they’re talking to one person sitting directly opposite them. 

• Speak to their pain points, fears & dreams.
• Share your experience with their failures & victories. 
• Explain how you’ve solved similar issues for clients before.

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2. You’re posting information, not insights

Let’s be real. If your dream client needs information about something, they’re probably asking ChatGPT, not scouring LinkedIn for it. 

Your ICP doesn’t care about facts. They want reliable insights that might help them solve a problem.

That’s the difference between information and insight.

The fix: speak to your ICP’s pain points

Turn your expertise into ICP specific problem-solving content by:

• Sharing what you’ve learned about their real problems.
• Showing how you’ve helped others solve those problems.

That’s what makes your audience think, “they get me.”

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3. Your posts don’t have a clear goal 

Most Fractionals post when inspiration strikes. But without a clear goal in mind, it doesn’t drive anything.

That’s why each post should serve a clear role in building trust with your ICP.

The fix: my 3-pillar system

• Identity = posts that build connection by showing who you are
• Skills = posts that build credibility by proving you know your stuff
• Receipts = posts that build intrigue by sharing your proof 

When you apply these three pillars consistently, every post builds on the last, to move your audience closer to saying yes.

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4. Your dream client doesn’t trust you yet

One of the biggest mistakes people make on LinkedIn is sounding like a corporate deck. If you only post polished tips and case studies, no one sees the real you.

On LinkedIn (& in life), you cannot skip the trust building stage.

‍The fix: write from your lived experience

Step 1: Make it relevant to your ICP

• Your post should connect to a problem your ideal client deals with.
• This ensures your story speaks to them.

Step 2: Use real moments

• Write about something that actually happened.
• E.g. client call, decision made, mistake, win.
• Add a time cue early in the post to make it feel real.
• Focus on one moment to make the post specific, not broad.

Step 3: Show the tension

• Start with the problem that was faced. 
• Agitate that problem by explaining what made it painful.
• Share the solution to the situation or shift that happened.
• This structure helps build connection to you & your writing.

Step 4: Share the lesson learnt 

• Ensure the post has an overarching takeaway,
• When sharing the outcome, explain what you learnt.
• Keep it practical so your reader can apply the lesson themselves.

When you write from lived experience, your content stops sounding like marketing and starts feeling like truth your clients can trust.

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5. You don’t have a way to turn attention into revenue.

Most Fractionals on LinkedIn post and hope people will DM them, but unfortunately, that isn’t an effective strategy.

Once you’ve built connection and credibility, you need a simple plan to turn that interest into sales conversations.

The fix: build effective DM & CTA systems

Step 1: Add clear CTAs to your posts and profile.

• Tell people exactly what to do next.
• Sales posts need a call-to-action to bridge interest and action.
• Make sure your profile makes it easy to take that next step.

Step 2: Build a DM system that turns engagement into opportunities.

• This isn’t about pitching, it’s about guiding engaged prospects into sales conversations. 
• Reach out to people who comment, react, or visit your profile and talk to them like a human.
• Keep it light, ask questions and let their interest surface naturally (soft-selling). 

That’s when your LinkedIn starts to feel like an effective sales system.

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Key Takeaways

If we zoom out, LinkedIn success doesn’t come from posting more, shouting louder or going viral. Winning clients from LinkedIn happens when you build a system that helps your dream client see you as their obvious solution.

You can do this by:

• Tightening your strategic positioning.
• Shifting from sharing information to insights.
• Leading with real-life lived experience.
• Structuring your content around core pillars.
• Creating a DM workflow that drives consistent sales.

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That’s exactly what we build inside The LinkedIn Lead Engine, the 1-to-1 program where I turn your content, positioning and DMs into a client-winning system for fractionals.

If you’d like help building yours, book a free strategy call this month and I’ll walk you through how it would work for you.

Book by 31 October to claim £600 / $800 off the full program if you move forward after the call (Fractional Jobs exclusive).