The Three Pillars of LinkedIn Lead Generation: Dan Sherrard-Smith’s Analysis

In a recent LinkedIn post, Dan Sherrard-Smith discusses the essential components for generating consistent leads on the platform, identifying three critical pillars: Expertise, Visibility, and Relevancy. He argues that while many founders understand the importance of these elements, a failure to integrate all three effectively is a common pitfall that hinders growth.

Sherrard-Smith highlights the challenges faced by founders who struggle to achieve consistent lead generation, stating:

“To get consistent leads from LinkedIn in 2026, you need 3 things: Expertise → you have real knowledge, real results, and you can communicate your credibility clearly. Visibility → your content goes beyond your echo chamber and reaches people who have never heard of you. Relevancy → you communicate in the language your ideal client actually uses, so they understand you.”

The post breaks down the common scenarios where one or two of these pillars are present, but not all three. According to Sherrard-Smith, the most frequent issue is founders possessing strong expertise and relevancy but lacking visibility.

The Visibility Gap in Lead Generation

As Dan Sherrard-Smith points out, this scenario is characterized by deep knowledge and genuine credibility, but the insights fail to reach a broad enough audience. “Their insights reach 200 people instead of 20,000,” he writes, attributing this to a lack of understanding of how the LinkedIn algorithm functions, which results in content being shown only to a small, existing network. This limited reach, Sherrard-Smith argues, forces founders to rely heavily on referrals and passive content strategies.

When Visibility Outweighs Substance

Another common pitfall discussed by Sherrard-Smith is the imbalance where content is highly visible but lacks the necessary relevance or expertise to convert. He describes this as:

“Big impression numbers but no leads to show for it. Their content is visible but it doesn’t say anything specific enough to attract the person who would actually pay.”

In Sherrard-Smith’s view, this generic advice, while reaching many, fails to resonate with the specific needs of a paying client, leading to engagement from the wrong audience. He further elaborates on a related issue, the trap of “Visible + Relevant (but not Expert),” which he likens to content generated by AI tools.

The Peril of AI-Generated Content

Sherrard-Smith warns against content that appears flashy and garners significant engagement but lacks genuine substance. “This is the ChatGPT regurgitated content,” he states. While such posts can achieve impressive online metrics, they often disappoint in real-world interactions. The core problem, as Sherrard-Smith highlights, is that there is nothing to substantiate the claims when a client is actually hired, leading to a disconnect between online perception and offline delivery.

The Founder’s Dilemma

Ultimately, Sherrard-Smith concludes that most founders he encounters fall into the first category: possessing brilliant expertise but struggling with invisibility. This prevents them from connecting with the clients who truly need their services. He poses a question to his audience, asking which of these scenarios resonates most with their current situation, encouraging reflection on their own LinkedIn strategies.