How Buyer Psychology Can Turn Executive Posts Into Client Calls

In a recent LinkedIn post, Alec Rickard discusses how buyer psychology can help executives turn professional posts into client conversations. This article covers Rickard’s ideas and recommendations in that post; it is journalistic reporting, not an article written by Rickard.

“They have decades of expertise behind their posts. But those posts ignore how buyers actually decide.”

Rickard draws on 10 years studying global marketing to argue that expertise alone may not prompt buyers to act. In his view, the way information is presented matters: even a crossed-out price, he writes, can influence a decision despite buyers rarely noticing it. He now applies those principles to executives’ personal brands, where he says useful expertise can be overlooked if posts do not account for buyer behavior.

Five principles Rickard recommends

Although the post introduces 10 principles, Rickard focuses on five he considers easiest to begin using. They center on giving prospective clients value, making claims credible, and building familiarity.

Give value and make claims concrete

Rickard’s first recommendation is reciprocity: share something useful before pitching. He suggests offering a template or checklist that would otherwise be provided to a client. He pairs that with a call for specificity, arguing that real figures can make claims more persuasive than broad descriptions of experience.

“Put a real figure behind every claim you make.”

According to Rickard, a measurable result gives readers something concrete to assess. His post does not prescribe a particular metric; instead, it encourages executives to replace vague credentials with evidence of outcomes they have achieved.

Build familiarity through voice and proof

Rickard also recommends writing in a conversational voice, including a personal opinion in professional posts, and supporting claims with client results. He argues that buyers may respond to leaders they find relatable, while examples from other clients can show how a promised outcome was achieved. The post emphasizes attribution: executives should explain the client’s win rather than simply make an unsupported claim about their own ability.

Repetition helps make expertise memorable

The fifth principle is the Baader-Meinhof effect, which Rickard connects to sticking with three core topics. Repeating those ideas across posts, comments, and direct messages, he argues, can make a leader more recognizable once a potential buyer has noticed them.

“Your expertise already does the hard part.”

Rickard’s closing point is that these practices do not require a sales pitch or advertising budget. His post presents them as ways to put existing expertise in front of prospective buyers more consistently. Whether they lead to client calls will depend on the relevance and credibility of the content, but his central argument is that how leaders communicate their expertise can shape whether buyers notice it.