Every so often someone who I don't know asks me to join his/her network via LinkedIn. While I am honored that people want to connect with me, I don't usually accept the invitation until I get to know these individuals.
Therefore, I tell these people that I would like to get to know them first by scheduling a time to meet. Usually, people are very receptive to this idea. In fact, I have built some nice relationships out of this technique. After I get to know these people, I then join their LinkedIn network.
I am a big believe in quality not quantity. I know that many people who use LinkedIn try to get as many connections as possible. While this may look impressive, how many of these people do you think that they know well? Probably not many.
Do you really think that a network full of people who you don't know very well is effective? Absolutely not! Also, asking for introductions via someone who you don't know well usually doesn't work.
Take your relationship building serious and only connect with people who you know when using LinkedIn.
Comments