How to Make Those LinkedIn Connections
LinkedIn is primarily a networking site, not a selling site.
We’ve talked about this before: the whole idea of being on LinkedIn is to create a network of people you know, trust, and would like to and are doing business with.
The idea is connection, not selling. That comes later, offline.
Let me show you how LinkedIn is supposed to work:
Just this week I reached out to a man called Shane, whose company makes a healthy coffee alternative called Mud/Wtr, or Mud for short.
I had read about Mud on one of my regular resource sites and decided to order some.
On the day it came, I noticed that Shane, who had invented Mud in his kitchen, was on LinkedIn.
I immediately looked up his profile and sent him a connection request.
So here we are: I don’t know this guy from Adam and he doesn’t know me. But I’m about to engage with him as one of his newest clients, and if he’s smart, he’ll respond. Let’s see what he did …
Here is my connection request to him:
“Mud in my mail!” made me smile when I thought of it, so I thought it might put a smile on his face too. Plus it’s a pretty unique greeting.
What you want to make note of:
a) The note is all about his produc
b) I say absolutely Nothing about myself except as I relate to his product
c) I say absolutely Nothing about what I do for a living
Do you see how all I want to do is make a connection? I’m not selling anything.
How did he respond? Drumroll please … …
He accepted my connection request. Smart.
Even smarter: I would’ve written a note back, thanking the person (me) for trying my product and I hoping they like it. Even smarter than that, I would’ve invited the person to let me know how they liked their Mud.
But he was just smart, and that’s okay. Maybe he was tired. Maybe brunettes aren’t his favorite clients. Who knows, and it doesn’t matter … the connection was made.
So what happened next? Yup, I wrote him back.
Here was my second note:
This time I do mention LinkedIn, but only to tell him how his profile could be better and inviting him to let me know if he’d like to talk about that.
Couple things to note here too:
a) I again mentioned my Mud experience first, which I would love if I were him.
b) After mentioning LinkedIn, I did not put my calendar link in the message. Too presumptuous.
c) I did leave it open-ended for him to make the next move to talk to me. No pressure and no obligation, leaving him feeling free. He can take me up on it or not, now or later. He knows where to write to me.
The important thing is this: when he thinks about maybe possibly improving his profile, if there isn’t a LinkedIn specialist standing right in front of him, he might well think of me, since it’s highly likely that he looked me up before he accepted my connection request, and was possibly impressed.
Moral of the story: always make everything about THEM, whether you are requesting a connection, keeping the conversation going or introducing what you do.
P.S. Never say anything you don’t mean. If you can’t be authentic, don’t say anything.
If I’d hated Mud, I would have found a way to ask questions about what he decided to put in it, or a question about his excellent Mud Guide that came with the product and is also a fabulous piece of marketing. I would have found Something I could sincerely compliment or discuss.
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Debbie will answer your LinkedIn questions every week here in YES I CAN Living Magazine. Write to her at info@LinkedInBossLady.com, subject LINKEDIN QUESTION.
For further help or support from her, you can schedule a one-on-one Profile Review right on her calendar at https://LinkedInBossLady.as.me.
You can also connect with her here:
💻 https://LinkedInBossLady.com
LinkedIn.com/in/DebbieMcCormick
@LinkedInBossLady
facebook.com/DebbieMcCormickConsultingLinkedIn
