A 2nd Degree Connection

Many business people on LinkedIn don’t pay any attention to a little goldmine right in front of them: their 2nd degree connections.

Let me first demonstrate what they are, then I’ll give you the major tip on how to use them.

Here goes:

I am a first degree connection with Cathy because I requested to be connected to Cathy and she said Yes. Smart girl lol.

Now everyone that Cathy is directly connected to, outside of those direct connections Cathy and I have in common, are my 2nd degree connections.

Put another way, if I’m directly connected to Cathy but not to Bibi,  who is Cathy’s direct connection, then Bibi and I are now 2nd degree connections. See? Bibi and I are both connected to Cathy but not to each other.

I’m going to kind of “draw” what I’m describing for the visuals out there, but keep in mind before looking for the tomatoes that I’m a writer, not an artist.

Definition of “unique” here: the first degree connections Cathy and I don’t have in common.

Here’s the Pro Tip on how to utilize this information:

Cathy will personally know many of her first degree connections. Not always; we’ve talked here about saying Yes to directly connect to a person you don’t know just because he might be someone you’d benefit from networking with.

But she’ll know many of them personally.

That means Cathy can, if she chooses, serve as a middleman/warm introduction for me to one of her connections she knows personally.

Examples:

a)      One of Cathy’s connections markets to the same audience I do but does something completely different than I … hooking us up could lead to that person and I creating a joint venture benefitting both of us.

b)      Cathy could recognize that one of her connections is a potential Ideal Client for me. The joy of a warm intro: Cathy’s direct connection already likes and trusts her and would be likely be more receptive to an introduction to me because I know Cathy too and she likes and trusts me (third party validation).

c)      I might be a potential Ideal Client for one of Cathy’s connections. Say I’ve described a problem I’m having to Cathy. She says, “Hey I’m connected to Bibi on LinkedIn … that’s exactly what she does.” So she writes an intro email to both of us, giving us the chance to work together.

Do you see the power of the warm connection? And it all stems from your 2nd degree connections.

How do you find them?

I  go to Cathy’s profile, click on her number of connections right by her profile photo. Every one of my 2nd degree connections through Cathy appear right before my eyes.

If I find one I’d like to meet, I’ll shoot Cathy a message telling her that I see she’s connected to Doris Smith and asking if she would introduce me.

If I find five, I’ll ask if she would be willing to introduce a couple of them, then maybe another two next month. Because we’re friends, I would explain what I’m doing and ask for her help as she’s able to give it.

I want to make it easy for her to say yes and not be a burden to her.

That’s all there is to it.

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

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