I Don't Know You
I Don’t Know You……
Would you walk into a networking event and refuse to meet people? If you’re in business, this could be the kiss of death.
In today’s virtual world, social tools like LinkedIn are today’s way of meeting people, growing our networks and building strategic partnerships. It always amazes me the amount of resistance we sometimes get to accepting invitations, ranging from “declining”, to selecting “I don’t know you."
This would be equivalent to walking into a networking event and refusing to meet people. The message you are sending is “I can’t talk to you because I don’t know you.” So why, in today’s virtual world, would we miss the opportunity to forge business relationships? The bigger our network, the larger our toolbox of resources to tap into. Whether a connection can help solve a problem, has resources, or knows someone that can help. If you don’t connect, what potentially significant opportunity have you missed?
Yes, there can be a certain level of hesitation in accepting some invitations: Will my company know I’m connecting to the competition? Recruiter? Is that so bad? People talk, engage and share.
Just like any networking event, the goal is to meet new people and expand your relationships. Here, you likely wouldn’t hesitate to chat with a competitor, and doing so online is no different.
Accepting an invitation on LinkedIn is not a lifetime commitment. Consider it to be a virtual business card; you can toss it out anytime.
Rest assured, you have a high level of control of your privacy through your LinkedIn profile settings. When you receive an invitation to connect, think before you blow them off. Selecting “I don’t know you” restricts the ability to connect later, shutting the door. If you must….select “Ignore”. You have that right, and this way the door might be closed, but it won’t be locked.
I, for one, like to keep my door open!
Written by: Anna Race, Senior VP, HR Services
AND
Aileen Turnbull, CHRL, MBA , VP HR & Outplacement
Helping mid-sized organizations increase sales and improve customer service since 1993 | #LinkedInLocal
8 年Thanks David. Personally, my door is more closed than open! A couple of years back, I accepted a connection from someone who immediately sent me a long LI message on why I should deal with her company for Web Dev, SEO and Social Media. The perpetrator was connected with several people that I knew well on LI. I disconnected immediately after replying back saying that I didn't know her or her company, how could she expect me to hire her, especially seeing as she was the LI equivalent of a spammer! Over time since then, I have developed my own way of accepting (or not accepting) connections on LI. When I have some free time, I take a close look at their profile, (including postings and recent activity) and categorize in three ways: 1. There is an obvious fit and I accept immediately. 2. The fit is not so obvious but it looks as if there may be one. In this case, I reply back to their LI request and ask why. I also include links to a couple of Pulse articles I wrote, one on LI Spam and the other on LION's. If I get an intelligent answer back, I will accept. No answer, no acceptance. 3. There is no fit at all, there is no activity and no postings, and/or there are few (or no) connections or no followers: I don't accept and I click on "I Don't Know" or "Report as Spam" as well!
Helping people get warm in the cold and cool when it’s not.
8 年I suspect that many people refuse connections because they have been "burned" by the eager salesperson who pounces on their new connection before even knowing the new connection. I have learned that people buy from people that they know, like and trust. If I don't know you, how can I like and trust you? Give me some time and space to get used to you. Last week I received an message from one of my connections. He thanked me for connecting and said he wanted to get to know me. Unfortunately, he spent the next three paragraphs telling me all about his widget and how it would save my business. Never did he ask one thing about me. He is no longer a connection.
I don't accept all invitations as it seems to me that some people use LinkedIn like Facebook or some other sort of social media platform....they make connections simply to look popular and will add no value to my network. Any time I get an invitation, I look at the profile of the person sending it and if I see legitimate value there, I will accept it.