LinkedIn Connections - How to Choose

Lately I have been fortunate enough to get 100+ invitations to connect daily. I'm not entirely sure why this has happened, but I am certain it has given me a new perspective.

The Numbers Game

When I was in sales, many decades ago, trainers insisted sales was about a "numbers game." Of course those days were before social media and the ways to connect with large numbers of people were very limited. Today, large numbers of connections are relatively easy.

Starting a large community of connections was not so easy. However, my mentor helped me realize people are not SOLD on the services of a ghostwriter. Since the majority of people in the U.S. already know they have a book to write, the goal is to BE FOUND when they are ready to become a book author.

Identify Ideal Connections

I began the same way I coach my author clients. I identified which type of person on LinkedIn was most likely to become a book author. Since I specialize in people who want to leverage their expertise to either expand their influence, command higher fees in their business, or create a new stream of revenue, I began contacting C-level executives, speakers, coaches and consultants.

Although I identified my ideal connection, I was not particularly picky. It wasn't because I was simply going for larger numbers. Instead, it was because I was getting people to reach out to me from all sorts of categories and I didn't want to limit my reach.

Connection Maturity

Now, with a connection list above 14.5 thousand, I am being more picky. There is no doubt I am saying no to people I would benefit from knowing, but I am taking the risk of declining them at this stage. I go through my invitations very quickly and decide in a matter of seconds whether to say yes or no to an invitation. Maybe it's not a fair or reasonable way to manage the connections. But it seems to be fair and reasonable considering the time it takes for me to sort the opportunities.

Here is the rough criteria I use for those instant decisions:

• Does the profile indicate authority in their marketplace?
• Does the person have authoritative credentials?
• Does the headline to their profile indicate a clear understanding of their own value?
• Does the person fit into my original categories of prospective connections?
• Do I already have a lot of mutual connections with this person? (I am now being invited by people who already have more than one thousand mutual connections. I am honored.)

Next Steps???

Because the way I manage my LinkedIn connections is very different than what anyone else seems to be teaching, I am considering the creation of a Mastermind Group in March or so. If you are interested in a limited time Mastermind (6-8 weeks) and want to be in the beta version of my training, reach out to me here with a private message. We will quickly move to a direct email to save time.

My method is particularly useful to those professionals who are found rather than sold. In other words, it is not suitable for those who want large numbers of leads and lead conversions. I make no guarantees my methods will work for you. But I will tell you this: I wish someone had told me how easy it is to be found. I get more people interested in becoming a book author from LinkedIn than I do from any other resource. This includes a number of publishers, who want to control access to ghostwriters, where I am on their list of approved writers. I love being available to those who recognize book publishers don't always (shall we say rarely?) give them the best options.