Stop being “promiscuous” on LinkedIn!

An article I came across this week, quoting from Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, hits one of the misconceptions that prevents many people from never reaching their maximum potential on LinkedIn.

From his words in the above-referenced article, (and I've been saying this for years, so I definitely agree):

“It’s up to you to vet each and every request so that if someone comes to you and says, ‘Would you introduce me?’ you’re in a position to evaluate whether the connection would be of mutual benefit.”

Be deliberate in your connecting. Use LinkedIn smarter; stop connecting to people you do not know. Feel no pressure to connect without the requisite business-savvy instincts you have developed over the years.

Stop being a “promiscuous linker,” as I call it. Guard your reputation and take action:

• Decline advances from people who seem too eager to connect; they just want to sell you something. Cold calling via blind connection requests is not cool on LinkedIn.
• Ignore requests from those sad, lonely souls who use the default connection request. Really now, do you phone call someone who does not know you, wait until they answer and just say, "Hi, I'd like to connect with you and have access to all your close colleagues" and that's all? Do you honestly expect them to be interested? Why collect a weak set of people who just won't be there for you?
• It's perfectly OK to cull through your connections and delete the duds or the ones you just cannot recall why you connected to them in the first place. They will not receive a direct notice from LinkedIn that you disconnected. All they will be able to see is that your connection to them dropped from 1st level to 2nd level, if they even look...sometimes relationships sour or go poorly and you need to sever. It's part of business life.
• For the ones about whom you are unsure, decide if this is a good mutual opportunity and meet them in person, or talk to them in conversation, to vet them. Email interchange is just not always telling about their value proposition. You need to see and hear gestures and intonation. And recognize that not every meeting is a success, so don’t feel the pressure to connect to each them.

Don't sit on the fence about someone. Connecting without proper evaluation is a risk. A LinkedIn connection is a privilege.

Sounds self-important, huh? Well it should be, as a connection on LinkedIn to you, and you to the target, is not to be taken at all lightly.

After all, connecting means opening all aspects of your personal profile: access to your connections, your marketing materials, well-earned recommendations, your phone number, etc. (unless you have selectively turned those off).

The bottom line: the success you have on LinkedIn is a function of the quality of the connections whom you nurture and their willingness to promote you as a good reflection on them. That means you have to earn your way to their hearts and minds, and they have to want to put themselves out there relying on you to do well.

Break that bond and you can lose face and reputation. Take the privilege of the mutual LinkedIn connection responsibility lightly and you are unlikely to succeed.

Be proactive and don't sit on the fence and let just anyone in your professional world.

Your network is your net worth, as I say. Invest in your network. Don't get involved with those you have not vetted for mutual gain.

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About Marc W. Halpert, LinkedIn Trainer and Evangelist

I am a “multi-preneur,” (www.dhirubhai.net/in/marchalpert) having started 3 companies, all of which I continue to operate. My latest business, connect2collaborate, spreads my LinkedIn and networking evangelism worldwide to train and coach others to better explain their brand and positioning on their LinkedIn profile pages:

• as an “evangelist” recognized by LinkedIn to help nonprofits cultivate talent pool, volunteers, boards, and corporate sponsors.
• as a LinkedIn corporate trainer.
• as a coach helping professional practitioners use LinkedIn to better achieve their goals.
• as a high-energy speaker at conferences.
• as a volunteer coaching and teaching the underemployed to master new better career objectives.

I blog daily on LinkedIn topics to encourage readers towards a more beneficial use of this amazing tool. I speak about LinkedIn at public events and private corporate sessions too. I was very pleased to be named to the LinkedIn 200 and my book for the American Bar Association on LinkedIn marketing techniques for law and professional practice firms, consultants, and multipreneurs will be published in May/June 2017.

I call 'em like I see 'em. Hope you agree. If not, let me know, If so, don't hold back...