When the wrong 'trend' invades your inbox...

I know what you're thinking...it's one of those salesy 'pitchfest' messages where they sell to you immediately after connecting...

Or worst - they sell to you in the very first 'connection' message before you've even accepted their connection request

Well, it's neither and I have no idea where this type of message has come from but I am telling you now - it's not working!!!! (In my humble, LinkedIn expertise opinion). And it happened to me twice in one week which is why I knew what this week's blog would be about...

So from 2 different people, I received the: "We have a mutual connection request and so thought it would be great to connect..."

No on its own, this is not a bad message. After all, if you both have a mutual connection and the synergy between you two is also worth a connection, it makes complete sense to send such a message.

What does not make sense, is when sending the above message, the name of the 'mutual' connection you choose, as the reason you should both connect is one you have not verified. WITHOUT checking whether the person you're sending the invite to actually knows them - you risk the genuine nature of your approach

Yes OK, you could argue that on LinkedIn, you should only be connecting with people you know (based on the 'rules') so therefore any name you choose should work. But the honest truth is, none of us know all our connections because we use LinkedIn as an awesome networking platform to connect with people we may not know yet but who are our ideal target market.

And from that, if you use the platform the right way, you start to create and build meaningful relationships through sharing awesome content, engaging and providing value that leads to conversations!

Both of these individuals, who of course I will not name, mainly because it's not their fault, (Sometimes, you just don't know what you don't know), chose names of individuals we had in common - but that I did not have know well

Which meant...

1. The reason for wanting to connect was not strong enough. Infact, simply saying they'd like to connect would have been effective enough)
2. Made me think they were about to sell to me - as the message was based on a process they were following
3. Told me they hadn't done their homework and found out - from the mutual connections we may have shared - which of those would have been the strongest one to choose.

When my clients learn the 'messaging' technique from me, when using 'mutual or shared" connections, I am adamant that they do their homework so that the reason for connecting is genuine, real and authentic

Because if you send a message like that to me - and it's anything like what these 2 individuals did, I am going to let you know :-). In the kindest, feedback is for champions kinda way. But I will tell you...

Messaging on LinkedIn is a crucial way to win business and so if you get this wrong - you've lost your prospects to your competitors. And they may not even be as good as you! You only get one chance!

Here's some tips on how you could do it:

1. Send a short and polite invitation to connect - don't have to be clever about it. If you have looked at their profile and can see why the two of you would have connected in a real life scenario, then a simply 'It would be great to connect...' will work
2. Before connecting with them, comment on their posts / like their content so they see you and when connecting refer to something in their content that has genuinely been of interest
3. If you do choose a 'mutual' connection reason, ensure you both know the connection well. Do your research
4. Reference something in their profile which has attracted your attention - make it more personal
5. Give a good, genuine and purposeful WHY. What is the reason you want to connect and how could you both be of value to each other

So, moral of this LinkedIn Messaging story is...Get Your Message Right.

Everything you do and say reflects your PERSONAL BRAND!

Would love to know - what are the most obscure messages you have received or sent on LinkedIn?

#linkedin #linkedintips #business #linkedinexpert #entrepreneur