Creating meaningful and profitable relationships on LinkedIn has never been so important. LinkedIn has over 675 Million active users so it id vital you follow these steps to ensure you don’t lose leads and actually do business rather than just message back and forth. Here are my top tips;
Connect purposefully
Firstly you have to make sure you know who you are connecting with, this involves searching for a specific role or niche sector. Be specific like you may wish to search for a professor in chemistry located in the states that studied at a certain school. By doing this you won’t be guessing if that person is a good fit when you decide to reach out.
Find common ground and give
I can-not stand LinkedIn messages that are just copied and pasted and have no meaning what so ever. If you want to build a relationship compliment that person’s profile and find something you admire or wish to ask them about. For example, I admire that you have a lot of experience in your industry what was it like working at that company or how do you know a (state common connection name). You have to make the effort to customize messages.
Arrange a date or a call
This is where most LinkedIn connections stop, after a brief message on the platform. It is so important to arrange a call or meeting is that person is who you are looking to connect with as just knowing someone online isn’t powerful enough. You may think you know then after saying Hi!, however by having an actual conversation and getting a date in the diary you may have far more opportunities to arise than you think.
Follow-through and support
This is also a very important part. You don’t just want another meeting with no future movement. By taking action and ensuring you follow-up and also interact with that person on LinkedIn you are really staying top of their mind for any future opportunities. Remember it is often more than seven touchpoints before people finally work with you so stay consistent.
Conclusion
I often focus on 3 key individuals that I want to build strong relationships with at one time, and until that has been done I don’t add anyone else. With over 65,000 connections I love LinkedIn, however, the power of meaningful relationships should always be a top priority.