LinkedIn is designed to bring existing business relationships online offline, to maintain the connection and multiply the possibilities of a relationship with other people.
Adding your colleagues from university (or other studies), co-workers (current and former), clients, suppliers and even personal contacts that may be related to your business in some way, are some of the good practices that I recommend.
The idea is to find common ground, shared relationships and thus be able to expand your range of action, making the most of the result of the theory of the 6 degrees of separation.
And this is the real way you can build a powerful network of strategic connections on LinkedIn as suggested by comrade web agency. It does not matter so much the number of contacts as the quality of these, understanding by quality the relationship established between both people. The thing is, sales and conversions occur when you have a valuable network of contacts made up of people willing to trust you and what you do.
Achieving this complicity and trust with your contacts will come from your ability to communicate transparently, help others, answer questions about your field of expertise and show the results of your work.
So, you know, stop asking everyone for contact requests and accepting all requests without thinking, and start making truly valuable relationships through LinkedIn by following the tips I share below.
How to Get Really Valuable Contacts to Do Business With?
Here are some practical tips for you to start building relationships of true value on LinkedIn:
Identify People with Whom You Are Interested In Connecting
Start by doing a flashback exercise remembering all those people with whom you have had professional contact at some point, and you think they can add value to your network: bosses, colleagues or students, teachers, suppliers, clients, etc. Use the search bar to find these people by names, jobs, companies, schools, or groups.
You can also actively use LinkedIn in search when you need to contact a specific person’s profile. For example, if you need a proofreader for your website’s posts, search for “proofreader” or “freelance proofreader”, and you can also shorten the search in the filters part.
When you go to events, or even in offices or business centers, I recommend using the “Search nearby” tool for which you will have to activate your Bluetooth with the mobile app. (You have more information about this functionality here, although it is not enabled yet in all profiles and countries).
The suggested connections on LinkedIn can also be a good place to find relevant contacts because they are generally first – degree contacts of people who are in your network. There is also a great option which is the suggested presentations. If you have a good network of trusted contacts, you can ask some people to introduce you to others you want to connect with. The idea is like when you go to a live networking event and introduce people you know, and they don’t know each other.
Other places where you can find people of your interest are groups. Interesting discussions take place there, so if you belong to the right groups, you will probably soon chat with people you want to add to your network to establish more direct contact.
Customize Your Connection Requests
One of the biggest mistakes that can be made on LinkedIn, and is often made, is not personalizing the connection request. Take advantage of the message to indicate the reason why you want that person to be part of your network. It is a super important touch point that will determine the starting point of the relationship you are going to have with that person. Try to start an interesting conversation that will lead to a good relationship.
