A few days ago I posted How NOT to make a connection on LinkedIn. At the end of that post, I threatened/promised (you decisde) that I'd do a future post on how TO make a connection. So here goes.
Once again this morning I got an email like the one I got last Friday:
I'd like to add you to my professional network. -John
The header again said something like John has indicated you are a friend.
The sender this time was not from Detroit, but I still wrote back "John - your invitation indicates you are a friend. How do I know you?" I got a reply back from the sender saying that I'd answered a question he'd posted on LinkedIn a couple months back, that he is trying to start his career in public accounting and was hoping I'd be willing to connect with him. After that I accepted the invitation.
Wouldn't it be nicer if instead of the default text, he'd written something like this:
Dear Joel,
I don't know if you remember me, but you answered a question I posted a few months on the LinkedIn Accounting board about payroll services. I really appreciated you taking the time to answer my question. Right now, I'm trying to start my career in public accounting and I'm hoping I can connect to you on LinkedIn.
I guarantee you that I'd have gotten a big kick out of getting an invitation like that. It would make this individual stick out in my mind and might even make it more likely I'd think of him in the future. I'd have accepted immediately and sent a nice reply.
There are other ways to make a connection on LinkedIn, which is why I called this Way #1. This way puts more of the work on the person making the connection and that is how it should be. It shouldn't be up to me, the recipient of the request, to figure out how I know the person requesting the connection, if I even know them at all.
I predict more posts on this subject. Please comment if there are specific questions you have. Or tell me I'm way too difficult.
P.S. The guy from the other day who went into major sales pitch right away - I wrote back and said "Thanks but I'm going to take a pass." I thought that pretty diplomatic. Haven't heard any more from him.
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How to make a connection on Linked in
These tips also apply to people asking you to recommend them. I received a request to recommend a guy and I couldn't think of a specific project we worked on together. We worked for the same company and the name was familiar and the reputation was good and is why I made a connection in the first place, but don't recall working on specific projects together. I asked what specific project we worked on...he came back with nothing. I'm seriously thinking of "disconnecting" with him now. If someone wants me to recommend him/her, they should get rid of the default text and place something like "Please recommend my work to others. You may recall we worked on the such and such project five years ago. Yadda, yadda.