
Question: ”Are there any guidelines on connecting with people you don’t know?”
Answer:
Here are 3 rules to follow:
1. Be respectful of what type of networker they are:
There are 3 types of people on LinkedIn:
a) ‘Open Networkers’
People who are open to connect with anyone who approaches them
b) People who will only connect with people they have a relationship with
I know some people who will absolutely never connect with people they don’t have a face to face relationship with. That’s their choice and their prerogative.
c) People who are somewhere in between
I’m one of the ‘in between’ types.
I’m not an open networker that says “anyone, come and connect with me”, but at same time on my website I openly invite people that read my blog and newsletter to connect with me. Similarly on my Facebook page, I have link backs to my LinkedIn page too. So what I’m saying is that I’m open to connecting with people on LinkedIn who have some type of relationship with me (even though we may not know each other personally). That’s my choice.
Everyone is different so take a few moments to read people’s profiles, website, blog (if they have one) to look for clues to what they prefer and be respectful in following their preferences and choices in how they use LinkedIn.
2. Where possible, always go via a mutual contact
In the offline world, if you want to connect with someone you don’t know, it’s always best to go via a warm introduction rather than making a cold approach. The same applies on LinkedIn.
So mention the mutual contact within your invitation note and you’re more likely to get a positive response and begin the relationship on a good footing. Hardly rocket science, but many people don’t think to do this and simply try and make a cold approach or don’t bother at all.
3. Personalize and ‘be nice’
I hate the standardized LinkedIn invites. I know it’s a small thing, but taking 30 seconds to personalize a message makes so much difference. It tells me you want to connect with me rather than simply clock up the number of connections you have.
So if I receive a LinkedIn invite from someone I don’t know but they’ve personalized the note I’m generally fine with it.
E.g. “Hi Sital, I read your blog and really enjoy it. I hope you don’t mind me adding you to my LinkedIn network”
or “Hi Sital, I heard you speak at xyz and really found what you had to say about abc interesting. Would it be ok for us to connect on LinkedIn..?”
I’m totally fine with connecting with these types of people – because they’re being polite, respectful and have taken a few seconds to personalize their note.
In summary
If someone doesn’t know you, is not an ‘open networker’, has no mutual contacts with you and sees that you haven’t bothered to spend 30 seconds writing a personalized note in the invite – why should they be bothered to join your LinkedIn network?
Be respectful, be personable and be nice – it works (most) of the time…