One of the cruxes of this particularly dilemma is how can one learn to trust the person one meets online. Mostly it is about finding that you have something in common and building a relationship from there.
It starts with a compelling reason to connect to you - in other words how might they benefit by "knowing" you. Bear this in mind for EVERY interaction.
Here are some specific actions to get you started.
1. Reach: If you spot someone has LinkedIn Open Networker (LION) or Toplinked in their profile, there's a good chance they will accept a blind invitation. This will help you extend your "reach" - eg the number of people who will then fall into your 2nd and 3rd level network.
2. Introductions: This is a pretty hit an miss way of getting to the right people - there are often delays in the process. Accept that sometime you are never going to hear back from them. With a free account, you get 5. Your reach depends on the breadth of your connections - eg if you have a clique who only connect with each other, you'll never see anyone outside your closed community).***
3. Answers: If you answer or ask a question, you have the opportunity to start a dialogue. Sometimes these lead to a connection, sometimes not.
4. Become an open networker - Systematically publicise your LinkedIn URL and include it on every email you send to anyone you want to connect with. I suggest using a motivator ("Let's connect on Linkedin - send me an invite if you're interested" message).
5. Join groups and participate. Tick the box about allowing messages from members. Approach those who accept messages.
Well that's enough to get you started. Come back for more ideas.
All the best,
Alison
posted 8 days ago
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