Online networking and LinkedIn

One challenge that I see with online networking is how to make it worth my time. LinkedIn and Soflow can make your networking more time efficient WHEN you have learned how to use them. Unfortunately, if you don't invest a little time, both will seem much less efficient. I'll share more about how to use these sites for networking in future post.

Whenever possible I want to hear the voice of someone over the internet or telephone or speak to them in person. My experience is that many people will not value the relationship as much if there is only contact through email and you can find yourself spending time with people who simply drift away or disappear. I've noticed that the human voice can have a great impact with people. There are exceptions, but if someone cannot speak to you over the phone, they are usually too busy to have time to network with you in a meaningful way. Or they are only interested in selling their product or service and not being part of mutually beneficial networking. When I speak to someone over the phone I find that we can have a helpful conversation in a briefer period of time than sending a dozen emails back and forth.

My sense is that most people will give you an idea over the phone much quicker if they are not interested in networking with you. That's really what you want at the start of the business relationship. A quick understanding of where you stand with the person. At least that's what I want. LinkedIn or Soflow can allow you to connect with that person even if there's not a great match for you personally at this moment. In some cases, you will be the person who has introduced them to this tool and many people are grateful later on. So what if they're not ready to buy your product or service and vice-versa. If you connect with them, they may be ready to share referrals down the road.

I do like to make connections with people who are already part of the LinkedIn database. I know that they will on average have a better understanding of the "mystical workings" of the internet than someone I meet at the Rotary Club or some other offline group.

I have found more than one kind of networker through LinkedIn. Some people are really only interested in connecting to you because that provides them with more connections. They aren't necessarily interested in building a business relationship with you except that they are willing to pass on the requests you send through LinkedIn. That works ok. I had a five minute conversation with a gentleman the other day and he made it clear that he wasn't interested in my products/services and wasn't sure that he could refer me to anyone who fit my market. He simply wanted to know if I would pass on his requests and he would do the same for me. I don't necessarily seek out people who take this view. In fact, he found me. We'll help each other in a more limited way. I do prefer this to something I experienced this weekend.

I sent a request for contact through the system and the person I sent it to sent it on to their direct contact in the chain. After the request got beyond him, someone simply rejected it because they said it wasn't their style. Personally, I don't think that's relevant unless there is some serious moral or legal issue because my request was in line with the LinkedIn profile of the person to whom I was sending it. As far as I am concerned, that person is simply a blockage in the system. They didn't even give me constructive criticism on how I could improve the request to make it ok for them to send on.

My greatest preference is to connect with people who are willing to build a business relationship and will actually keep my interests in mind when they meet new people or interact with their network. I do the same for them. I mentioned [three-way call] introducing someone over the phone in the previous post. When you are not simply trying to "sell your stuff" whatever that might be, but truly interacting and seeking to understand other human beings and their goals, you will have moments where you say, "Hey, you're looking for that? Let me introduce you to Sue, because she is helping people just like you."

Build Relationship. Build Income. It works.

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