Build a network of useful LinkedIn professional connections

LinkedIn is the frontier of prospecting. It has been around for decades, yet still gets the attention of members and hasn’t been overwhelmed by people prospecting badly. If you are a benefits professional and want to build a network of people with the potential for doing business, how do you make this happen?

What represents a useful contact?

Let us assume you are looking for people who can do business on behalf of their company or connect you with the people who can get you into consideration as a competitor. Your market might be localized, or you might cover an industry, so businesses across state lines are also in consideration. Let us also assume people who can connect you with small business owners qualify as good connections. The average person might think small business describes the dry cleaner down the block. The SBA considers small businesses as those with revenue between $1 million to $40 million and employment from 100 to 1,500 employees. You might be interested in people who select speakers or have a leadership role in the local chapters of professional associations. You can probably think of many more.

Building a LinkedIn network – where do I start?

It is tempting to ask your friends to connect. Why? Because rejection is painful, and you want people who will say yes and accept. That’s fine, but you want to approach this from the point of view, “Is there the potential for them to give me business or point me in the right direction?” Here are some categories to get you thinking:

1. College alumni. This should be the first category you choose. It is likely a huge universe. You might start with familiar names from your class but concentrate on alumni who live locally or work with companies where you would like to establish a relationship.
2. Professional associations. Your local area has groups organized for the benefit of certain types of business owners and professions. They have regular meetings. Sometimes they feature speakers. When I go in this direction, I look for the Executive Director and the Communications Director.
3. Company alumni associations. There are LinkedIn groups for every interest. This also includes current and past company employees from certain friends. If you did military service, add this category in because people do not leave the workforce when they retire from the military, they enter the private sector.
4. Chambers of Commerce. There should be several in your area. The chamber officers and professional staff should be wired in. Add those names to your list.
5. Specific job titles. When you prospect for business or seek to compete, who is your point of contact in a business? Sometimes it is the owner, other times it might be certain titles in the HR department. Would they belong to a specific professional association? I find it useful to add that qualifier when doing LinkedIn searches.

Why would they want to connect with you?

I have about 4,000+ LinkedIn connections. Most have been carefully chosen and solicited. I mention “most” because I also accept invitations rather freely.  It’s the “Do unto others” rule.  Here is how I go about it:

1. Personalize the invitation. I do not send a generic invitation. Quasi-generic is off the list too. (“We have many of the same connections. I would like to learn about your business…”)  I start with their first name.
2. Second level connections. I focus on this category because I can say: “We have 12 shared connections…” It should make them more comfortable that we “know” some of the same people. They can see those names and reach out to them if they like.
3. Give a compelling reason for connecting. Perhaps you are alumni from the same school. Maybe your firm produces great research or informational articles. “I find LinkedIn is a good way to share them.”
4. Let’s connect. That’s how I end the invitation. It sounds silly, but I think a call to action is useful.

What to do when someone accepts

When people accept your invitations, you want to act immediately. I get my LinkedIn business done first thing every morning, except Sundays.

1. Thank them for accepting. That is the first message I send. The thank you is only the beginning.
2. What happens next: I explain my intent is to share one article or piece of research every month. This will come through by message. This is in addition to whatever I post to the daily feed, which they may or may not see.
3. Offer option to opt out. I explain “if one message per month is too many, please let me know.”
4. Build a list. Next, I add their name to a list. I use Microsoft Access and also a list built in Word, but you can choose your own. I send each message individually.

The ongoing relationship

You want to get to know these people better. Here is how I do it:

1. Join relevant LinkedIn groups. Once a week, I post an article link to the group. On another day I look at other people’s posts and comment.
2. Reply quickly. If I send my monthly individual message and they respond, I thank them for taking time to write back.
3. Respond to group comments. If someone comments on a group post I put up, I comment on their comment.
4. Do not forget notifications. You will be prompted for work anniversaries, job changes and birthdays. I send a personal message for each. I engage with them if they reply.
5. Keep records. Who writes back?

At this point, you have a “pen pal” relationship. You can explore it further and gently introduce business. As an FYI, I do a bit more to engage with people, but over the past two years, my annual response rate has been about 40%. Put another way, people write back once they know you are a real person and not an automated program.

Bryce Sanders is president of Perceptive Business Solutions Inc. He provides HNW client acquisition training for the financial services industry. His book, “Captivating the Wealthy Investor” is available on Amazon.