Are You a LinkedIn Power Networker?
There are so many thoughts and ideas flying around on the Internet as to what constitutes a LinkedIn Power User or LinkedIn Power Networker. My friend, Flyn Penoyer 
has a great quiz on his blog that I highly recommend you check out! Please continue to follow his blog as he generates posts that explain each portion of the quiz with suggestions on how to improve your networking on LinkedIn.
Who are you connecting with? What are you using to determine if you want to connect with someone on LinkedIn? Do you know why you are using LinkedIn?
I don’t know about you, but I get a lot of requests to connect on LinkedIn – I receive about 50 or so invitations almost daily. I take the time to craft a follow-up note to send them, thanking them for selecting me to connect with them, giving them a bit of background on me and my business and asking them to tell me something about themselves that does NOT appear on their LinkedIn profile. I do this for one main reason – I’m looking for some commonalities – a way in which we can connect to see if we continue building a relationship and will be able to work together, either as a referral partner or a strategic connection.
Here’s another suggestion from Flyn – “Suggestion for your LinkedIn Invitation Acceptance Message”
If you choose to use the ideas that Flyn provides, or develop one of your own, in order to become a LinkedIn Power Networker, it is imperative that you take the time to reply to each of your connection requests. I know, you are about to tell me that you don’t have time to do that. Honestly, you have to MAKE the time to do it. Do it in small chunks, 5 minutes twice a day – answer as many as you can during that time and then move on to your other tasks. Doing it consistently will not only strengthen 
your reputation, it will also help you to build that sacred circle of influence. Don’t you want to know more about the people you are looking to network with? If you don’t, how will you determine whether or not you will become their referral partner, joint venture partner or simply a friend. You could be allowing thousands of dollars to remain “on the table” if you don’t take the time to develop these relationships.
Remember the word “netWORKing” is just that – not netsitting, not neteating, not nettalking, but netWORKing. Take the time to invest some energy into this work and I know you will be rewarded handsomely for your efforts.
I would love to see a conversation generated on this topic, so please do post your thoughts, ideas and comments below. If there is a specific item you would like to see discussed on working with LinkedIn, Twitter or FaceBook, or any other questions involving networking or netweaving, post those as well and we’ll add them to our discussions.
2009 is rapidly drawing to the end, how will your 2010 work for you? Have you included planning for some networking, along with all your other marketing activities, in your updated business plan?
To Your Networking Success!
Carol
| | 
Subscribe to It!
