In today’s world relationships and connections become challenging. We are all so busy. We find it difficult to pick up the phone or meet people for coffee or lunch. In the past we wrote to people…on PAPER. Then in 1993 an idea became reality, and it changed our world forever: Email!
Electronic Mail made it EASY to reach out to others, and as you built your email address list, you could send the same message to many people at the same time!
May 2003 saw the birth of LinkedIn, and in February 2004, Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook. These social media sites now serve hundreds of millions of members. Now we had the power – and I mean power – to connect, link, and friend people we knew. People took the next logical step.
Connect With EVERYBODY!
This strategy can be counterproductive at best and creepy at worst.
Facebook started out as family and friends. You shared news and pictures. We were told to NOT connect with everyone. LinkedIn is different. While LinkedIn is all about business networking, it was more information and professional connection driven. Different people share different – and often valid – opinions regarding connection. A common thought is you should connect with EVERYONE.
Some people have a tactical connection strategy, in particular those who mass-market. For me, I choose to not connect with everyone, unless we have some prior connection or relationship, or common interests. I choose to be more strategic in my networking strategy. Here’s the good news about connection:
You don’t have to connect with everyone if you use a Strategic Referral Relationship System™.
By building organically through referrals, you build a business that is built for exponential growth, and is perfect for networking. It calls for a slightly tighter focus. But by being INTERESTED in others and meeting their needs, your network will grow. It cannot help but do so. When you DO connect, do your best to have a PERSONAL exchange with that person to see how you might learn more about them and provide value.
By all means, always feel free to send a connection request, but don’t feel slighted if I want to know a little more! I just want to know if I can provide some value to YOU by connecting, and not just have another name in the database. In addition, PLEASE reach out if you believe I can help you in any way!
Work Hard & Have Fun!™
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