I am going to tell you the most important best practice of using LinkedIn. Sit back, take a sip of your drink and listen to what I have to say. I promise, if you adopt this best practice, you’ll get more value out of your use of LinkedIn.
A large LinkedIn network (by itself) is not going to help your business.
Helping your LinkedIn network will help your business.
I call it “Networking for Mutual Benefit on LinkedIn.”
Sales managers and business developers often say, “I need to get to 500+ LinkedIn connections.” My immediate question to these folks is, “why?” The answers are broad and varied, often similar to what I heard one sales manager tell his team, “Connect with everyone on LinkedIn. Eventually you’ll find our next big customer.”
This reminds me of my first sales job. On my first day of work I asked my new boss, “Please tell me one thing that you know will make me successful at sales.”
He replied, “I want you to Grip and Grin your way through every chamber of commerce and networking group you can and collect as many business cards as possible. Put them in our sales tool and cold call them all until they buy something.”
Unfortunately, this is what many people are now doing with LinkedIn.
Do yourself and your network a big fat favor. STOP DOING THIS!!!!
Let me explain the best practice of “Networking for Mutual Benefit on LinkedIn.”
I originally wrote about Networking for Mutual Benefit back in 2005. The principles are fairly easy to learn and adopt. We learned them (or can learn them) through people like Dale Carnegie, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Norman Vincent Peale and Zig Ziglar. I continue to learn the principles of Networking for Mutual Benefit from many of my LinkedIn connections who have become personal friends.
The execution of Networking for Mutual Benefit on LinkedIn is quite simple and based on a single word.
Give.
The more you give to your LinkedIn Network, the more value it will provide you.
This article is not going to answer all of your questions about Networking for Mutual Benefit on LinkedIn.
However, ask yourself this question while you are using LinkedIn, “What have I done to help my LinkedIn Network today?”
Here are a few activities you may want to consider if you want to begin giving to your LinkedIn network:
Share – Any articles that are interesting or useful to you and possibly to your network
Engage – Read the articles your network shares and get involved in the conversation, where relevant to you
Participate – Don’t just join fifty LinkedIn Groups because you can. Join LinkedIn Groups to get involved, to learn and to help others
Connect – Help your network make new connections that can be mutually beneficial to them
Start a conversation – Make the conversation all about your network, not about you
Giving on LinkedIn does not need to take a lot of time. However, the benefits are significant.
I am a firm believer that success using LinkedIn occurs when we Network for Mutual Benefit.
Have you found this to be true for you?
If you want to learn more Networking Skills read my book Networking for Mutual Benefit.
If you want to learn more Social Media Skills read my book Success using Social Media.
If you need coaching on LinkedIn so that you can manage your networks better, consider my LinkedIn Coaching Program.
* This post was written by Career Confidential LinkedIn Expert Teddy Burriss of Burriss Consulting, Inc. Follow Teddy Burriss on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook to learn more about his Social Media Coaching and Career Transition services.