In the last 6 months, I’ve had over 50 requests to be connected on LinkedIn to people that I don’t know. So what?
What frustrates me is that only a few of these people bothered to change the standard message and introduce themselves. Many of them ticked the box that said we had worked together.
I understand that everyone has different objectives for using LinkedIn, but for me I like to have a reason to be linked to somebody.
I’m not averse to connecting to strangers, so long as there’s a logic. But at least make a proper personal introduction! Perhaps it is as simple as ‘we may be able to do business together’ or ‘we have several connections in common’. But I think it’s rude to ignore the simple fact that we don’t actually know each other, but they want to be a connection. So here are my suggestions for a request that will make more impact:
We met at a recent event
We have several contacts in common and I’m looking to expand my network
I’ve noticed you’re in the local area
It seems that we have complementary businesses – perhaps we can help each other out
I’ve seen your articles/website/advert
Joe Bloggs recommended you and I’d like to add you to my business network