What’s the best way to send a LinkedIn to invite to somebody you don’t know?
Whenever I do LinkedIn training or talk to people about LinkedIn, I get a few recurring questions. One of these is by business developers who want to connect with new potential customers, partners, and investors.
Although I believe LinkedIn is a tool for actually connecting with people you know already, it can certainly be very useful for finding new contacts. This is especially true when you are doing business in a new industry or geography.
Use common connections
My advice is normally to connect via someone you both know, someone you are both connected with on LinkedIn. The quickest way to do this is to pick up the phone and as this common connection to make an introduction in person, on the phone, via email, or LinkedIn.
When you have no common connections…
But what do you do when there is no common connection and you have no idea how to introduce yourself to someone on LinkedIn? You probably have to find some common ground, such as having worked at the same place, went to the same university, or having an interest in collecting stamps from the South Pacific.
I decided to ask Aimee Bateman who is a featured writer for Undercover Recruiter what she thinks. In this video we talk about:
- The best ways of connecting with prospects on LinkedIn
- Why personalizing a message is so important
- What option to pick (friend, colleague, classmate, done business with, etc)
- What invites Aimee herself would accept/reject
- Aimee’s words of wisdom regarding LinkedIn invites
RELATED: How NOT to Connect with Recruiters on LinkedIn
