LinkedIn has rose so rapidly throughout the years to the point that it is pretty much in line with the big boys of social networking like Facebook and Twitter. So many new and old companies are realizing the potential of LinkedIn. That is why many affiliate marketers and other people into marketing are trying to fish out as many quality leads as possible. The later you get involved with LinkedIn, the more difficult it may possibly seem. However, new people continue to join LinkedIn on a daily basis so there should always be room to connect with LinkedIn prospects.
It is all about sending the right first message to a potential LinkedIn prospect. A lot of people that are simply desperate for connections will attempt to add others by coming up with a generic message like “I want to add you to my new professional network here in LinkedIn.” Some people might try to get clever by saying, “I saw you at a trade show while I was selling LinkedIn books so I want to add you as a result.”
Try to pretend that you received a message like that. Would you add these types of people? People that simply want more connections may want to but you will realize that you have no gain in accepting these invites or even viewing the person’s profile. You have to connect with LinkedIn individuals by giving them some kind of value so they have a good reason to accept.
When constructing a message to connect with LinkedIn prospects, you should greet the person by name so it does not look so much like a template. Add a little thank you note to the prospect for checking out your website, webinar or profile. State a benefit for accepting the request. You can simply say that you want to add the person to your network so you are easier to contact if the LinkedIn prospect has any queries that need to be addressed.
Not all people may accept the request because the person wants to check out your profile first. This leads to another important step if you want to connect with LinkedIn prospects. Take a good look at your profile and make sure all of the information is up-to-date. Even if you filled up your profile way before, it always helps to double-check all of the fields so people that look at your profile get as much information as possible.
People have short attention spans and they can reject requests at an instant if they do not see anything of value. Adding some value may even increase the likelihood of getting cold prospects to accept you. But do not just bank on the cold prospects alone as there is more potential in increasing the number of inbound warm leads. These are the type of people that are more responsive with your offers and more inclined to accept requests if you approach them the right way.
As long as you add some personal spice to your messages and make sure that the other people see the benefit of connecting to you, you should be able to connect with LinkedIn prospects with ease and grow your network faster.
