We are told water is essential to life. If this is true, then the water of life in business is the ability to communicate well and establish relationships. From my vantage point, it seems there are a lot of thirsty people in business.

Networking is different today. Not better and not worse necessarily, just different. To me, it’s similar to how conventional conversations have changed, both spoken and written. People don’t seem to put as much effort into their conversations today. The art of clearly articulating a point has given way to fragmented text shorthand and otherwise cryptic dialogue. It feels as though the energy that used to drive the creation of new and meaningful conversations, and relationships, has been replaced with a lottery approach. You know, playing the numbers.

Earlier today I saw a quote posted by a colleague that resonated with me, and was part of the motivation for this article. The quote is:

Once you feel avoided by someone, never disturb them again.

This accurately summed up my attitude related to many of the inbound invitations I receive on LinkedIn. If I respond to you and receive no reply, I will let it be. I refer to some of these messages as ‘phantom invites’ when I find out there is no substance. It’s as if the sender was never really there. This doesn’t mean the message was ill-intended, it’s more that there was no real purpose behind the invite, or maybe I don’t understand the purpose. I do understand there are many opinions and belief systems related to networking in real life, and on social media and at some level, every single one of them is correct for someone. My approach may not be right for you, and that’s cool. It works for me.

Back to the invites.

I am one of those on LinkedIn that believes including a short message with an invite goes a long way. I also believe in being purposeful in my networking regardless of the venue. I cannot offer value to everyone, and vice-versa. Because of this belief, I am very specific in sending invites, and receiving them. For invites I receive from those I don’t already know, I respond with a note inviting them to schedule a call with me. I also tell them a little about me and what I do professionally. Not a sales pitch, but a positioning statement to help them qualify if I am a fit based on their professional interests. I have had, and continue to have some fascinating discovery calls with many excellent people. However, I don’t connect with all of them, because we are not always a good fit based on individual or mutual objectives. This is not a closing of the door because things can change. But for the here and now, we wish one another well, and continue on our separate ways.

Here’s another example of the phantom aspects of some of the invites. I receive an empty invitation, that’s one with no message, respond with my invite to chat, and hear crickets. This happens even with some who appear to be a fit. This is where I bring up the lottery reference again. Were they just playing the numbers? What’s the point of sending an invite if your intent is not to engage? For these, I have a process where I will send a nudge after a bit, and if no response still, then I ignore the invitation. No, I don’t do the dreaded IDK, I just ignore, which is no harm, no foul. It’s how I manage my LinkedIn inbox.

This is me sharing a little about my tactics and beliefs. Now, I’m extending you an invitation. What works for you? What doesn’t work for you? Asking for myself and a bunch of friends.

Peace,

Go-To-Guy Timberlake

For a PDF of this blog click here.