LinkedIn Introductions Gone Bad

by | Dec 16, 2013

bigstock-Elevated-view-of-business-peop-48347216Introductions are an important part of business networking.

  • Professionals introduce clients to other clients
  • Colleagues introduce people with similar interests

When done right, you look like a hero.

As LinkedIn promotes its product as the World’s Largest Professional Network, it recognized the value of introductions.

The platform offers members an Introduction feature.

  • Think the old-fashioned LinkedIn Introduction
  • Not the newer iPhone app., LinkedIn Intro
  • The app produces a much different discussion

I’ll admit, Introductions is not a feature I use much.

Perhaps the reason is due to some bad experiences. I’ll share mine. I would love to hear yours.

Who Benefits?

All parties should benefit from introductions – the two parties introduced – and the person initiating the introductions.

The Benefit Trifecta

Let’s use a made-up story to illustrate.

Intro1 REV

The happy ending to the story?

Intro2 REV

Everyone is smiling.

  • Mary is able to meet her marketing goals
  • Mark has a new client who he enjoys working with
  • Both love Cathy for bringing them together

You benefit from initiating introductions, even though you are not looking for anything in return.

The individuals introduced will remember the gesture – and you. For example, Mary will probably put me on the top of her list for outsourced business writing. Mark will be more inclined to recommend my services.

Everyone wins.

Who’s Asking?

Your LinkedIn connections often initiate requests for introduction. At least that’s been my experience.

The funny part of these requests is the person asking.

  • Someone whose work you don’t know
  • A competitor in the same specialty niche

Don’t get me wrong. I refer potential clients to colleagues who I think are a good match. When I am unable to take on more projects or I do not offer the services they are looking for.

But, when I don’t know your work or you are asking to be introduced to a prospect in my network, is it wrong to expect me to pass?

That’s not as bad as Jennifer Mattern’s situation, where writers she does not know asked her for her clients’ contact information so they could work for Jenn’s clients. Seriously?

Pick One – Anyone

Then there is the LinkedIn connection who regularly sends emails to her network. She has hundreds (maybe thousands) of LinkedIn Connections.

In several of her emails, she offered to introduce me to any of her connections. I decided to move beyond the surface “helpfulness.”

I asked my LinkedIn connection to decide.

  • Which connections were a good fit?
  • Who would benefit from my business writing services?

The silence was deafening.

Introductions are personal.

  • You observe a need or common interest
  • You believe the connection is beneficial

Maybe I overthink introductions. It could be why I don’t have thousands of LinkedIn connections.

How about you?

  • Have you used LinkedIn Introductions?
  • If so, how have they worked for you?

Please share your thoughts in Comments.

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8 Comments

  1. Miriam Gilbert

    Hi Cathy
    I can empathize with your reluctance to use introductions. But a bit like the recommendations and twitter followers, it all depends on how it is used – all down to personal integrity, I guess. And I have benefited from introductions where the point was really to provide a simple and easy way of connecting with other people whose work I was interested in.
    Look forward to more comments!
    Best
    Miriam

    Reply
    • Cathy Miller

      Thanks, Miriam. You restore my faith. I’m curious. Do you ever ask for introductions yourself or does one of your connections initiate them?

      Reply
      • Miriam Gilbert

        Glad to help ;). In terms of initiating introductions: it’s both, actually – sometimes people suggest that I connect with someone (generally, based on a previous conversation), other times I ask my contacts to introduce me. The point is that either case is based on something that people can feel confident about – e.g. I asked a good personal friend to make an introduction to a professional in her network. She did that, but not under the pretense of endorsing my professional work, but stating that I was a friend and was interested in making the connection. That was fine, and I had a very interesting skype conversation with the professional involved and we are taking building a business relationship from there….

        Reply
        • Cathy Miller

          Okay, Miriam, I dub you the Poster Child for Introductions Gone Good 😀 In my humble opinion, that is my vision of what Introductions should be. Thanks for sharing the info.

          Reply
          • Miriam Gilbert

            Lol, that made me laugh… keep up the good work!

            Reply
            • Cathy Miller

              Wear the crown well, Miriam. 😉

              Reply
  2. John Soares

    Cathy, I’ve come across this a couple of times. People who I don’t really know want me to connect them with my business contacts. I can’t do it because I can’t vouch for the quality of their work, or that they’ll finish the work on time.

    On a somewhat related note, over the last year or so, I’ve had a very large increase of people I’ve never heard of sending me generic connection requests on LinkedIn. I don’t accept the requests.

    Reply
    • Cathy Miller

      I guess there are some who view it as just an introduction, and not a recommendation, but I’m with you, John.

      I feel it’s a matter of respect for our connections that we believe the introduction will benefit them. If I don’t know the person’s work, how can I know that my connection will benefit?

      Thanks for sharing your view, John.

      Reply

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