In last days I’m receiving a lot of connection requests within Facebook and LinkedIN. 100% of these are unqulified ones: from people I’ve never met before or I’ve never interact with and without any introduction. Because the easiness to click “Send connection request” and “Add as a Friend” button, It makes people lazy in giving you any kind of introduction about themself. This is a common and unfair behaviour on online networking. Doesn’t matter if you are trying to contact an Open Networker or Not. Even if your target contact is an open networker, it doesn’t mean that you can avoid to introduce yourself. Because your target contact is an open networker, she/he receives hundreds of contact requests and you probably will be just one of them, just a new stamp in her/his contact list, a new email address to “spam” to. After 5 minutes you’ve been added, probably she/he will have forgotten your name and your face. Ok, you have a connection more and probably you can access to her/his friends/contacts list and so what? Which is the goal you are reaching? Networking online is just the same as networking face-to-face. Would you ever approach to a person during an event without introducing yourself and asking her/him for their business card and address list? I suppose you wouldn’t. If you act like that, in the best scenario the person probably will give you her/his business card but she/he will forget you one second later. In the worst case she/he will completely ignore you even if he is an open networker. The politeness isn’t an option. Here is some advatages you can gain introducing yourself: You’ll be noticeable. Being a contact used to receive unqualified connection request, just because you’ve introduced yourself, you will be noticed by her/him. When you’ll send a new message, she/he will recognize you. You’ll be intersting. If in your introduction you’ll give a reason-why and you’ll show that you payed attention to the contact’s profile, you’ll drive your target contact to “study” your profile too. You’ll establish a relationship. Seeing a personalized message, a target contact will be impelled to write you back. You’ll get her/his attention and you shall establish a contact since the beginning. Paying attention to a small detail, such as writing 2 lines in your contact request, you are already helping your business. Is it a so big effort, comparing to the benefits?
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