A lot of people have been asking me what should I do when someone I don’t know requests to connect on LinkedIn.

I tell them, you could report them (because technically you are only suppose to connect with people you know), you could simply ignore the request, or you could accept the request.

Personally, I decided to try and make the most of these potential relationships.

If it is someone who I don’t know, I spend time doing some research –Who are they? What do they they do? Who did we know in common?

If I felt it could be a mutually beneficial relationship, I send the person a note, thank them for the invite to Link In, and asked them to grab a cup of coffee to see if there are ways we could help out each other.

So far I have met five people from LinkedIn. One of them ended up being a potential lead and one has become a great friend and referral source. It just goes to show you that you never know where a relationship can develop and how it can progress. I could have just accepted or ignored their requests but I wouldn’t have made new relationships and I would have ended up having lunch by myself yesterday.

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DISCLOSURE: NO CONNECTION, UNPAID, NOT MY OWN
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