Think twice before ignoring a LinkedIn connection request.

April 20, 2021 / in How To, LinkedIn / by Jason Terry

We’ve all received LinkedIn connection requests from people we don’t know. I used to make a fairly quick call to ignore them. Why? Because I usually only connect to people I know, trust, respect, do business with, etc. And like you, I have a lot of things to accomplish every day. I should do a future video on chasing patience. :)

But here is the problem with ignoring a request without digging a little deeper…

There are still a lot of people that don’t understand the fact that asking you to connect on LinkedIn is sort of a big ask.

1) They are asking for access to your network.
2) They are asking for you to vouch for them by being willing to be connected.

But here is what I’ve found. Some people think that asking to connect on LinkedIn is a way to start an initial conversation with someone. (The method for doing this properly on LinkedIn would be to send an InMail.)

Missed Opportunity

I’m so thankful that my clients refer me to their business friends. Usually, they provide my email address and phone number and I get a call or an email. But at times the person that may need my help starts by looking me up on LinkedIn and sending a connection request. Often, they don’t personalize the invitation. So out of the blue, I get a connection request from someone I’ve never met, and they didn’t give me any detail about why they’re trying to connect. (Not the best way to start a conversation, right? If you do this, make sure you personalize the invitation so they know why you are approaching them!)

Over the years, I’ve learned to look a bit deeper. And in my video this week, I show you my process and share a great tip… you can actually message the person back instead of simply ignoring or accepting their connection request.

I hope you find this helpful and thought provoking! If it raises even more questions, be sure to ask in the comments on my blog or my YouTube channel. I read and respond to every single comment!

Thanks. And have a great week!