Oh, LinkedIn.

We have a complicated relationship. I love maintaining professional connections with people I have encountered. Keeping a thread of connection through the ebb and flow of position changes and new experiences is a gift and I am grateful to you for it. But some of your children do not behave well. They use your platform to harass me, pretend to be my friend, ask to connect and then hit me over the head with multiple InMail messages where they taunt me relentlessly with how they can help me succeed in business. They are behaving badly and they should be sat in the corner.

Fellow LinkedIn-ers, should you find yourself to be one of these poorly behaving sorts, please stop it. Consider these key points before you ask me (or others) to connect:

1. All connections should be a win-win. If our connection is not going to be give and take, don't bother trying to connect.

2. If I need a consultant to help me build my brand, I'll seek one out. Do not use tacky tactics to tell me how poor my image is or how outdated my social media and website are. Good sales strategy seldom starts with insulting your prospect.

3. If you have not researched me well enough to understand what I do, do not bother to reach out. I interpret your failure to do your homework as laziness and I am not interested in working with you.

Use LinkedIn well, dear friend, and please think through your motives and strategy before you blindly connect with potential customers/clients.

That is all. Have a great weekend!

-Mindy Muller, CFRE, President/CEO of CDP

#prospecting #integrity #nonprofits #smallbusiness
#networking #connecting #thoughtful#strategy #strategicprospecting