This document discusses how to leverage connections on LinkedIn for business purposes. It explains that connecting with others allows you to develop a community of professional contacts, potential clients, and thought leaders in your industry. Connections on LinkedIn can be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd degree contacts. The document provides tips for optimizing your profile for findability, visibility, credibility, and profitability to help grow your network and find new business opportunities.

1. Linked In:
Connecting with People
From Crossman Communications
.

2. Why Connect with People on Linked In?
• To develop a community of people who
share your business interests
• To develop a database of individuals who
can provide services or other information
for you and your business
• To create an audience for the information
you post to your news stream and thus
potential clients or influencers
• To build a network in which you are a
thought leader

3. What is a Linked In
Connection?
• A Linked In connection is someone who you know personally,
someone with whom you might want to have a business
relationship, or someone who shares your business interests
• On Linked In you might have 1st, 2nd and 3rd Degree connections
in your network.
• 1st Degree connections are people with whom you are directly
connected
• 2nd Degree connections are people with whom your first
degree connections are connected
• 3rd Degree connections are the connections of your connections

4. Four Aspects to Leveraging LI
Findability
Visibility
Credibility
Profitability

5. Findability
• You can see the connections of your 1st Degree
connections, and they can see yours
• You cannot see the connections of your 2nd or 3rd
Degree connections
• If you include #hashtags at the bottom of your profile
summary, you are more likely to show up when
someone searches for what you offer on Linked In.
• Unfortunately ,you can no longer search the
connections of your 1st Degree connections, although
that might change!

6. Visibility • Complete your profile, including a
professional image, all relevant work
history and education, and a summary
of who you serve and how people
benefit from working with you
• Connect with people you meet at
meetings and networking events
• Send a note with your connection
requests reminding people of where
you met and your topic of conversation
if applicable. Be positive!

7. Credibility
• When you send a connection
request, include details in your
note to them that will encourage
them to see you as an asset to
their network. Say a few words
about the value you can add.
• When you land on someone’s
profile, Linked In will tell you who
your mutual connections are,
which lends credibility to your
connection request

8. Credibility
• Ask trusted friends in on Linked In to give you a
recommendation
• Endorse each other for different skills and strengths
• Link to any preferred content on your company
website and share it through your news stream
• Share links to great articles you come across in your
news stream

9. Profitability
• Connect with people who are in a position to
refer business to you
• Seek connections with people who are in your
target audience
• Review your connections for those who are
prospective clients and send them inmails that
are appropriate to a professional sales
relationship
• Review the connections of your connections for
the same purpose. Ask your connections for
introductions

10. Profitability
• When you respond to someone’s
connection request, thank them
for the invitation and, if they are
a potential client or customer,
invite them to your website to
find out more about what you do
• When you respond to someone’s
connection request, thank them
for the invitation and, if they are
a potential client or customer,
offer them a free telephone or
videoconference consultation

11. Other Linked In
Topics in this Series
• Leveraging your business’s
company page
• Groups
• Search Strategies
• Introductions
• Linked In Overview
• Your Profile

12. Questions? Feedback?
Please contact Susan Crossman and her team
at:
info@crossmancommunications.com
289-259-6934
@CrossmanCom