LinkedIn

I'm a big fan of LinkedIn. It's a powerful business tool for connecting. Giving and getting referrals has not changed over the past 20 years I've been in business. LinkedIn is an automated tool to facilitate the process.

Today I have 120 connections. Of those 120 connections, I can say that I 100% believe and can vouch for 115 people on my list. There are 5 people that I don't really know. Before I understood how the tool would work, I accepted their invitations.

Now that I understand that it's good old fashioned networking, I only invite and accept invitations of people that I feel comfortable including in my close business circle.

What am I going to do with those five I don't really know? I'm going to make a point to get to know them so that I can feel just as comfortable with them as I do with the other 115. By doing so, I'll increase my network.

If you don't manage your contacts thoughtfully, all you have is a list of names. You're no closer to having a network than you were without the list.