You’re probably familiar with the 60’s bestseller by Dale Carnegie, or at least you’ve heard of it. One of Carnegie’s main points is that being “Interested” is “interesting”. The best way to get people to want to connect with you is to show interest in them. We’re all selfish creatures, or so it seems.
So, given this is the key to making new connections, why are people so lame when it comes to social networking invites. Here are some uninspiring LinkedIn invite requests I got recently:
- I would be happy to advice with you.
- Vorrei aggiungerti alla mia rete professionale su LinkedIn.
- Dear Eze, We share a common group, lets connect and add value to the work we do —-J’aimerais vous inviter à rejoindre mon réseau professionnel en ligne, sur LinkedIn.
- Happy to connect here.
- Ich möchte Sie zum Beitritt in mein berufliches Netzwerk auf LinkedIn einladen
- Me gustaría añadirte a mi red profesional.
If you took a moment to think about the other person and how you could personalize the message to get them remotely interested in what you do, the chances of someone accepting your invite are much higher.
Ask questions, do your research and offer your help/insights/opinion – treat this as an a/b testing experiment and I guarantee your conversion rate will go up.
I'm a former general partner at google ventures, head of Google for Entrepreneurs in Europe and founding head of Campus London, Google's first physical hub for startups.
I'm also the founder of Techbikers, a non-profit bringing together the startup ecosystem on cycling challenges in support of Room to Read. Since inception in 2012 we've built 11 schools and 50 libraries in the developing world.
