A CEO’s LinkedIn Awakening: What’s In Your Inbox?

The CEO of a leading insurance brokerage told me a great LinkedIn story. The CEO had not really been very active on LinkedIn. Of course, he had a LinkedIn account like most professionals, but he did not actively work LinkedIn.

A recent event changed the CEO’s mind.

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One of the CEO’s colleagues had been encouraging him to be more active on LinkedIn. When the colleague came by to give the CEO some tips, they discovered 290 Invitations in their CEO’s LinkedIn Inbox. As the CEO began to think about which ones to accept, his colleague clicked “Select All” then “Accept.” Boom! The CEO instantly had 290 new connections.

The next day, the CEO was contacted by one of those new connections. It turned out to be an experienced insurance producer with a big book of business. He said he was interested in speaking to the CEO about joining the CEO’s company. The successful producer had assumed there was no interest because the CEO had not accepted his invitation. They recently met to discuss working together.

So, what good news might be hiding in your LinkedIn Inbox?  Here are the two tabs to check in your LinkedIn Inbox:

1. Messages

These are messages that your Level 1 Connections or Group members have sent you. LinkedIn InMails from Premium Users will also show up here. If you are a Premium subscription user and have opted into being in the OpenLink Network, any LinkedIn member can send you a message here.

2. Invitations

If you have a large number of Invitations in the queue, then the mass action of “Select All” then “Accept” is OK. Once you are caught up, I recommend you solidify each connection by clicking “Send a message” and writing a short “Thank you for the invitation.” Adding a question initiates a conversation that can provide additional insight and strengthen the relationship with your new connection.  EX: “Thanks for the invitation. How did you discover me on LinkedIn?”

So, how many pending Invitations do you have?

Nurture those relationships…

Once you accept those invitations, now you need to nurture relationships and engage with relevance. If you haven’t already, why not take the FREE 14-day Nimble Test Drive?  There is no credit card required, and you’ll be up and running in minutes.