Business Networking: How do you leverage LinkedIn to build real relationships?

OK, I'll give it a shot because I have a strong interest in it & think this perspective may not have been considered by most folks. I believe many people misunderstand LinkedIn, running with an understandable but IMHO wrong, first impression, and some finding it a scary, confusing mash-up of 'the Internet' & a 'website' they think they should work out how to (somewhat... or a lot) advertise/broadcast or 'be found' on, and forget it really is just a window into PEOPLE's professional lives (& their personal brand, whether they realize it or not) and tool to identify, reach out to & keep in contact with PEOPLE. If you don't know where to start, or if things aren't working out for you the way you'd hoped or if you really are ready to begin 'building real relationships' - stop getting lost in the details of the tool or other platforms & tools of the 'Social Web'. Don't be afraid of becoming visible, active & authentic though you'll be in the minority, that's OK - because if you're not a self promotional broadcaster you'll stand out in a very good way! Most of all, stop listening to all the guru's wanting to sell you advice (or the PPC on their blog posts you visit) telling you to 'tweak your profile', 'craft a compelling reason' for other people to take action, 'do the work' ...& contact you - roll up your sleeves and start reaching out to people who seem interesting to you, tell them why they seemed interesting, do not launch into the latest 'all-about-you-and-what-you-want' thing on your mind immediately, and let the relationship develop through sincere & natural dialog. In a nutshell in response to your comment "most people we talk to struggle with how to build better connections with people they've LinkedIn with" though: Primarily & most of the time it requires YOU to be the one to reach out; 80% about the other person, 20% about you, ideally in person Whether in person or not, building real relationships from scratch requires you to work a bit at uncovering how you might help the other person first, with no expectation of return. 9/10 times unless someone is in sales, their own business or looking for a job, they will find it hard to tell you how you can help them. Therefore it will be up to you to learn about their interests enough to be able to introduce interesting GoodPeople to them at a minimum.

The important thing is to share contacts and resources with them so that you are producing value to your contacts. People tend to remember that, as opposed to sending blanket emails asking for business. So how I use it is to check up on people that I can help out. Introduce them to a resource or share information. I also invite people to events. Congratulate on new jobs. And I reach out to people that I know are looking for new jobs. I do not think that I could benefit from most software out there. For example, I see no real point in products such as unless you are a sales manager with a large number of sales accounts (as opposed to few high dollar purchases) or tasked with something like Social Media. I keep my engagements organic and not scheduled. For example, I recently found out about an event that a contact wanted to attend, I asked if they were going and conversation started about other events. We both became more informed about our industry that way. If there is something that is above my head, I gladly reach out and offer to hire out to my network. Likewise, if I know that they have a need and I can refer them to someone that I know and trust, I make the introduction.

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