L 
ately I have been helping clients with something I call Greatness Strategies. Simply put, these strategies are a number of actions that, when taken together, move us from being good to great. Networking chiefly to help other people achieve their goals is a tactic we employ as part of a Greatness Strategy.
Great Networking
Many of my clients thought of LinkedIn as merely an online tool; however it can greatly benefit our face-to-face networking. Here are three strategies I continue to use with my clients because it makes their networking great.
1. Meet Great People: Review LinkedIn Profiles
Before your networking event review the guest list then look up the LinkedIn profiles of people you want to meet. The best way to impress someone is to know about them and take an interest; the information gleaned from the profile can accelerate the process. Get LinkedIn mobile for your smart phone for instant access.
Key Tip: Remember this look up thing goes both ways so keep your profile updated.
2. Make Great Impressions: Read LinkedIn Content
Networking is all about making the right impression -- and well-versed people make great impressions. If you haven't noticed, LinkedIn is more than just profiles. It has become a content powerhouse, hosting insightful business-oriented blogs, video, and slide shares from really smart people from around the world. The next time you are stuck in the coffee line whip out your smart phone and check out the content available on LinkedIn. Most content is quick and easy to read. Typically you can finish an article by the time you get to the head of the line.
Key Tip: Use your idle time to keep informed and follow thought leaders (including me) on LinkedIn
3. Keep Great Contact: Stay In Touch with LinkedIn
Within 24 hours of a networking event send the people that you met a LinkedIn invitation. I strongly urge you not to send the generic invite, but rather write a few lines recapping the conversation you had. Now that they are in your network LinkedIn has developed several handy reminders to help you keep in touch easily. I advise my clients to perform these quick and easy activities daily to keep in touch.
Key Tip: Use LinkedIn to turn your contacts into valuable relationships
The Bottom Line: Great Relationships takes Great Work
For me networking is all about meeting great people that I can do great things for - and they can do great things for me, too. However, all this greatness does not happen without great work. LinkedIn can assist in some of that work -- setting up opportunities for the greatest networking tool of all - conversations.
Start the Great Work with LinkedIn Simplified
If you are looking to do great things with your network, I would be pleased to help you achieve your goals. My seminar, LinkedIn Simplified is designed to give you the tools to take your networking to the next level.
