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Sales Force Solutions: Online Networking: Good, Bad or Ugly? |
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Online Networking: Good, Bad or Ugly?
Used correctly, these tools can augment your network, not replace it.
By Troy Harrison
By now, I’m sure you’ve been exposed to one or more of the sites that purport to offer “online networking” experiences. LinkedIn.com seems to be the most popular for business networking, but both MySpace and Facebook claim to be networking sites.
I personally signed up for these sites more than a year ago, then sat back and watched for awhile to see how they were used. I’ve seen how others used them and, more importantly, I’ve seen some ways that these sites can be a beneficial adjunct to a professional networking program (the good), a way to embarrass yourself and others without having to do it in person (the bad), and a way to completely ruin any type of a professional image (the ugly).
The Good
Done right, a site such as LinkedIn offers several features that can assist in professional networking. Unlike MySpace and Facebook, LinkedIn markets itself primarily as a business site, and it shows. Although all the sites allow you to see each other’s contacts (i.e., “friends” or “connections”), LinkedIn adds the ability to recommend someone for their work (by posting an online testimonial) or to introduce contacts to each other (one of the most basic functions of networking).
Better still is the capability to request introductions by peeking into one of your contacts’ connections list, finding someone you want to meet and requesting an introduction. In this way, LinkedIn becomes an excellent tool because while most people won’t let you open their Rolodex, their online contacts are there to be viewed.
It’s important to remember that LinkedIn isn’t a substitute for live networking. At its best, it is an adjunct and additional tool for live networking. Remember, the objective of networking is to meet people, generate referrals and do business. For this reason, it’s important that your contacts should be “real” contacts. If you wouldn’t know them in person, or don’t have an acquaintance with them, it’s bad form to link up with them online.
In my experience, most of the “bad” of online networking sites comes not from proper use of the site’s capabilities, but improper use.
The Bad
If you’ve spent any time on LinkedIn, you’ve probably seen some misuse of the site. One of the most dangerous buttons on the page is the button that allows LinkedIn to search your entire address book for LinkedIn members. You can then send LinkedIn invitations to everyone LinkedIn finds, or only to selected ones.
Used correctly, this is a great tool. You’re using it correctly when you allow LinkedIn to access your address book, look at the list and then select those members with whom you have genuine relationships for invitations to join your network. You’re using it improperly when you click the “select all” box and send invitations to everyone you have encountered and entered into your database.
Of course, many people will accept the invitation out of a desire not to be rude, which means that your online “network” isn’t really representative of your relationships. That gets embarrassing when one of your contacts asks for an introduction to someone you really don’t know, but have indiscriminately added.
Worse are the people who misuse the “ask for recommendation” button. Recommendations are designed for those people with whom you’ve actually been employed or conducted business. Some people, however, become overzealous with the “ask” button, and end up asking for recommendations from people with whom they have not conducted business. Again, it’s a negative result, but it comes from misuse of the site, not proper use.
The Ugly
Because LinkedIn focuses primarily on business relationships, it’s hard to get ugly on that site. The same can’t be said for MySpace or Facebook. Both sites allow much more insight into one’s personal life. For some, that’s not a bad thing but for others, it’s a very bad thing.
More and more employers are looking up job applicants on these sites, and if you don’t, you should. You’ll be as surprised as I was when I found the page of the clean-cut, highly professional salesperson I had interviewed for a high-end sales job. On his page were several photos of him smoking something that either was illegal, or was meant to look illegal. Judging from the comments, his friends got quite a laugh out of it. Hopefully, that made up for him not getting the job.
I’ll also check out potential business and referral partners on these sites. Keep in mind, everything on these sites is in the public domain, and everything on the site serves as a window into the personality of the site owner. I’ve seen photos of both women and men that went well beyond simply risqué, blogs complaining about employers and customers (sometimes in incredibly profane terms) and “friend” lists that didn’t exactly give confidence in the person’s level of professionalism.
One rule I’ve heard is: “Don’t put anything on your page you wouldn’t want your mother to see.” That’s probably a pretty good rule.
Overall, if you use them right, online networking sites can speed the process of making connections, generating referrals and building a reputation. However, only careful and proper use will assure that your online reputation is the one you want to have.
Troy Harrison is the author of Sell Like You Mean It—Outselling Your Competitors By Understanding Your Customers, and he is the owner of SalesForce Solutions, a Kansas City-based sales training and consulting company. You can get more information about SalesForce Solutions and subscribe to the free "HotSheet" weekly e-zine by visiting www.salesforcesolutions.net or by calling (913) 645-3603.
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