There has been a quiet competition going on between my networking friend Jill and her colleague Joel since the end of last week.
Jill challenged Joel to try to get to 100 contacts in his LinkedIn profile before her.
The loser buys the winner a coffee of her/his choice.
As of today, Joel has 96 contacts. Good job Joel; but not good enough…
Here’s the message that Jill sent to Joel:
Joel – I just hit 101 LinkedIn contacts in my profile.
I want a Starbucks Grande Latte Skinny with ONE pump of Cinnamon Dolce Sugar-Free.
3pm would be an ideal time for me to enjoy and gloat over my steaming java. -J
Behold the power of social media
Through Jill’s 100 contacts, she can connect with 1,719,300+ other professionals in the online network. That’s great for research on prospects that her firm want as clients and centers of influence who can help get them in front of the right people that they want as clients.
Congratulations to Jill & Joel! They are both winners in my eyes because they are taking an active role in growing their professional network through LinkedIn.com and other social media vehicles, as well as leveraging the power of telephone and face to face communications to build more mutually-beneficial connections.
They do not fear the technology monsterand are leveraging all the available tools to help grow their business, their professional network and their sphere of influence.
How about you?
Perhaps you might want to engage a colleague or a friend to take a LinkedIn challenge with you. Competition is a powerful, motivating force. You can also have a little fun with it.
