LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform, with over 810 million members globally. With so many professionals on LinkedIn, it can be an extremely valuable tool for networking and making connections, especially with senior executives. However, networking with C-suite executives requires a strategic approach.
Why Network with Senior Executives?
There are several key benefits to connecting with senior executives on LinkedIn:
- Gain insider knowledge and advice from their extensive experience
- Get introduced to new career or business opportunities
- Build powerful relationships that can accelerate your career growth
- Increase your visibility and credibility by associating with influential leaders
- Learn best practices and strategies from their success
In summary, senior executives have a wealth of knowledge and connections that can truly take your career or business to the next level. Making these strategic networking connections should be a priority.
How to Find and Connect with Senior Executives
Here are some tips for finding and connecting with senior executives on LinkedIn:
Upgrade to a Premium Account
With a Premium account, you can see the full list of people who have viewed your profile. You can use this to identify executives who may be interested in connecting. Premium also allows you to send InMail messages directly to those outside your network.
Follow Company Pages
Follow the LinkedIn Company Pages of organizations you are interested in. Engage with their content by liking and commenting. This increases the chance executives from that company will notice you.
Join Industry or Alumni Groups
Executives often join Groups related to their industry or alumni associations. Once in the Groups, you can directly interact with executives through discussions.
Follow and Connect with Executives
Use LinkedIn’s advanced search to find senior executives in your desired industry or location. Follow them to see their activity and engage with their posts. Also, send customized connection requests highlighting common ground.
Get Introductions
Mutual connections are vital on LinkedIn. Utilize your network to get introduced to executives through someone you both know. This personal connection greatly increases response rates.
Follow Company News and Leadership Changes
Keep up with the latest announcements from companies you are targeting. Executives moving to new positions or companies are often looking to expand their connections.
How to Engage with Senior Executives on LinkedIn
Once connected to senior executives, you need to strategically engage with them to build relationships. Here are some best practices:
Personalize Invitations and Messages
When inviting executives to connect, avoid generic templates. Personalize each request highlighting why you want to connect with them specifically. The same goes for InMail messages—personalize by referencing their background.
Provide Value
Executives are busy and bombarded with messages. When engaging, focus on providing value by sharing relevant articles, insights, or offering assistance. This makes you stand out.
Comment and Like Posts
Proactively engage with executive’s posts by liking, commenting, and sharing. This raises your visibility and keeps you top of mind. But ensure comments provide meaningful value and not just generic flattery.
Share Updates and Achievements
Keep executives updated on major projects, career progress, or company news by sharing updates. But avoid overly promoting yourself and keep it professional.
Request Informational Interviews
An informational interview allows you to build rapport one-on-one and learn directly from their experience. After connecting, request a short 20-30 minute informational interview over coffee or phone.
Follow Up and Maintain Contact
Occasionally follow up with executives you’ve connected with via InMail or social updates. But avoid pestering them. Nurture the relationship through periodic value-adding interactions.
Key Tips for Messaging Senior Executives
The messaging approach you take when reaching out to senior executives is critical. Here are some key tips:
- Keep messages concise and direct
- Clearly communicate your purpose and objective for connecting
- Highlight what’s in it for them and the value you can provide
- Use a professional but approachable tone
- Personalize messages to showcase you did research on their background
- Avoid hard selling and focus on relationship building
- Follow up any offline conversations with a warm LinkedIn message
The key is crafting messages focused on how you can add value and help them achieve their own objectives. This establishes a mutually beneficial, professional relationship.
What to Avoid When Contacting Senior Executives
There are also some key mistakes to avoid when reaching out:
Being too formal or overly casual
Don’t be overly stiff and formal in your outreach, but also avoid being too informal or using slang. Find the right medium of professional but approachable language.
Making it all about you
Never make LinkedIn messages all about you and your needs. Always focus on providing value to them and avoid self-promotion.
Using canned templates
Personalized messages show you made the effort to engage with their profile and background. Generic templates will be quickly disregarded.
Asking for too much too soon
Don’t start conversations by directly asking for a job or big favor. Focus initial interactions on building a relationship first.
Messaging without connecting
It often comes across poorly to message executives you are not connected to. Send a connection request first.
Being dishonest or misleading
Never inflate your background or connections. Transparency and honesty is key when networking with senior professionals.
Making the Right Impression
Beyond your messaging approach, here are some broader tips for making the right impression on senior executives:
- Complete your LinkedIn profile 100%—this establishes credibility.
- Showcase career and educational achievements in your profile.
- Publish professional long-form posts to display thought leadership.
- Get endorsements and recommendations from managers and colleagues.
- Join LinkedIn Groups and engage in professional discussions.
- Follow company pages and build your industry knowledge.
- Don’t send connection invitations too frequently—quality over quantity.
- Recommended to connect with no more than 1 or 2 senior executives per week.
The key is positioning yourself as a trustworthy professional who can offer value to senior leaders before directly reaching out.
Should I Follow Up with Executives?
Following up with executives after initially connecting is encouraged, but requires care. Here are some best practices:
- Wait at least 2 weeks before following up after connecting.
- Follow up no more than once a quarter to avoid becoming a pest.
- Send updates on major career developments or progress made on issues discussed.
- Share relevant articles or information that align with their interests.
- Comment on their latest posts congratulating achievements or milestones.
- Request to reconnect offline at industry conferences or events.
- Consider a friendly InMail checking in if you haven’t connected in 6+ months.
The goal is to nurture the relationship through periodic, value-driven interactions. But avoid bombarding busy executives with constant messages and connection requests.
In Summary
Here are the key tips for effectively networking with senior executives on LinkedIn:
- Research executives and personalize connection invites
- Provide value by sharing insights, not just promoting yourself
- Politely request informational interviews
- Follow up periodically to nurture relationships
- Make impressions through your profile and content before outreach
- Avoid formal, canned templates
- Focus on building mutually beneficial relationships
Networking with senior executives takes effort but can accelerate your career growth and open new opportunities. With a strategic, personalized approach, LinkedIn is an extremely valuable tool for connecting with influential leaders. Just remember, it’s about providing value to them first rather than your own agenda.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best way to connect with an executive on LinkedIn?
The best approach is to send a personalized connection request highlighting why you want to connect with them specifically based on shared interests, associations, or goals. Avoid generic templates.
How long should my message be when reaching out to an executive?
Initial LinkedIn messages to executives should be concise, 3-4 sentences at most. Summarize who you are, your objective in connecting, and the value you can provide. Avoid long blocks of text.
What should I avoid asking for in initial messages?
Never directly ask for a job, investment, or major favor upon initially connecting. Keep the conversation focused on relationship building first.
How frequently should I follow up with executives?
Following up once a quarter at most is usually appropriate. Any more than that and you risk becoming annoying rather than staying top of mind.
Should I send InMails to executives I’m not connected to?
In general, it’s better to connect first before messaging executives you don’t know. InMails still work best when leveraged through shared connections.
What’s the best way to provide value to executives?
Ways to provide value include sharing relevant industry articles, giving business advice and insights, offering to make introductions, and recognizing their achievements.
Conclusion
Networking with senior executives on LinkedIn requires a strategic, personalized approach focused on relationship building, not self-promotion. Do your research, showcase your professionalism in your profile, and focus messaging on providing value. With persistence and by avoiding common mistakes, you can connect with influential leaders that will take your career to the next level. LinkedIn is the #1 tool to build and nurture these powerful connections.