I had an interesting conversation today with an attorney who has a particularly strong local network of friends, clients, and professional contacts. We discussed whether or not he needed to invest his time by participating in the LinkedIn community. It was a good conversation about the return on investment for a well-established professional who typically receives recommendations from tier 1 connections. These people are called upon by friends to provide a reference to someone they would trust with their own legal needs so the referral is usually a solid one.
We concluded that, at this time, it really doesn’t make sense for him to invest time, money and effort into joining LinkedIn, writing a profile, and building a network. Will we come to the same conclusion with every client we engage in this conversation? I doubt it. But for at least some people, the time for inclusion is not yet upon them.
When the time is right, he knows who he can call for honest advice about if and when and how much to be engaged in the online community. And if you need someone to talk to about it, give me a call. I’ll treat you with the same poise and respect that I offered him.
