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The LinkedIn Edge
book

The LinkedIn Edge

by Jeb Blount, Brynne Tillman
September 2025
Intermediate to advanced
336 pages
5h 24m
English
Wiley
Audiobook available
Content preview from The LinkedIn Edge

23Avoid the Bait‐and‐Switch Connection Request

It is a very bad, no good, self‐serving move to pitch someone as soon as they accept your connection request. You are not going to convert more prospects into customers by rewarding their goodwill with an immediate sledgehammer‐to‐the‐forehead pitch.

(Here is an example from Jeb's inbox (Figure 23.1)).

“Thank you for connecting, now buy from me!” is a total turn‐off that will result in your connection being rescinded, your message potentially reported as spam, and you being blocked.

None of us want to accept a connection request only to be immediately inundated by requests for favors, introductions, referrals, invitations to events, information gathering and qualifying, or inbound lead‐gen tactics. When you rush in with a pitch before a connection is even interested in learning about you, you risk alienating them instead of attracting them.

A cropped screenshot of a LinkedIn message thread with a visible profile photo, partially shown text, and typical messaging interface, representing a bait-and-switch request scenario.

Figure 23.1 Example of a bait‐and‐switch request.

Most people in a decision‐making role have been burned like this after having accepted a connection request. It just feels “ugh!” because it sucks to be manipulated like this.

After a while these experiences add up and turn into suspicion and cynicism each time they get or accept a connection request. They are on the lookout for anything that proves their suspicion right. Until you lay a foundation of trust with consistent evidence that you ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9781394316717