Another One Bites the Dust: LinkedIn Kills Off “Connection Strength”

Any salesperson who has been through Sales 101 training knows that getting an introduction is the best way to meet a new prospects and begin a sales cycle. In case you missed that class, I’ll define the three parties involved in an introduction:

The Requester: The person who wants the introduction

The Target: The person that the Requester wants to connect with

The Mutual Connection: the person who knows them both

The reason that introductions are so valuable is because the Requester benefits from the trust and credibility that the Target and Mutual Connection share. It’s a “free pass” for avoiding the dreaded and low-probability-of-success Cold Call.

Introductions are a cornerstone of LinkedIn’s networking philosophy as evidenced by the “How You’re Connected” section on a Profile view. That’s why I was surprised and disappointed to see that LinkedIn recently killed off a valuable enhancement that was released (or should I say “introduced” Ha!) early in 2013. The enhancement was called Connection Strengthen.

It appeared in a new window that was launched when you clicked the “Get Introduced” hyperlink. Connection Strengthen gave the Requester additional information beyond just the list of Mutual Connections. It stack-ranked the list based on the number of shared connections that each Mutual Connection had with the Target. In other words, the Requester faced with a long list of Mutual Connections could see which one had the most shared connections. When coupled with the Requester’s knowledge of their own relationship with each Mutual Connection, suggested who would be the best Mutual Connection to ask for an introduction.

To illustrate the point, consider Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff, a very public figure known as a big LinkedIn networker. I took a look at his profile last year when “Connection Strength” was enabled. It showed Mark and I shared 47 Connections. The top Mutual Connection on the list, a Salesforce VP who I knew well, shared 1,238 Connections with Mark. That’s 1,238 SHARED Connections – more than many people have in their entire Level 1. The last Mutual Connection on the list shared 9 Connections with Mark. If you were me, who would you ask for the Introduction?

The new design of “How You’re Connected” does not display the “Get Introduced” link so, seemingly, Connection Strength has joined a long list of valuable LinkedIn features that mysteriously disappeared. I hope that Connection Strength returns because its value increases as Linkedin grows in popularity and more people grow larger networks. For right now, just pick the Mutual Connection that you know the best and cross your fingers.

What do you think?

Did you use the Connection Strength?

Do you want it back?

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