It’s Facebook question of the week time (clap, clap, clap)!

Today we talk Panera Bread and eavesdropping and LinkedIn use and there is a special guest appearance from someone (something?) you may or may not have already met.

But, before the video, a little background.

My friend Rich Burghgraef owns Randolph Sterling, a company that helps you with business development.

I’m pretty sure we met because he’s a fellow Vistage member and he was trying to figure out this whole social media thing about the same time I was doing the same. But he’s a friend I met in real life before I knew him online. Which means he’s an ollllld friend!

He asks,

Quick LinkedIn question: A couple of clients we started doing inside sales work for have spoken to us about running their prospect lists through LinkedIn as part of the other work we are doing for them. I spoke to our in-house social media guy about it and he says LinkedIn tends to be very strict about not letting people do this kind of thing and may penalize someone for sending too many rejected or ignored invitations. Others I have spoken to say the odds of that happening are pretty low. I was wondering if you have heard anything one way or the other on this.

I have a personal story about what happens when you send too many rejected or ignored invitations … and, from my experience, the odds are pretty high that you will be penalized.

Then I leave it in your court. What do you recommend Rich do for his clients?

If the video isn’t showing up for you and you’re dying to see who my guest is, click here and it’ll magically appear.

Gini Dietrich

Gini Dietrich is the founder, CEO, and author of Spin Sucks, host of the Spin Sucks podcast, and author of Spin Sucks (the book). She is the creator of the PESO Model© and has crafted a certification for it in collaboration with USC Annenberg. She has run and grown an agency for the past 19 years. She is co-author of Marketing in the Round, co-host of Inside PR, and co-host of The Agency Leadership podcast.

View all posts by Gini Dietrich