Vent: 3 LinkedIn DMs beat 8 months of happy hour mixers

I tracked every conversation from those Midtown happy hour events since January and got zero actual referrals, but three short LinkedIn messages about shared vendor experiences landed me two contract leads last month, so why do we keep pretending in-person handshakes are the only way? Anyone else seeing the same split in their own numbers?

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gibson.troy15d ago

Wow, that tracks with my experience too. I stopped forcing myself into those group events and started messaging people specifically about things we both dealt with, like a shared vendor or a project we both touched. That got way more replies than a quick hello at a bar ever did. I think people are just more honest and focused when they can type out a real thought instead of making small talk over drinks. The in-person stuff is fine for getting a feel for someone, but the actual leads came from those targeted messages for me.