We all want influential people in our networks – both online and offline. However, if you send a big hitter you have never met before a LinkedIn invitation, chances are they will ignore it – and if they accept, you will be their 243,128th contact. So how do you convince important people you do not know to become contacts?

LinkedIn is a good place to start but use it as a research tool rather than a zero-effort way to send invitations, says Neil Munz-Jones, author of The Reluctant Networker. Look for people that you and your target know in common (and who could supply an introduction), as well as your target’s interests and work history.

If you cannot get an introduction, you should find a specific reason to contact them. Here, you want to offer them something: anything from a solution to a business problem to your expertise in support of a charity they are involved in. “You have to stand out,” says Mr Munz-Jones.