from AskMyDaddy - added to Lair

You asked

I just withdrew an Introduction to a friend of a friend of a friend after waiting six days. Is that enough time? If not, how long should I give my Introductions before withdrawing them?

MyLinkDaddy writes

Give your Introduction time to breathe before extinguishing them!

What is Introduction Management?

LinkedIn limits the number of Introductions you can send to initiate contact. It's critical to manage them to ensure the most value and use out of them.

The Introduction Management process consists of the following steps, which are are explained in more detail via a link or below.

1. Find your sent Introductions. See SentIntrosFilter.
2. Interrogate each Introduction.
3. Withdraw the Introduction if you feel it’s stalling.
4. Re-use the Introduction.

How many Introductions should I expect per month?

I turn my Intros around (they are accepted, declined, or withdrawn) once a week on average. Using that figure, if you have 5 Intros, you can send out 20-25 per month. If you have 15 in a business account like I do, you can move 60-75 per month. Note that this number may be more than your experience. My network is so large that almost all recipients are only two levels away.

How long should I wait before withdrawing an Introduction?

Check each Introduction to see what person in the path to the recipient currently has the message and how long they’ve had it. It the message is taking too long, it's likely stalled. While it's possible that the person may respond, it's unlikely and so far more productive for you to re-use the Introduction.

While some people act on messages the same day, others may take a few days or longer depending on workload and commitments. A few may be on vacation or have other priorities that result in a response in a week or longer. Up to 25% simply may be inactive and never respond, or not within two weeks.

I find that responses are generally level for the first three days and then quickly tail off. 2-3 days is an average. Note that this is an average. If you withdraw at or quicker than this rate, you're not giving a lot of people time to respond when they normally would.

I check twice my Intros per week. I recommend the following as a reasonable wait period before withdrawing them.

• 5-7 days for one level, whether a direct Group Introduction or the time for my direct connection to forward a multi-level Introduction
• 7-10 days for two levels
• 10-14 days for three levels

Re-using Introductions

If you withdraw an Introduction, you can re-use it to try a different way to reach the recipient or for another person.

• If the withdrawn Introduction was a two or three-level message and your first-level connection was the holdup, resend the message through another connection.
• If it was a three-level message and an intermediate was the holdup, check the number of connections for the recipient. If the recipient has a few connections, it's possible that your Introduction may hit the same non-responsive LinkedIn member in the middle if sent through another connection. Use an InMail in this case if you can. Otherwise resend the message through another connection.
• If the Introduction recipient received the message and was non-responsive, there is little you can do. The recipient will receive your withdrawal message. So simply copy your original Introduction message into your withdrawal and use the Intro for someone else.