Online Business Relationships Expert Scott Allen Partners with LinkedIn to Offer Best Practices Training for Most Popular Business Networking Tool

Teleclasses and web seminars to help LinkedIn users accelerate their business and advance their careers.

Houston, TX (PRWEB) May 17, 2004 -- Scott Allen, the leading educator on building quality business relationships online, announced today the launch of LinkedIn Unleashed" teleclasses and web seminars. Co-developed with LinkedIn, the classes offer insight into the best practices of LinkedIn members who have used it successfully to accelerate their business and advance their careers.

With over 600,000 registered users, LinkedIn has rapidly become the most popular tool for business professionals to gain visibility into their existing business network and leverage those relationships to hire employees, find clients/jobs and open doors for business partnerships. LinkedIn facilitates over a million searches and over 25,000 business referrals every month.

Its easy to master the basics of LinkedIn," says Allen, but learning how to effectively apply it to your business needs may not be so obvious. Just because something is simple on the surface doesnt mean that youre utilizing it to its fullest extent. Take Google, for example. Could there be an easier tool? And yet there are dozens of books on practical tips for using it to solve real-world needs. Thats what were doing here-moving beyond the basics and showing users how to realize business value from LinkedIn."

LinkedIn VP of Marketing Konstantin Guericke believes this is a natural next step for LinkedIn. As more and more professionals are relying on LinkedIn as an essential business tool, we plan to do everything we can to help our customers be successful in their use of LinkedIn, and offering this training is a key part of that plan."

Allen delivered a successful pilot teleclass in April to rave reviews. This was an excellent class with good depth on the most important topics," said one attendee. This is the best documentation on LinkedIns practical uses that I've seen thus far." Guericke also has high praise for Allen: His extensive research in this area brings a depth to the class that attendees really appreciated. We definitely chose the right person for this project."

The classes will begin May 26 and will be offered 1-2 times per month. For registration or more information, visit http://www.OnlineBusinessNetworks.com/linkedin-teleclass77.php .

About LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the premier provider of private and effective networking tools used by over a half million successful professionals in all industries and across the globe. By managing their existing professional network on LinkedIn, professionals can discover inside connections they never knew they had and reach the businesspeople they need to meet through referrals from people they already know and trust. LinkedIn facilitates hiring, business partnerships and access to industry experts through referrals based on strong and mutually confirmed connections. LinkedIn accelerates the business effectiveness and career success of individual professionals by allowing them to receive and seek out opportunities through their network while protecting their privacy, their inbox and their existing professional relationships. LinkedIn's CEO Reid Hoffman was formerly EVP of PayPal, the Internet's de-facto standard for secure, private financial transactions between individuals. For more information, visit http://www.LinkedIn.com .

About Scott Allen

Scott Allen is a 20-year veteran entrepreneur and technology executive, and a professional speaker, consultant, and trainer. He specializes in helping organizations and individuals to develop quality business relationships on the internet through online communities, social network sites, mailing lists, and weblogs. He is co-author of The Five Keys to Building Business Relationships Online, the first book on the topic, and the forthcoming The Virtual Handshake, due out from a major publisher in early 2005. He has leveraged online relationships to hire over a dozen individuals, obtain a VP-level position, develop strategic alliances, accelerate deals, and even to initiate a multi-million-dollar corporate merger. He is a much sought-after expert in this growing field, and has been interviewed in ABCNews.com, Christian Science Monitor, Sales and Marketing Management, and other major publications. For news and tips regarding online social networks and business communities, plus an in-depth guide to the major sites, visit http://www.OnlineBusinessNetworks.com .