What started as a simple LinkedIn message forever changed my view of humanity. (Slight exaggeration, but it’s a cool story with some surprising data…so be sure to scroll to the chart.)

One day, out of the blue, I got a simple LinkedIn message from a gentleman named Casey. It read:

Dear Mr. Mockaitis,

I noticed your involvement in the Linkedin directory and I am interested in learning more about a career in consulting. I am currently a teacher here in Chicago, although I graduated in ’08 with an economics degree, but am looking for a career change. I felt that you would be a great source of advice for someone like me considering entering the field. I was hoping that you could spare some time to meet with me to share your knowledge of the industry. Thanks for your consideration. Let me know what you think!

I accepted the meeting and polished up my memories of good ole Bain & Company. We had a pleasant conversation, but things got interesting when he me asked for additional names of consulting people. I gave him four names and asked whom he’d contacted. Before my very eyes, Casey flipped through page after page in his master notebook. It contained numerous sections, each one an underlined firm’s name–with many names and notations underneath. He had tracked of every piece of correspondence among 233 total strangers. Impressive! I had a deep respect for this tracking approach that ensured accountability and regular follow-up.

Loving a good dataset, I pressed Casey to tell me more about his experience. It turns out that 28% of total strangers he messaged on LinkedIn responded right back, willing to help! I was quite surprised, as I contrasted this giant figure to the alleged “typical” direct mail response rate of 1-3%. The slide below breaks down the figures in additional detail:

Wow! Could it be that the answer to your burning question is just a message to a few strangers away? It’s an intriguing possibility. People often shy away from asking for help, yet these data show many are quite willing to help a perfect stranger. While there may be a sort of fear/rejection factor preventing these reach outs, Casey reported that only two people were jerks—less than 1%!

For additional reading, Casey informed me his secret weapon was an old book called: Job Notes: Networking. I also recommend Never Eat Alone.

P.S. If anyone has a consulting job opening, let me know! Casey’s a sharp guy .