The Notification That Broke Your Focus
You open LinkedIn and see 47 notifications. Someone liked your post. Someone you've never spoken to endorsed you for "Leadership." A recruiter you ghosted six months ago just viewed your profile. And buried somewhere in that chaos is a message from someone who actually matters—someone you've been meaning to follow up with for weeks.
But by the time you find it, you're exhausted. You close the app and tell yourself you'll deal with it later. You never do.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: treating every connection equally is a recipe for burnout. Not all relationships deserve the same level of attention. Some people are critical to your goals. Others are background noise. And if you can't tell the difference, you'll waste energy on the wrong people and neglect the ones who actually matter.
This is where LinkedIn contact segmentation becomes essential. It's about organizing your network into tiers—A, B, C—so you can allocate attention intentionally instead of reactively. And with tools like ANDI, this kind of segmentation becomes effortless.
Why Treating All Connections Equally Fails
Most professionals operate under a flawed assumption: that every connection in their network deserves equal attention. So they try to engage with everyone, respond to every message, and keep up with every post in their feed. The result? Burnout, inconsistency, and relationships that go cold anyway.
The reality is that your network naturally sorts itself into tiers:
- Tier A: High-value relationships that drive opportunities (clients, partners, key referral sources)
- Tier B: Promising relationships that could become Tier A with the right nurturing (warm leads, mutual connections, interesting conversations)
- Tier C: Low-priority connections that are nice to have but don't require active maintenance (general network, old colleagues, passive connections)
When you acknowledge these tiers and organize your network accordingly, everything becomes clearer. You stop feeling guilty for not engaging with everyone. You allocate your limited time and energy strategically. And you actually stay consistent with the relationships that matter most.
The 80/20 Rule of Networking
In most networks, 20% of your connections generate 80% of your opportunities. That's not a bug—it's a feature. The question is: do you know who your 20% are?
Without LinkedIn contact segmentation, you're flying blind. You engage with whoever shows up in your feed, respond to whoever messages you first, and hope the right relationships get enough attention. But hope isn't a strategy. As we discussed in measuring what matters in networking, visibility is the foundation of intentionality.
How to Tier Your LinkedIn Network
Tiering isn't about ranking people's worth as humans. It's about allocating attention based on your goals. Here's how to think about each tier:
Tier A: High-Priority Relationships
These are the people who directly impact your goals—whether that's revenue, referrals, partnerships, or career growth. You want to stay top-of-mind with these people consistently.
Who belongs in Tier A:
- Current clients or customers
- Active prospects with high intent
- Key referral sources (people who regularly send opportunities your way)
- Strategic partners or collaborators
- Mentors or advisors
How to engage with Tier A:
- Comment on their posts weekly
- Send a thoughtful DM or check-in at least once a month
- Set reminders to follow up after key milestones or conversations
- Prioritize their messages and respond quickly
This tier should be small—10-30 people max. Any more than that and you won't be able to maintain consistency. For strategies on deepening these relationships, see pull-based networking approaches.
Tier B: Warm Potential
These are connections with potential to move into Tier A. Maybe you've had a good conversation but haven't closed a deal yet. Maybe they're in your target market but not actively looking. Maybe you share a mutual connection and want to explore collaboration.
Who belongs in Tier B:
- Warm leads (interested but not yet committed)
- Promising introductions from mutual connections
- People in adjacent industries or roles who could refer opportunities
- Connections you've had meaningful conversations with but no formal relationship yet
How to engage with Tier B:
- Engage with their content every 2-4 weeks
- Send a check-in DM quarterly or when something relevant comes up
- Watch for trigger events (new role, company news) that create natural follow-up opportunities
Tier B is your "development pipeline." These are the relationships you're intentionally nurturing toward Tier A status. For tactics on moving these relationships forward, check out building a LinkedIn networking funnel.
Tier C: General Network
These are everyone else—connections you want to stay loosely connected with but don't need active management. They might become relevant in the future, or they might stay passive indefinitely. That's fine.
Who belongs in Tier C:
- Former colleagues you're not actively working with
- General industry contacts
- Connections who accepted your request but never engaged further
- People outside your current focus area
How to engage with Tier C:
- Engage sporadically if their content is especially relevant
- Let them engage with your content (don't feel obligated to reciprocate every time)
- Move them to Tier B if circumstances change (they switch roles, express interest, etc.)
Tier C is your safety net—a broad network that provides serendipity and surface area for future opportunities. But you're not actively managing these relationships day-to-day.
How ANDI Makes Tiering Effortless
Here's the problem with network tiering: it only works if you actually use it. And most people don't, because manual categorization is tedious and easy to forget.
This is where the ANDI Chrome Extension becomes invaluable. Instead of maintaining tiers in a spreadsheet or trying to remember who's in what category, you tag people directly on their LinkedIn profile.
Tagging for Instant Segmentation
With ANDI, you can create tags like "Tier A," "Tier B," and "Tier C"—or get more specific with tags like "VIP Client," "Warm Lead," or "Quarterly Check-In." Every time you visit someone's profile, their tier is instantly visible.
This makes engagement decisions effortless:
- See a post from someone tagged "Tier A"? Comment immediately.
- See a post from someone tagged "Tier C"? Skip it unless it's especially relevant.
- Notice someone in Tier B showing strong engagement? Consider moving them to Tier A.
The system becomes self-reinforcing. The more you use it, the clearer your priorities become—and the easier it is to stay consistent with the relationships that actually matter.
Filters for Focus
ANDI also lets you filter your network by tag. Need to see everyone in Tier A at a glance? Pull up the filter. Want to review your Tier B pipeline and decide who needs a check-in? Filter and review.
This is LinkedIn contact segmentation in action—not as a theoretical framework, but as a daily practice. For more on using systems to scale relationships, see building a LinkedIn CRM with ANDI.
Tiering Examples for Different Roles
How you tier your network depends on your goals. Here are examples for three common roles:
For Recruiters
| Tier | Who's in It | Engagement Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Tier A | Active candidates in your pipeline, hiring managers you work with regularly | Weekly comments, bi-weekly DMs |
| Tier B | Passive candidates you want to stay warm with, potential hiring managers | Engage every 2-3 weeks, DM quarterly |
| Tier C | General talent pool, former candidates not actively looking | Sporadic engagement, let them come to you |
For Marketers
| Tier | Who's in It | Engagement Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Tier A | Current clients, active prospects, key referral partners | Weekly comments, monthly check-ins |
| Tier B | Warm leads, interesting intros, industry peers who could collaborate | Engage every 2-4 weeks, DM when relevant |
| Tier C | General network, past colleagues, loose connections | Engage if their content is highly relevant |
For Founders
| Tier | Who's in It | Engagement Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Tier A | Investors, strategic partners, key customers, advisors | Weekly engagement, regular DMs |
| Tier B | Potential investors, partnership prospects, warm customer leads | Engage every 2-3 weeks, follow up quarterly |
| Tier C | General founder community, industry contacts, media | Engage when strategic, otherwise passive |
Related reading: For more on organizing your network strategically, check out how to network even if you hate networking and using LinkedIn Groups for targeted networking.
The Weekly Review Routine
Tiering your network is just the first step. The real value comes from regular review and adjustment. Here's a simple weekly routine:
Weekly Network Review (15 Minutes)
- Review Tier A engagement: Did you comment on or message everyone in Tier A this week? If not, prioritize them next week.
- Check Tier B for movement: Has anyone in Tier B shown strong engagement or interest? Consider moving them to Tier A.
- Look for cooling relationships: Anyone in Tier A or B who's gone cold? Decide whether to re-engage or move them down a tier.
- Adjust tags as needed: Relationships evolve. Someone who was Tier C last month might be Tier B now (new role, expressed interest, etc.).
This weekly review ensures your tiering stays current and your engagement stays strategic. And because ANDI helps you organize all your logged activity, you're not starting from scratch each week—you're building on existing visibility.
From Chaos to Clarity
The goal of LinkedIn contact segmentation isn't to turn networking into a mechanical process. It's to create clarity so you can be more human.
When you know who deserves your attention, you stop feeling guilty about ignoring the noise. When you have a system that surfaces the right people at the right time, you stop relying on memory and luck. And when you consistently show up for the relationships that matter, you build a reputation for reliability—which is the foundation of trust.
Chaos feels busy. Clarity feels intentional. And intentionality is what separates networking that exhausts you from networking that energizes you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Isn't tiering relationships kind of cold or transactional?
Not at all. Tiering is about acknowledging that you have limited time and energy, and choosing to invest both intentionally. It's not about valuing people differently—it's about aligning your attention with your goals. The alternative is burning out trying to engage with everyone equally (and failing).
How many people should be in Tier A?
10-30 max. If Tier A grows beyond that, you won't be able to maintain weekly engagement. Be ruthless about keeping this tier small and focused on people who directly impact your goals.
Can someone move between tiers?
Absolutely. Tiers aren't permanent. Someone in Tier C might move to Tier B if circumstances change (they express interest, switch roles, etc.). And Tier B relationships can move to Tier A as they mature. Review and adjust regularly.
What if I feel guilty about not engaging with everyone?
That guilt is a sign you're trying to do the impossible. You can't engage meaningfully with everyone. Accepting that is liberating. The people in Tier C aren't being ignored—they're just not your current priority. And that's okay.
Next step: Take control of your LinkedIn relationships — Try ANDI Free.
