I have had a series of messages on LinkedIn recently from one particular person. I am not connected to them, I have not encouraged them, they have just sent them. They are a master class in what not to do!
This was the first one.
Hi Tim,
I came across your work with Hoolock Consulting and was truly impressed by your tailored approach to sales training.
I can help you 10x your reach of your podcast in the next 90 days by creating engaging videos for you, with No effort on your side.
Are you open to quick chat?
Now, that opening line is very familiar and I’m fairly sure is written by ChatGPT or similar. However, it is not an unreasonable opening. The problem is that they immediately try to sell something to me that is actually unrelated to the opening line. Anyway, I ignored it and then got a number of follow up messages:
I am sure you are busy and just wanted to make sure this didn't get buried.
I tried to reach you a few times but didnt hear back...Where should we go from here?
I'm totally fine if you don't want to work together, Just let me know so I don't have to schedule an hour with my therapist 😅.
Did I get ghosted here, Tim? 👻
I hope you're well. I was just thinking about you. Do you want me to get you a slot before the price changes?
Bearing in mind that I have never responded to any of these messages, they are a bizarre mixture of attempted humour, unnecessary offers and uninspiring chasers.
The latest message nearly tipped me over the edge!
I hope you're well. I can see it's been quite a while we are discussing about the same thing again and again.
Let me know if you're still unsure or you just don't want to make a decision right now.
Accordingly I can close this loop and at least that way you know we'll stop wasting each other's time. I'll appreciate your response on this.
It implies that we have been in some form of discussion about what they have to offer which we never have. It is not a closing technique that I am familiar with.
Given that I have not responded, it is likely that I am not interested or do not understand the value of what they are offering. Just continuing to badger me is not the best way of changing my mind.
If you want someone to change their mind, you need to start by telling them something that they do not currently know. If we only ever have the same information, we will not change the wany that we think.
Once you have made me think differently, you need to explain why this information matters to me. What will happen if I do nothing or what great thing will happen if I do make a change. I am unlikely to change without an incentive so provide one for me.
Only once I am thinking differently will I consider buying something. Just continually sending essentially the same email, with no value, is not going to change anything.
This is not the only example of the types of message that I receive, it was just one of the worst. If you want to know how to do this better, have a look at a previous post of mine, https://www.hoolock-consulting.com/blog/2022/9/9/catalyst-for-sales.