by Randall CraigFiled in: Make It Happen Tipsheet, Blog, Business Development, Social MediaTagged as: LinkedIn, Spam
How many idiotic pitches do you get on LinkedIn each week? If you’re like most people, the answer is… too many. And so the question becomes, what can you do about it?
One of the current practices (let’s not call it a “best” practice) that people use on LinkedIn, is to reach out to a prospect based on an affinity of some type, and then ask to be a connection.
The request to be a contact can start out innocently (“I notice that we have 25 common connections, and we both worked at ABC company during 2016; I’m surprised we haven’t met before.”), or it can be a bit more reaching (“I noticed we’re both in the XYZ LinkedIn group.”) But whichever the case, you are asked to be a connection. And more often than not, you accept.
Within minutes of accepting the connection, the pitch comes in. It can be soft, such as “I thought I’d share that I’m in the business of X; if you have any questions, please ask.” Or, the pitch can be hard sell. “Do you have problems like XXXX? I’m in the business of solving that problem. Let’s hop on a call, and I will tell you more: Here’s my calendar link”.
The problem with this strategy is simple: the pitch assumes that there is trust, and there is not. So as the unwilling receptacle for these pitches, here is how to minimize them:
Don’t settle for being a receptacle for these idiotic pitches. But also realize that you do have agency, and can control the flow of them coming in. This week, stem the flow by being more decisive about who you choose to connect with.
Related post: LinkedIn Prospecting – A New Social Contract?
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