Before You Respond Harshly To A Cold Pitch, Consider This

Understanding why people cold pitch is key.

In 2016 I was getting a lot of cold pitches via email and LinkedIn asking me to give advice, promote a product or work for a company. I was a different person back then.

My response to those cold pitches was rude, arrogant, harsh, impolite, ego-driven and lacking humility. The cold pitches haven’t stopped as my blogging journey has continued since then — in fact, they’ve increased.

Scrolling LinkedIn late one night, a few weeks ago, I had one of those aha-moments that knocked me flat on my face after watching a video of someone who was struggling financially. I realized something that changed the way I responded to cold pitches.

Everyone is trying to put food on the table, clothes on their back, and have a roof over their head.

They’re not cold pitching you because they feel like it, or they want to annoy you. Pitching and selling is how people make money and how they provide for their family, send their kids to school, pay for the gas in their heater, and put some sort of food on their table that will nourish them and keep them alive

Many cold pitches are badly written, inconsiderate, and are completely unrelated to what I do — but it’s not because the person on the other end is stupid. When you understand why people cold pitch and the reason people go to work, you’ll have a similar realization.

What will this do and why is it important? Well, when you understand why business exists, hopefully, you will develop compassion.

That next cold pitch email asking you to join a club you’ve never heard of, in a field you have no interest in that costs $29.99 a month to join, will all of a sudden look different. The temptation to send a rude reply or be outraged that someone dares contact you without being thoughtful and without your permission will vanish into the thin, cold air of the Chicago winter night.

The alternative

If you agree by now that compassion is a better response and we’re all trying to put food on the table, you might be thinking what’s the alternative?

Instead of looking down upon people that make these cold pitches (and may do so poorly), help them. Give them advice on how to send messages to people on LinkedIn and pitch their company. Or, give them an introduction to someone who may be able to help them or support their business.

Give these strangers respect and a gift rather than the cold shoulder.

The cold shoulder of rudeness and arrogance only causes you to live your life with an over-inflated sense that you’re better than everyone else.

Your ego ends up ruling your world the way a dictator leader from Game of Thrones would rule their kingdom. Compassion is the key and its power is in the fact that it is action-orientated.

My point is not for you to agree with me; my point is for you to take action with this advice and be more compassionate when strangers contact you pitching everything under the sun.

How you respond goes deeper

You might be thinking that I’m only referring to cold pitches with this advice and that’s not the case.

The reason why responding to cold pitches with compassion is important is because it shows up in other areas of your life.

When you respond nicely to a cold pitch, next time someone steals your car spot, you may act differently.

When you respond with kindness to a stranger, you might end up mentoring them.

When you treat the people that pitch you randomly better, you might start treating your family, friends and work colleagues better.

Every part of your life can change for the better when you become better at responding to strangers who send you cold pitches. All they are trying to do is put a roof over their head and food on the table the same as you — don’t forget that.

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