Find Your Tune

Pitch Slapping, What it Isn’t

All too often on LinkedIn I see posts geared towards SDRs and BDRs, even coming from our own, that are so downtrodden, so negative, so mean. People declaring how much they hate cold messages (we are human, if you politely ask us to stop we will, we normally say why we're connecting in the first place), influencers ripping apart various email formats, SDRs lamenting how they aren't meeting their monetary goals. This feeds into the never ending cycle of feelings about the role--that it's only about the money, creating the perfect click in an email, getting as many people as possible to bite.?

What drew me to this role in the first place was the term “social selling”. I come from a warm sales background, but in fitness–an industry full of objections and obstacles, and the thing that I found myself flourishing with the most was forming relationships with the clients once they were sold and became members. My unique brand of humor and customer service, which I deem “radical honesty” helped me find true solutions to problems, create a sense of trust with customers, and brighten their days with a bit of sarcasm.?

I see the term “Pitch-Slap” thrown around a lot in my feed, and I, for one, hate it. I think it’s got to go–as well as that method of pitching. I don’t know how many other people do this, but when prospecting on LinkedIn, I always attempt to communicate EXACTLY why I am connecting.?

Your company is present at this event, you are in a role I think will have information, and I feel that what my company is doing at the event may be beneficial to you–would you like to learn more when we connect?

All too often because we are prospecting lists or industries, people think that we don’t know what we’re doing. They discount the research and time we put into making sure that these are the right people from the right companies in the right industries–I truly think that what I have to offer may be of interest to you. I’ve found that by attempting to truly embody that belief in information and the positive change that it can hold, you break through to more people than if you were to be only pressing sales for the money. The same holds true for having understanding–taking a no easily is something that people can struggle to master for years.

We get trained in overcoming objections day in and day out, but most roles don’t train you in how to understand one and transform that into a lasting relationship. People appreciate patience, and are much more likely to come back to you when they feel ready for information. It may make you seem too soft or easygoing, but in reality, it’s just being a good human–if you get upset when prospects treat you like a robot, inspect yourself. Are you treating them like robots? Or are you creating a full conversation and relationship?

I’m going to ask you questions about your company’s plans, about how they’re going, and I’m going to ask you if you’d like to learn more about what we’re doing. I’m brutally honest with what my purpose for reaching out to you is, and provide you with as much information as I can. My cold is most people’s warm, and sometimes that helps spark a really hot conversation!