How to Handle Unwanted Sales Messages from LinkedIn Members

This post is an updated version of my Forbes article about the huge uptick in annoying, formulaic, unwanted sales messages from LinkedIn members. The Forbes post created quite a lively conversation. Clearly there are a lot of people who agree with Jeff Goldbum who said "I really don’t want to get sold to. I’m sales averse.” in this recent Fast Company piece: The Jeff Goldblum guide to getting someone’s attention.

In this post, I share additional information about the situation along with more ways to respond to these obtrusive messages. Read on...

Lately, most of my work as a speaker and trainer has been focused on teaching professionals inside companies to become socially savvy. With the increased desire among companies to have a digitally fit workforce (76% of CEOs are concerned about the lack of digital skills in their workforce, according to PwC ), social branding platforms provide a powerful entry point for bridging that digital divide engaging their people in all things digital. The bonus is that employees become digital brand ambassadors – significantly increasing the company’s visibility and credibility with stakeholders while increasing their connection to the company. 

But over the past several months, one major concern among participants about LinkedIn has become a regular topic of discussion during my training sessions: 

What’s the deal with all the unsolicited sales pitches I receive on LinkedIn?

The dramatic increase in these messages is significant. It’s the social media equivalent of junk mail or robo calls. The only difference between the email you and I receive is the salutation. The tone of these messages is often manipulative and slimy, akin to the personal injury law firm ads we see on television. And these often generic, uninvited, mass-audience pitches are exploding. This growth in the number and frequency of unsolicited messages is starting to impede use of the platform. My clients tell me:

“I’m loath to accept connection requests because I’m just going to multiply the number of unwanted messages I receive. I can’t keep up with my email. Who has time to read all these LinkedIn messages?”

To be fair, LinkedIn does allows you to change your privacy settings so you don’t receive InMail – (those are messages from LinkedIn Premium members who are not your connections). Here's where you can do that:

That’s a start, but the shut-off button doesn’t allow you to filter messages from your connections, so if they start spamming you, you’re going to be reluctant to accept future connect requests for fear that they’ll start spamming you with messages too. That goes against the concept of LinkedIn. It’s brand – its unique value – has always been about connecting us with people who can help us to learn and grow (and with those we can help as well!).

Where there's a way to reach people, there will be sales.

Online direct sales is not new. We’ve all become accustomed to the ads that precede videos, and the popups and banners we see when we’re on our favorite web sites, but that’s a whole different animal from the LinkedIn message that shows up in your inbox, wasting your time and reeking of intrusion.

The chorus of dissatisfaction with these messages has become so loud in my workshops, I implemented an experiment. I tracked the spammy sales messages I received over the course of a week. There were 37 in total, all from people I have accepted into my LinkedIn network. As a public speaker, I have a lot of people from my audiences who reach out to connect and I love the opportunity to stay in touch with them after the event. So I typically accept most LinkedIn connection requests I get.

The manipulative sales process goes like this:

1. First, you get a standard connection request.
2. As soon as you accept it, you receive a message from within LinkedIn that says something like this: “Happy to have you as a connection.”
3. Then, in that message or in a follow up message (usually within a day of the first message), they move to one of four manipulative sales techniques:

Here are excerpts from some of the actual messages I recently received.

It’s touching to know that there are LinkedIn members who are as invested in your success as you are:

“Successful entrepreneurs like you are feeling overwhelmed. You need a way to reduce your workload so you can be the CEO of your company.”

“I believe that generosity is right approach to business so I’d love to have a call with you to see how I can help you.”

“I don’t want to tell you anything yet, and I definitely don't want to sell you anything. Instead, I'd just like to get a little background on any challenges you have.”

This is where you’re promised something so valuable, you'd be crazy if you didn't act immediately:

“Would you be interested in joining me at a seminar I am hosting and presenting in NYC? I can get you in as we have one spot available, and I’m reserving it for you.”

“I produced this e-book which highlights my proven system to help you double your sales in six months.”

“I’m delivering a webinar which is normally reserved just for my top tier clients, but I’d like to extend an offer for you to attend at no cost.”

Then there’s the lazy, indiscriminate approach of reaching out to as many connections as possible regardless of the relevance of the offer:

“Have you always wanted to write a book but just don’t know where to start? I’ll help you write your first book and get it published this year.” 

That’s a great offer, but I’m already the author of three published books. That’s the equivalent of the snail mail letters I get addressed to: “William Arruda or current resident.” Maybe when you cast your lure to send out a thousand of those emails to your connections, you’ll catch one fish – BUT YOU'VE ANNOYED 999 OTHER FISH TO GET IT! (sorry for my screaming!) This rampant sales activity is starting to tarnish the LinkedIn brand. Being annoying is one of the most destructive brand traits for individuals and corporations alike, wouldn't you agree? 

This technique makes it seem like you’re being coached by a wise and generous mentor:

“Is there any room in your business for more clients?”

“What’s the biggest challenge that you’re facing in growing your business?”

“Could you help me with a 20-second survey?”

This last question comes in the form of a seemingly innocuous survey – which is becoming the most prevalent type of question; but it's the most pernicious. It says, “I’m pretending I care about your answer, but really, I just want to get you to respond to me so I can sell you something because I have the solution to all the responses in the survey.” 

The tone of these messages is almost identical; it seems to be from a copy writer that everyone is consulting or imitating or from one of the thousands of LinkedIn marketing consultants who have sprung up recently - mostly to help people write these irritating sales messages.

My favorites are those that emphatically profess that they have absolutely no desire to sell you anything. It’s the digital equivalent of fibbing to stick their foot in the door: 

“I’m not trying to sell you anything, I’m just interested in learning more about your business.”

Because of course, we are all flush with time and eager to spend it learning about other people's businesses.

And of course, it doesn't stop with this one message. There's usually a follow-up (or two or three) if you don't respond.

I know you're busy. Just wanted to make sure you got to see the important message I sent you last week.

In the past, LinkedIn suffered from low rates of regular engagement – despite the fact that people interact with other social media like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram often several times a day. LinkedIn engagement was binary: on or off. When we're looking for a job or reached a career milestone like a promotion or degree, we’ll go into LinkedIn to update our profile, but we otherwise didn't really engage with the platform. Thanks to really valuable features like Groups, Interests (Pulse) and Articles, LinkedIn has been able to significantly increase regular engagement. In fact, according to Expanded Ramblings, 40 percent% of members use LinkedIn daily.

Email is no longer a valuable way to sell.

For business developers, spam emails have become less effective. Mail systems have built sophisticated algorithms that filter out or categorize a lot of the annoying sales pitches. That has made LinkedIn wildly attractive for online selling. These unsolicited messages (albeit from connections) must be effective, because they never stop. Overdoing it could cause the LinkedIn brand irreparable harm; these messages are dissuading many members from engaging in LinkedIn because they now associate the platform with being bothersome and intrusive rather than valuable and indispensable. 

Some of my clients tell me that they filter all email messages that come from LinkedIn – moving them to a folder that they never look at. But when you do that, you run the risk of missing out on the subset of those messages that may be interesting or helpful.

Don't get me wrong. I am not suggesting that we stop using the messaging feature of LinkedIn. There are some messages I am thrilled to receive. But sadly, they are but a few in a LinkedIn inbox that's full of unsolicited sales emails.

Will this frustrating practice create an opportunity for another service to compete with LinkedIn as the professional social media platform of choice? With membership approaching a billion at LinkedIn, it would not be an easy task – but with the annoyance level increasing (I received hundreds of responses to my original Forbes article that addressed this practice), too, there may be an opening for disruption.

Let me be clear. I am one of LinkedIn’s biggest fans. I think the platform is the most , growing relationships and keeping the saw sharp. It’s also a valuable tool for showing loyalty to your employer and for giving value to others. But I’m not equally sanguine about the manipulative sales techniques that have become so pervasive.

Relationships are the currency of business.

The more appropriate (and less irritating) way to get business through LinkedIn is to build authentic relationships. To genuinely care – not use canned words from a "LinkedIn marketing guru" who only pretends to care. To only offer relevant services to those who are open to them. That’s the personal branding trifecta. That’s why LinkedIn groups -– which I call professional associations on steroids – provide the most human way to connect and engage.

There are other, less obtrusive ways to get your message to the LinkedIn members who want to hear it. Writing quality articles, for example, is a way to provide value to your target audience. LinkedIn allows you to pay to make your content visible to an even larger, yet targeted community.

"So, how do you respond to these annoying messages?"

That was the question that I asked people who interacted with my first article on the topic. Many people shared their responses. which range from straightforward to subtle to sarcastic to snarky:

• Please unsubscribe me from your sales messages. Thank you.
• If I need what you are offering, I will reach out to you. Please don't reach out to me with a follow-on sales pitch. Thank you.
• I use LinkedIn as a vehicle for staying in touch with people I meet and for collaboration. It seems that you are using it for sales. Since our visions of the platform are so divergent, I'm going to remove you as a connection. That will give you more opportunity to connect with those who are interested in your sales messages.
• You ask: What's the biggest challenge I am facing in my business? Well, here it is: I don't have enough time to move forward on important initiatives because I'm spending time reading unsolicited LinkedIn sales messages like this one from you.

Here's my standard response:

• My favorite thing about LinkedIn is connecting with interesting people to share ideas, get inspired, etc. My least favorite thing about LinkedIn is receiving unsolicited sales messages, so please don’t be offended when I ask that you please remove me from your sales communications. If your only reason for connecting was to sell to me, feel free to remove me as a connection. Otherwise I look forward to staying connected. Thanks.

A lot of readers of my Forbes piece asked me about the reactions I received from the senders of these messages. They fall into three categories:

1. Instant removal as a connection (why waste a connection on someone who clearly isn't going to buy?)
2. No response at all (this is the most common response)
3. Very thoughtful (not defensive) replies. Here's one I received:

Hi William, no offense taken! Thank you for your kind note in response. I will make sure not to send you unsolicited sales messages, but I am certainly happy to remain connected. Feel free to reach out at any time. 

But here's the most disturbing response (copied verbatim):

I understand your least favorite thing about LinkedIn, I am not offended by your boldness but appreciate it. I have automated tool that select people in my network and send message but you can ignore it. 

That message confirmed my worst fears about this - automated spamming!

Some readers of my Forbes article wondered why I respond at all. Here's my rationale:

1. My experience has been that if I don't respond, I'll get two or three additional messages "Just confirming you got the message I sent you." I respond to the first one to prevent the future messages.
2. I think it's important for these spammers to understand that they are really irking people. If they have any empathy at all, they'll stop doing it. If they don't, at least they'll know that they're trying to stick their foot in the wrong door.

When LinkedIn starts to become associated with the brand of social media junk mail (or members stop connecting with each other for fear of receiving sales messages) instead of the place to build your personal brand and nurture relationships, a competing alternative platform might become viable. LinkedIn needs to step in and find a middle ground – one that allows members to use it as a sales platform, while enabling those who aren’t keen on sales messages to ignore them without missing out on things from their connections that they really do care about.

A LinkedIn member responded to my Forbes column with this proposal:

"If we all make it known to these spammers through stern responses to their unsolicited sales messages that their behavior is annoying ... and we shame them publicly, perhaps we can put an end to it."

Let me know what you think in the comments and share with me how you respond to these intrusive messages. Thanks! And feel free to connect with me, just please don't send me a sales email after I accept your connection request ;)

And here's a fun quiz that will help you evaluate your LinkedIn profile and networking strategy.

William Arruda is a Partner is CareerBlast, a personal branding video platform and virtual coach to power your career. Download your free success guide - 13 Things All Successful People Do To Fuel Their Careers.

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• Use the free CareerBlast LinkedIn Quiz to assess your profile's impact

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