STOP Doing This on LinkedIn! (examples included)

Are You Annoying and Aggravating People with Self-Serving Emails? Spammy Examples Included.

There is no shortage of people on the internet telling professionals the best way to use LinkedIn to increase traffic and close more sales. Some LinkedIn advisors offer sound advice and useful methods to use this attention-getting tool respectfully and professionally. They preach that the same rules apply online as well as offline. Luckily many people follow that simple and straightforward advice.

Sadly others don’t want anything to do with sound and useful advice. They have no time to follow online etiquette. So they forge ahead using tactics that repel, not attract, prospects. Many people barge into someone’s LinkedIn inbox with an all-purpose cold-call email.?They are taking what is nothing more than an old-school cold-call (all about them) message and turning that into a spammy generic one-size-fits-all email.

I receive dozens of weekly emails via LinkedIn that are nothing more than a virtual sales pitch. Complete strangers ask me to sign up for their newsletter, download their e-book, or attend their webinar. They accomplish nothing more than stuffing my already bloated inbox with an unwanted verbal sales pitch.

Stop the virtual cold email assault!

Start concentrating on your prospect's challenges, problems, needs, and goals. Prospects have no desire to read emails filled with the details of what you do and how you do it. They don’t care about you. They care about themselves. They don’t care about your company. They care about their own company. And finally, they don’t care about your products or services. They care about results.

Here are two examples of what NOT to do on LinkedIn. These examples are just a traditional cold call disguised as a “new approach” to reach prospects. You can do better than this.

SPAMMY ALL ABOUT YOU MESSAGE #1 Hi Tammy, Hope you're doing well!?My name is Dan account executive with ABC Corporation. We are the leading XYZ company in the US. We work with Fortune 500 companies helping them to generate more online leads and more closed businesses. I’d love to schedule some time to get together for about 30 min and explain our cost-effective solutions and how we work and how we create the best online experience for visitors to your website. Do you have some time next week on Tuesday or Thursday to meet? Please let me know which day is better for you. DELETE! Why? It is all about Dan. Nothing but a cold call turned into an email. Dan neglected to add value and make it sound like he understands my business challenges.

SPAMMY ALL ABOUT YOU MESSAGE #2: Hi Tom, Hope you had a good weekend. I wanted to introduce myself and my services. I love connecting with business owners like yourself to help them discover what has been stopping them from doubling or tripling, their income. I help them remove their roadblocks and obstacles immediately, and help them take swift purposeful action.?I would love to share more about myself and help you take your business to the next level.?Here’s a link to my online calendar. Please book your free session with me here.?DELETE! This virtual pitch is an insult to the recipient. No one would opt into a free call with a stranger who knows nothing about their pains, problems, or challenges.

Here is what your prospect is thinking. “This person/company is no different from the rest. They all sound and say the same lame things. Do they think their virtual pitch builds trust??Do they believe their sales pitch will compel me to respond?” Once a prospect comes to those conclusions, you lose! What you say and how you say it must contain insight and interest for your prospect.

What do you think is going to get a prospect's attention and deliver more impact? A yawn-worthy virtual sales pitch that’s all about you, your company, and how great you are? Or a powerful email that shows you understand their pains, problems, challenges, and issues. Express how you have some pertinent information and insight. Explain how you have helped similar companies with successful solutions.

Launching into a virtual sales pitch is the #1 reason why professionals are unable to tap into the value and power that LinkedIn has to offer.

If you are willing to trade in your “all about me” message for some “all about them” language, you will be successful, instead of disrespectful. Every email you send out is an opportunity to create interest, not resistance. You have a choice! You can do better!