Got an IM from some guy on LinkedIn looking to sell me his services. It began like this:
Michael 7:05 AM
Great profile, J. How did you get into marketing?
So, I'm thinking, hmm, this could be good, as I'm always looking to partner with pros. Or it's a sales pitch done badly. Let's find out. I replied:
Jeri 7:06 AM
What are you selling Michael?
Of course, he's selling something, but he thinks if he keeps me talking to him long enough, I'll buy whatever he's pushing. This is his first marketing mistake. He's just wasting both our time trying to “qualify” me as a lead without telling me WHAT HE IS SELLING, or HOW IT WILL BENEFIT ME in any way.
Michael 2:10 AM (next day auto-reply)
Hey J., hope your 2020 is off to a Big Traction, Client Interaction, and Goal Smashing type of year. Truth be told… good marketers are in HOT demand right now… And, our clients reaping the benefits. J., I’ve been persistent with you because you seem like a great fit. Are you open to taking on new marketing clients right now?
Michael's 2nd - 5th marketing mistake, much like his first—he's still wasting both our time.
Michael has no interest, nor has he looked into what I'm doing, so his IM is LYING to me, which is insulting out of the gate.
Michael is telling me nonsense, fluffy junk: “good marketers are in HOT demand right now.” So, he's completely turned me OFF, because Mike is clearly inexperienced, and naive. I have no interest in working with him now, regardless of what he is selling, which I still do not know what that is.
He is sending me meaningless buzzwords—Big Traction—and trending phrases—Goal Smashing—instead of JUST TELLING ME WHAT HE IS SELLING, and HOW IT WILL BENEFIT ME.
Mike is marketing to me, on my personal IM on LinkedIn, and yet, he's sending me the same crap he's giving everyone else, obviously. I get it's easy to script a few lines and keep sending IM's to random people, but it's BAD MARKETING. If Mike is getting personal, contacting me through IM, then his marketing should be PERSONAL, to ME, not a carbon copy of everyone else.
It is Michael's JOB, as a marketer, to know IMing lies, and random fluff to professionals ain't gonna sell much. Since Mike has an MBA, I have to wonder what he learned in Business school. To be fair, it isn't entirely Michael's fault he doesn't know how to market his company. Most don't. Undergrad through Graduate programs generally teach Marketing theory, not IRL Marketing PRACTICE. The professors don't actually work IRL, so they can only theorize what Marketing strategies works.
Marketing is SELLING. That's it. Not complicated, though getting people to buy our offerings, or even remember our brand, often is. The foundation of Marketing/SELLING is psychology, and what motivates us to buy, or buy into a message, is complex, indeed.
There is a GOLDEN RULE for IRL Marketing pros—whether digital, print, or in-person networking—that will get more traction on marketing efforts than any other marketing approach. Effective Marketing is ALWAYS SELLING THE SAME THING, regardless of the offering you are selling.
Effective Marketing SELLS features and benefits of your offering, that fulfills a desire, or solves a problem for a specific group of people.
Savvy marketers know to achieve the greatest CONVERSION, i.e. SALES on their marketing efforts, (not “impressions,” or “engagements,” which are so often just a bullshit ego rush), their job is to align the offering's benefits with a desire, need, want, it satisfies.
Had Michael looked into what I did, targeted me with knowledge, instead of blindly IMing me with lies and fluff, our dialog would have either ended a lot quicker, or, he could have garnered my interest by simply telling me the BEST benefits his offering could provide my business. Assuming he targeted correctly, and his offering did fulfill a desire, or solve a problem of mine, he would have likely made a sale, instead of wasting his time, and mine.
Time IS money in business. Those who don't waste either have an exponentially greater chance at successfully building a sustainable company.
Learn more about how to build brand awareness, and get SALES with your marketing: https://www.ippglobal.org/post/marketing-101