With the sad and untimely death of Mark Hollis last week (lead singer of the band Talk Talk), I have had their eponymous opening single in my head for most of that time.
I was minded to try and understand why. I quickly arrived at the conclusion that it is a result of the constant interruptions I get here on LinkedIn.
Doubtless, there is great content here and if not, the self appointed LinkedIn police are quick to admonish those that dare to post with a Facebook or Instagram crossover (perish the thought).
However, in the past few months I have been deluged (tropical monsoon levels) with collection requests from those trying to sell me something.
It starts of rather well… been looking at your profile….sort of person I would like to network with….we can share ideas with etc etc. Then, often within the hour, I get a follow up with the subtlety of a wrecking ball and obviousness of a robber in a mask and suit with arrows on it.
Almost every time it’s a LinkedIn member offering me leads. That’s opportunities by the way, not the freedom of that former Industrial City in Yorkshire not far from York.
“I’m tired of listening to you talking in rhymes; Twisting around to make me think you’re straight down the line”
Such a Shame that they neither take time out to research who I am, what I do or even who I represent. Often there is no commonality between who they have generated leads for in the past and the sector I have operated in for the past 1,000 years.
Clearly, it’s all the same isn’t it? Even then I get made the most grandiose offers of help that if were true I could grab a beer out of the fridge, delete my LinkedIn app and sit by my email waiting for an avalanche of leads to come to.
“And all you want to do is tell me your lies; won’t show you the other side you’re wasting my time”
Except I can’t. Today much of traditional outbound marketing activity doesn’t work anymore. For what it’s worth, I’m not sure when it stopped working because frankly I haven’t seen a huge amount of return from it since at least the turn of the century.
The reasons are pretty straightforward, but essentially it’s because “everybody” seems to be doing it and the only “deluge” is the amount of unsolicited material we receive daily.
I get 5-10 connection requests on LinkedIn every week purely from “Digital Marketers” and lead generation businesses. Invariably, I will be offered a myriad of different programming skills.
I have even been approached with offers of tax advice. I have been approached by recruitment specialists to test my appetite for roles based on my experience from 20 years ago. I get about 50 spam emails per week and now I am starting to receive snail mailshots through the post again.
Only once has this “interruptive marketing” had some effect and that is because the originator had taken the trouble to understand my needs and tailor their pitch to intrigue me into setting up a follow up call. They did this after “nurturing” me over several interactions. The hard copy stuff fills up the recycling bin so hopefully it will return as Amazon packaging or something one day.
So, My Foolish Friends out there, I have a message for you: develop your own presence, share pertinent content (particularly your own) and at least take the time to research your recipients before you engage with them. When you do, make sure that you are interesting, compelling, but above all, compelling.
Finally, make sure you can verify your claims. You really are living in another world if you think you can generate 30 leads a month regardless of industry.
The truth gets harder. There’s no sense in lying.
