/rant on
Let me paint a picture for you real quick.
My LinkedIn InMail like many of you.. has good days and bad days.
Recently… it was a total mess, a really bad day!
3 InMail’s in a row, within a few hours of each other with new to me people wanting to connect. They all seemed ok upon first glance (they always do right!!), different lines of work, locations, etc. and they all APPEARED to be people who bring value first.
Each one after accepting their connection request had a generic (and poorly written) script response sending me a link to their Calendly page.
The issue isn’t with the tech. Automating LinkedIn and all of that jazz. While I’m not a fan of it for me, I get that people are constantly sold into “LinkedIn Guru” systems and services and are blindly thinking that’s a good thing. (maybe another post for another day)
The real issue?? It’s the logic behind it. What they’re actually saying.
First, we need to understand a very basic starting point. I don’t know these three people outside of some mutual contacts on LinkedIn. Never met any of them. Perfect strangers.
They reached out to ME. 100% cold marketing.
One even made it sound exclusive to be THEIR CONNECTION (which with their “power connecting” methods lets be real I’m nothing more than a drop in the bucket for their automated LinkedIn InMail process) but since I liked the vertical they were in I accepted anyways to see what happens next.
**Spoiler Alert** All 3 failed. Horrifically.
First one sent me at least 1,000 words of text selling themselves with a Calendly link at the end. Zero warmth. I’m just a number.
Our second entry into the land of crapola connections sent me about 1/2 a dozen links, with the booking link last. I was actually impressed how insane this person must be to think “this is the way“.
The third connection sent me a few terribly written / unclear lines of copy with, “Let’s hop on a quick call to discuss further. All we need is just 15 minutes to explain!”
Explain what? Why I’m disconnecting with you now? And why the “we” are you not one person on your personal LinkedIn profile or are you just some bullshit fake profile used to scrape leads?
UGH. Can you even imagine? Actually I bet most of you can relate!
It kills me to see this crap. Because crap is exactly what these people are doing to their online image, and their chances to make meaningful connections and build relationships is pretty much shot. Zero trust.
I help people every single day with their digital branding and social media presence and knowing this garbage is still happening is like a dagger in my social media loving heart.
Who the hell is telling them this is a good idea?
Another of the manufactured “LinkedIn Gurus” plaguing the platform now? Yup, I’ll call that out and own it. 99% of that industry is regurgitated garbage using outdated methods to bullrush themselves low quality leads while hiding behind VPNs with outsourced teams that they’re underpaying to do the dirty work while “the boss” is just a glorified snake oil salesman from western times filling innocent business owners heads with absolute bullshit.
The same people who tell you to InMail a new connection 5 times over the next few weeks with all of your offers.
Instead of actually engaging them on the platform and…
…being SOCIAL!
Afterall, it’s called Social Media for a reason.
Be excellent everyone.
/rant off