Business Development: Scattergun approach backfires

It's possible that because I'm nearing 40, I'm simply grumpier than I used to be ... but there's something which is really irritating me and it's happening more and more.

I'm receiving an increasing number of emails (particularly from Linkedin contacts) asking for my help. In nearly all cases, the help requested is to click on a link in order to add a vote, so that the person who emailed me can win an award for which they've been nominated. Now I like to think I'm a decent chap but there's a problem ... I've never met the people in question or used their services, so how on earth could I vote for them with any sense of credibility?

On the one hand, it's no great problem to delete such emails but on the other hand, if you're serious about your professional reputation, how could you send a blanket message knowing that it will be utterly irrelevant to a large proportion of people who receive it? Unless of course you're just hoping that they will vote for you anyway, in which case the awards are utterly meaningless because it comes down to who has the largest email database, rather than a mark of quality.

In my opinion, people who ask me to vote for them, but yet I've never met them or used their services, are lazy email marketers and it smacks just a little of desperation. Note to self ... if they're lazy about their e-marketing, what would their customer service be like, particularly if there are issues after I've made the purchase?


Tip:

Be relevant in your communication: Spend the extra time filtering and ordering your contacts so whether you are communicating via phone, email or post, everything you say is of complete relevance to those who will read/hear it.

Avoid the blanket/scattergun approach: Whilst it feels better to send your message to thousands of people rather than hundreds, if it's not relevant to many of those who receive it, it will undermine your long term credibility ... unless of course your message genuinely has a mass market appeal or it offers mass market value.

ps - when asking for help, whether it's home or work, you'll get better results if you ask the people who actually know you!

Thanks for reading

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