New LinkedIn trend to just pitch deals?

This great question was recently posted in a discussion by one of our astute LinkedIn  Group members (Sales Drive how to be great at sales no matter what you do, networking meets sales) Vince, a Development Manager from Los Angeles. A man well aware of any LinkedIn Business changes.

My initial answer was “Yes, I think there is and my LinkedIn trend setters and experts, Ivor Kellock and also with her new LinkedIn training programme Lori Ruff . Plus Maureen McMeekin (2 of the top 10 women on LinkedIn) tell me that it is not the way to go.

To me “telling isn’t selling” the trend of trying to sell too soon could led to the platform being just another advertising spot.

Just like in any sales endeavour building rapport is an essential first step. Knowing that sales can go out of rapport very quickly and remembering to keep rebuilding rapport is often forgotten. Vince thought this was very true, he commented that most people like to pitch and pitch whether through emails or in groups to a degree it is spamming.

This seems to be a new LinkedIn trend.

Once you see spamming, it is natural to run away and the message just gets lost. Joanne Eckton Management Consultant & Life Choice Expert from Nashville, USA added the comments “Who is going to pay attention to it afterwards and the worst part; people will see you as a spammer a worrying LinkedIn trend. It’s so much easier … and faster … to just push out a message than to actually read what others are talking about and respond.

And there’s a fine line between “contributing” by posting a link to your latest blog post and the apparent LinkedIn trend of  “spamming” by sending an invitation to a free webinar or event. Both are self-promoting but also provide useful information to the reader. However, neither actually engages someone in conversation.

How much time do you spend on LinkedIn reading & responding to discussions?

Vince felt that there is a fine line in push marketing because it is faster than building rapport via contributing. He said ‘I only focus on the tail end of the bell curve, the 10 percent or so in the groups that I’m targeting.” He further added “the 80/20 rule never fails.

So much so, I apply the principle in push marketing by filtering and see how or why we should get connected.” My reply and recommendation involves somewhat of a mindset change for those who we see that a lot right across social media who simply push all the time. It’s called “pull marketing”.  A magnet to draw your clients towards you is way more powerful than trying to push anyone.

From my own prospective one thing I have learnt over the last 18-24 months of my very deliberate journey of discovery and watching LinkedIn Today trend on this mighty internet is that it doesn’t matter whether you are hitting the digital streets or the real concrete & tar seal streets, where I honed my skills, the basic rules of selling still remain the same.

The difference is the door is no longer a big wooden one on hinges with a padlock and a guard out the front it is now an email subject line, or a blog title, website header, or a spam filter. They will only open the door if they like what they see early. Then they will only open it a little bit to see if they want to invite you in but will still, figuratively speaking, have a foot blocking you in the form of 1 finger hovering over the delete key.

Selling is still all about people, regardless of any new trend .

It’s not so much what happens but who it happens to! The difference via digital is that when they let you in the door you are going straight into their brain….. No hello’s, no cup of coffee & scones, no hand shake, no air kiss, no looking out the window, no look you up and down to size you up. No coat rack. No warming up period. Just wham, hello brain!

So they will react very quickly, either positively or negatively. Being too direct too soon or too pushy is a gamble with the odds stacked way against you. Just one word can be misconstrued and or misunderstood & the delete button slams the door on you. Once that happens it is hard to get back in it again.

Am I right?

Hit people too hard by being pushy & too soon & they will switch off both you and your products. (Technically a service is a product as well.) The door slams!!!!! You also look too hasty by far. This will be seen as desperate to the prospective client. The exception of course to that approach is if you are selling perishable goods and they are ripe & will rot & go to waste tomorrow if not eaten Then push the daylights of it.

So the skill is to pull people towards you. Start by asking yourself what is the most powerful benefit that you can offer prospects via your product. How will you genuinely change their lives for the better? Then intensify that benefit. Why should they walk over broken glass to get to you, right now? What have you got that they can not easily get any where else?

Then you have a magnet that will start pulling people towards you and your products.

Phil Polson

Is there a trend in…

LinkedIn in which people just like to pitch their deals. LinkedIn trend or not!