Mistake #1: “I’ve got clients who could use your skills. Please sign up to chat on this TimeTrade page.”
Well, I was curious but not enough to commit to a 15-minute interview. It might be a great opportunity for someone else and I could recommend them. So I wrote back: “Can you share more of the qualifications? And what’s the referral split?”
Back came the answer: “We’ll discuss this on our call.”
No we won’t. If you’re really interested in working with people you won’t be setting up 15-minute meetings on Time Trade. My hunch is that this person will be lying in wait with a sales pitch.
Busy people don’t set up 15-minute meetings. They ask qualifying questions. The only exception might be a newbie who’s learning the interview ropes. And newbies rarely have a bunch of quality referrals.
Mistake #2: “Can we get together on the phone to talk about our businesses?”
Ouch! Somewhere out there a misguided marketing coach must be advising people to do this. They’re the people who encourage one-to-one meetings after every networking event, which used to be a good strategy. Today people are just too freaking busy.
Before taking the initiative to connect, take a few minutes to visit your target person’s website. Read their blog.
Usually, it’s best to start with relationship building. Send a compliment. Do some casual back and forth. If you genuinely believe there’s a way to work together, send a thoughtful suggestion. For example:
“I notice you have quite a few guest posts and you’ve run articles on x, y and z. I’ve got a unique slant on topic z and I’d like to write this up for you.”
“You target market seems to be newly divorced women who want to build relationships. I have a program that helps divorced women regain control of their finances. Would it be helpful to your followers if I offered a free webinar, and you’ll get commission on every program I sell through the webinar? You just send an email to your list and I do the rest. Let me know if you’d like to explore this further.”
Mistake #3: Disorganized messages.
Here’s an example:
My name is Jim Smith, and I would like your opinion about a unique new app. As a Small Business Challenge group member, we share a common interest.
A lot of us use Linkedin many different ways and experience some mixed results. Sometimes targeting a few people does not meet our objective. .I found another way to use this site to reach a 100 people per day. Some of us want to reach more prospects; maybe ask some questions of a group; and raise our network visibility.
I am excited to share with you a unique marketing app for exclusive use on Linkedin. I’m sure you’ll be just as excited as I am to have people respond to you within our successful Linkedin community.
Also, as a thank you for connecting with me, I’d like to offer you a FREE ebook, Top 10 Marketing Mistakes that Small Businesses Make Check it out here: www.jsmith.com
Suggest a good way to contact and let’s start a conversation.
Thank you for your interest and time
This message has so many mistakes it’s hard to know where to start! What does this guy (or gal) want me to do? Preview a new app? Buy something? Have a conversation? And am I the relevant audience for his ebook?
Mistake #4: Asking for a recommendation when you’ve never done business together. This one’s pretty obvious. One person recently added insult to injury by addressing his request to multiple addressees.
Mistake #5: Join my group on Linked In.
Why? At least take a moment to show you’re not inviting everyone!