I’m So Tired Of Being Sold At – Part I – LinkedIn Spam!

So, there’s this great film called Sahara that came out in 2005, starring Matthew McConaughey as the action hero, and Steve Zahn as the wisecracking sidekick.  It goes pretty much as you expect with fist fights, shoot outs, car chases, train heists, explosions and all that … but at the climax of the movie, as helicopters make strafing runs at the civil war gunship half buried in the Sahara desert (really, it makes sense if you watch the movie), as the heroes get up, barely escaping death, Steve’s character Al throws his hat to the ground in frustration and shouts, “I’m so tired of being shot at!”

Al, I know how you feel.  I’m so tired of being sold at.

I get it, we all are running businesses, we’d all like new clients, we all have solutions that somebody might want.  But I can tell you as a business owner, there are lots of ways NOT to sell to me.  This is definitely a multi-blog series, because there’s a lot wrong out there.  I fight off 40-100+ sales attempts every day -- anything from spam emails to phone calls to getting cornered at conferences.

First off, if you want to connect with me on LinkedIn, cool.  You don’t have a complex intro note, I’ll still likely connect with you.  I’ll even send you a quick note thanking you for connecting.  That’s your opportunity to have a real human conversation with me.  Instead, you send me canned pitches what I’ve pasted below.

My god.  AI written slop.  Nothing to pique my interest.  Nothing to relate it to what I may or may not want help with.  And three robotic pitches in two weeks.  You’d think if I ignored the first pitch maybe a different approach would work.  But no, you doubled down.  You didn’t ask me what I needed, didn’t tell me why you asked to connect, didn’t take the hint that I didn’t respond the first time (because it was a bad pitch).

This guy might have a great product, but I’ll never know, I’ve removed him as a connection.

You want to know what I send someone who connects with me after I reach out on LinkedIn?  I thank them for the connection, offer to be a resource if they need one, tell them something that might help them without really pitching them … and then I LEAVE THEM ALONE.  They’re adults and business professionals, I don’t need to corner them and sell them.  If they need me, they’ll reach out.  If I have something meaningful to share, I'll share it if it's appropriate, and ask nothing in return .. because that's how you build trust and help your network, not just go fishing in it.

Want to share horror stories about being a business owner and trying to stay open to new vendors and solutions, but having to deal with this kind of drivel?  Drop me a note at blair@receivableaccounts.com.

Thanks kindly,
Blair DeMarco-Wettlaufer
KINGSTON Data & Credit
226-946-1730
 

SEPTEMBER 17
Hi Blair, Kingston Data and Credit likely handles plenty of questions around accounts, payments and collection status. We build Enquiry Assistants that support these workflows, reduce manual admin and keep client communication responsive. Thought it made sense to connect.

SEPTEMBER 18
Hi Blair,

Kingston Data & Credit works with businesses across credit management, billing, receivables, collections, and credit bureau services.

A Client Enquiry Assistant could help:

① Capture needs
Gather client and account details.
② Answer questions
Cover service and process basics.
③ Route enquiries
Send requests to the right team.

This could mean faster responses and less repetitive admin for your team.

Open to a short walkthrough?

SEPTEMBER 30
Hi Blair,

Kingston supports clients across the full credit cycle, from billing and receivables management through recovery, reporting, and legal services, so client requests can involve very different account issues and next steps.

For Kingston, I’d look at:

① Capturing client and account details upfront
② Routing requests to the appropriate credit or recovery team
③ Keeping client follow-ups moving when information is outstanding

That could mean less manual coordination across the credit cycle and faster responses for clients, while collection strategy, credit decisions, and legal actions stay entirely with your people.

I have a short demo that shows how this type of workflow could work. Worth sending it over for you to take a look?