I am a professional sales person. I admit it. I carry the title of CEO for three companies, but my job is really to sell others on the value each company creates. I even created a company that specializes in effective sales strategy to sell solutions to the healthcare industry, Gylen Castle LLC. Despite all my experiences, the “sales” strategy some use on LinkedIn and other social media platforms AMAZES me.
In the past week, I received a request to Connect on LinkedIn with a “sales professional,” for lack of better term. The next day, I received an InMail from this individual that I still can’t get past. Please don’t ever do this.
The individual sent a canned InMail to me that began with how he wanted to introduce himself and he did not want to talk about himself but my needs. Good start. But, then he proceeds to talk about himself and sell me on his solution. To add insult to injury, the solution did not even apply to me as he had not bothered to look at my profile. I not only deleted the email but deleted the connection. Bad ending.
Whether you like it or not, sales is about a relationship – personal, professional, or both. You should not focus on blasting your pitch but understanding the pain someone is experiencing and how your solution solves this pain. I even wrote a book on this appropriately named, Selling to the Pain: Closing More Deals in Healthcare Sales.
Avoid a bad ending. And, please, respect the value LinkedIn can provide.
