Yesterday I got a message on LinkedIn.

While it was from a connection, the message said 

"Dear Timothy, how are you? Could you please share this post with your network? Thanks"

Really?

I didn't know this person. They have never acknowledged my existence since we connected. They had never engaged in any conversation with me.

Then out of the blue they want me to help them.

My question for them is: Why, when you have never made any effort in getting to know me, do you expect me to share a post (it was also just as self serving)?

Are people really this arrogant and really this full of their own self importance? 

It would seem so. 

Let's talk about what is social

A social network, like LinkedIn is very similar to a face-to-face networking event.

The other day I went to the open day of an artist that has moved into the area.  She has purchased a shop, which has out buildings for her studio at the back.  She's invited local people to come and see and I guess, some of these people might buy a work of art.

My partner and I arrived and went and got a drink.  Immediately, a local business person, walked up to us and said, "we are at the tailors next door and here is a brochure".  My partner politely took a brochure, she dumped it later on.  I smiled and walked off, to look at the art.

For me, handing a brochure to us was rude.  First it was the artists event and highjacking that for your own is rude.  Second, I didn't even know the person that pushed the brochure on us.  Again, this was rude.  They then talked "at" my partner, which is why I made my excuses and went and looked at the art.  Again talking "at" me is rude.

Let's take the same behaviour and move that online

The person that just pitches at you is rude.

The person that connects and then says, oh by the way my company does this .... is rude.

The person that connects and then pitches is rude.

The person that asks me to share an article when I don't know them is rude.

I should say that in our social selling and influence course we teach people how to connect and create conversations.  Conversations being the thing that drive sales.

As many as you want, you can stay all day.

So who's doing this?

In case you missed it, the Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch have banned cold calling and have moved all their people to social selling. This isn't some trendy tech company that might have decided to do this on a whim, this is a very conservative financial services company that has made a decision based on data.

But surely cold calling has a better ROI than social selling?  Not according to Merrill Lynch.

"They will also be encouraged to contact prospects over LinkedIn, which has a higher hit rate than cold calling"

The CRO (chief revenue officer), Richard Eltham of Namos Solutions, of one of clients posted a comment on LinkedIn about social selling. See here.

“Social selling is not an option now it is the way of the world and you either learn and execute it or fear getting left behind” 

Kevin Murray who is the Head of Sales at MacArtney Underwater Technology recently posted about his success with social selling here and wrote an article about the transformation that has happened in sales here.