I couldn’t believe what I read this morning on LinkedIn. Somebody proposed, if you see an interesting sales prospect on LinkedIn, to not message him and ask for a demo or meeting but instead do the following (quote):
“You have to warm her/him up first:
- go to her/his profile
 - like and comment something witty
 - one week break
 - see 2.
 - wait…!
 - get him to answer one of your comments
 - THEN the message comes with a situational speech.”
 
Why would I do this? If you want to build a personal long-term relationship with this person, I get it. However, if your job requires you to sell, this is – in my opinion – the lamest excuse for not making a cold call ever.
(more…)