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How do you feel about sales pros, gurus or marketing consultants who engage in self promotion?
With the increase of 2.0, many sales professionals and marketing consultants looking to increase sales will use discussion groups such as those here or in LinkedIn to self promote what they do. Marketing is all about attracting attention and building a relationship so promotion is part of that. But where do you draw the line between accepted self promotion and blatant self promotion? What does it say about that individual respective to his or her business ethics? Bottom line would you buy from this person?
Best Answer
- Recommended by:
- Craig Rosenberg,
- Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Hi Leanne! Coincidentally, I resigned a LinkedIn Group yesterday for that very reason, as I explained to the Group Manager: “What began with the best intentions as a legitimate professional forum has deteriorated into an ‘all-pitch-all-the-time’ zone, with the usual suspects and little else.”
Likewise, you may have seen last week when Focus.com’s own CEO Scott Albro publicly ripped a Focus Expert for similar transgressions. Right on, Scott!
So where to draw the line: if the answer to a question demonstrates a “guru’s” genuine expertise, then a simple suggestion to get in touch is perfectly OK. (I write, “Want to chat? I will welcome your call!”) But links and hypes and add-on topics self-defeat because people see right through them. Would we buy from the hypesters? Well, once a person casts himself or herself as an on-line P.T. Barnum …
No Michael did not see that posting with Scott Albro. Thanks for sharing your input.
- Recommended by:
- Caty Kobe
This question was asked a few months ago here on Focus by Carlos Hidalgo. Thought you might enjoy some of the colorful responses:
“What's your view of "thought leadership" that promotes a vendors or consultants product or service?”
http://www.focus.com/questions/whats-your-view-thought-leadership-promotes-ve...
First off, anyone that self-identifies with the word "guru" is, in fact, not. That word is like nails on a chalkboard, to me.
Self-promotion is best obtained through authentic, consistent helping. It's a subtle thing. It happens through active participation. I mean, why are most of us here on Focus? It's a way to increase our exposure, chime in on subjects that matter to us and genuinely help people out.
Self-promotion is also defined in the authenticity of your language choice. Which sentence sounds more authentic...
"So that's my two cents... My team and I recently worked through this topic and we ended up penning a short blog post about it. Perhaps helpful: [LINK]."
or
"My company specializes in servicing clients specifically within these disciplines! For more information, call 1-800-BIG-GURU! Call in the next 10 minutes and you'll win a free gift!"
Clearly the second sentence is an exaggeration, but you get the point. Bottom line, be a helpful human being on a consistent basis and self-promotion start to roll almost without you even knowing it.
Dave - Agree about the word "guru" and nails on the chalkboard. Truly appreciate your comment about "being subtle." I think in the hurry to line the pockets, to keep the lights on, subtly is lost and is replaced by the blatant self promotion. Also thanks for sharing your two suggestions.
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I hate it and hate that it is part of being a solo-preneur consultant to do some amount of promotion. But this discussion thread and the referenced one from Carlos correctly points that there is a right way and a wrong way. Also there are right places to do it and wrong places. Focus and LinkedIn Discussion threads are clearly the WRONG place to go out of your way to say like the contestants always did on Let's Make a Deal. "Pick me Monty, Pick ME!!!!!!
If someone wants to check me out they can link on my name to my Focus profile and then to my blog, twitter feed and web site. I am glad to see and hear that the organizers of Focus and some of the other experts are calling out frequent and blatant shameless self-promotion when they see it. LinkedIn Groups are frankly out of control. I belong to over 30, but rarely now click through to any of the daily/weekly digests i get from those groups because I am tired of seeing nothing but blatant promotional posts to attend this webinar read that white paper or blog post.
Twitter is starting to cross the line too. There are some B2B experts promoting the statistical advantage of asking your twitter followers to "Please RT" your tweets at the close of every tweet!!! I followed the discussion thread through David Meerman Scott's Blog back in August and the prevailing comments in response was dead against the practice, regardless of the statistical findings. Read the thread here:
http://www.webinknow.com/2011/08/debate-should-you-add-please-retweet-to-your...
I think the problem surfaces more today because its easy to do. But as most are pointing out just because its easy to do and you can does not mean it works. Judging from the comments here and elsewhere, its also easy to detect and the buyers you want to attract are repelled.