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\n\t\tOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.\t<\/p>\n
When was the last time you made a buying decision based on a cold email that landed in your email spam folder? Likely never.<\/p>\n
I know I have never done business with a company that sent me a cold DM on LinkedIn or sent some pitch-slap via email. Yet businesses are wasting thousands of dollars and hours on automating these actions every month.<\/p>\n
This desperate attempt at marketing is being bolstered by emerging AI technologies that are pumping out slop at an industrial scale. And even if you think your team is \u201cdoing it right,\u201d your messaging is almost certainly getting lost in a sea of spam so deep that no potential buyers are willing to go for a swim.<\/p>\n
Thankfully, genuine marketing is still possible. And in my view, it\u2019s the only way to build relationships with the clients worth doing business with.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re active on LinkedIn like I am, you likely have received a cold message from a brand trying to position its services that sounds just like this:<\/p>\n
\u201cHey [Your First Name],<\/em><\/p>\n I came across your profile and was impressed by your work helping companies with [your LinkedIn profile tagline translated into a summary].<\/em><\/p>\n Our team frequently helps companies just like yours. We offer [generic or broad service].<\/em><\/p>\n Would you be open to a quick call to discuss how we can support your work?<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n No, dear spammer, I certainly am not open to a quick call.<\/p>\n The funniest messages tend to come from the incessant \u201cwe can find you clients\u201d crowd. I\u2019m sure they mean well, but if their best approach at finding clients for themselves is to slide into my DMs to ask me to pay them up front before they prove they can even find one client for me, then I\u2019m definitely not interested. It doesn\u2019t inspire confidence in their methods, and I would rather pay them to not<\/em> represent my brand in public.<\/p>\n When I receive a message like this, I always ask them if the approach ever works. None of them have ever answered resoundingly that it does. Many have answered, \u201cSorry to bother you, our boss is making us do this.\u201d<\/p>\n So, if you are the boss of a company and your idea of the best use of your marketing resources is to send cold AI-enhanced spam, I can tell you now that you\u2019re doing it wrong and doing serious damage to your reputation.<\/p>\n Keep reading for two much better marketing ideas.<\/p>\n My top two marketing strategies both have a common thread: They lead with value instead of looking to extract it. And they are both rooted in the same principle: You want potential clients to get an idea of what it is like to work with you before they ever do.<\/p>\n Instead of focusing on faking hyper-personalization with AI content, you want to create marketing content that truly speaks to the people you know are your ideal potential clients.<\/p>\n The first way to do this is by solving their problems, answering questions they have and educating them about topics you know they want to understand.<\/p>\n This first requires radical clarity about who you really exist to help. You need to have a clear understanding of what they are struggling with day in and day out. Then, there are two ways to educate them:<\/p>\n 1.<\/strong> A way that doesn\u2019t scale is to go to the internet \u201cpublic squares,\u201d where your ideal clients are already asking for help. Connect with them one-on-one and simply answer their questions. Pitch-slap free.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>A way that does scale is to create video and text-based content that answers their most commonly asked questions. Then provide this content to them for free.<\/p>\n Both of these efforts are educational and thus transformative. And transformation is valuable.<\/p>\n The second marketing strategy, which I fear is becoming a lost art, is to shine a light on the success you\u2019ve contributed to for your existing clients.<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the twist: The goal should not be to have your clients only talk about why you are great. It should be to have them talk about how their business has become greater as a result of your contribution.<\/p>\n This will not only demonstrate that your organization brings value, but it will also show your ideal clients a vision of the type of transformation you can help them achieve.<\/p>\n Always remember that transformation is what good organizations create. This is especially true in the world in which I exist \u2014 the consulting agency ecosystem. What\u2019s more, good marketing should always be aspirational.<\/p>\n With this approach, any potential client can get a clear idea of how you work, which we\u2019ve already identified is a key message your marketing needs to convey.<\/p>\n Both of these marketing strategies meet the potential client at a higher ground of respect than any \u201cpersonalized\u201d cold outreach. And they are both how real business actually happens. So, stop the spam and start leading with value.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n When was the last time you made a buying decision based on a cold email that landed in your email spam folder? Likely never.<\/p>\n I know I have never done business with a company that sent me a cold DM on LinkedIn or sent some pitch-slap via email. Yet businesses are wasting thousands of dollars and hours on automating these actions every month.<\/p>\n This desperate attempt at marketing is being bolstered by emerging AI technologies that are pumping out slop at an industrial scale. And even if you think your team is \u201cdoing it right,\u201d your messaging is almost certainly getting lost in a sea of spam so deep that no potential buyers are willing to go for a swim.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nFocus on educating your ideal potential clients<\/h2>\n
Shine a light on your existing clients\u2019 success<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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