OK so some time ago I started Yellow Tomato but didn’t tell anyone about it.
It wasn’t that I was embarrassed or anything but I just had so much on that getting the website right and sorting images and logos and all that stuff just took up all my time.
And to be frank I wasn’t chasing clients, which was nice.
Anyway eventually I got round to setting up my company page (you can view it here) and changed my profile status.
And that was it – I was officially the owner of a two-person media company and not an accountant.
Bridges burned
So My profile change was shared on the platform and people started sending in congratulations and I noticed something interesting.
Most of them were push-button responses.
I know that we’re all busy people but the consistency in the congratulations really stood out.
I’ll tell you what really stood out
In amongst all the cookie-cutter ‘congratulations on your new role’ messages were two other types.
The worst was a lady who used the opportunity to try and sell me something that I hadn’t bought before.
Her approach was so opportunistic that she actually guaranteed that should I need her service I would NEVER buy from her.
So I learned something.
The other type of message that stood out were the ones where the person had taken two seconds to pen a short, personal message.
My instant reaction was ‘I love that guy!’ (or gal)
The difference in approach and my reaction was amazing.
So my lesson from this?
Take just a tiny bit of time to say hello.
Personalise your message and don’t try and sell anything.
It might not be intuitive but actually the push-button approach that LinkedIn promotes and encourages actually make life easier for those people old fashioned enough not to use it!